Some Remarks on Issues around Data and Tools for

Understanding Public Transport Networks from My PhD

Work

Patrick Sunter: PhD Candidate in Architecture Building and Planning, University of Melbourne Transport, Health & Chronic Diseases Research Network Seminar 13 November, 2013

Research Context

  Primary Research Methods:-   Co-Development of Tools   Participant Observation   Interviews,   Focus Groups,   Artifact Analysis

  Approach part of reflexive tradition in I.S. Discipline such as Soft Systems Methodology. Specifically drawing from McKay & Marshall’s (2000) “dual cycles” model of interleaving research project (researcher) with pragmatic project (partners)

Research Paradigm: Interpretive Action Research (Info Systems) Undertake a GIS-T System Design, Development & Evaluation with 2 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Melbourne

Network image from HiTrans Best Practice Guide (Nielsen et al, 2005). Photo credits: www.pt4me2.org.au, Wikimedia commons user "voland b", Flickr user "avlxyz”. Travel time map from www.mapumental.com.

Target Capability: Public Transport Network Analysis

  “Travel Time Maps” (IsoChrone maps)

  Display either:-   Locations reachable from a

given origin in a given time;   ‘Catchment’ to reach a given

destination

  Generally involve A* network calculation but can be optimised.

  Good because they indicate overall network quality, including interchanges

Travel time map from www.mapumental.com.

Data: GTFS   GTFS = “General Transit Feed

Specification’

  developers.google.com/transit/

  Emerged in mid 2000s from Portland TriMet and Google’s 20% time

  Plaintext format: Entire GTFS feed of Portland is ~169 Mb

  Live feeds available from 376+ agencies, see:- www.gtfs-data-exchange.com/

  Includes Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra: not yet Melbourne

OpenStreetMap is other key data source

  A very impressive collaboratively-developed street database

  Hint: segments for major city-regions, inc. Melbourne, downloadable from http://metro.teczno.com/#melbourne

Image from http://www.ideasintransit.org/wiki/OpenStreetMap : showing global edits to OSM in 2008

Progress with OpenTripPlanner   With a mixture of running existing Open Source tools –

especially OpenTripPlanner and Quantum GIS, and some scripting and GIS work, we’ve developed useful visualisations.

Looks different in growth areas?

With BZE, are working on ability to visualise different future ‘network scenarios’

More advanced visualisations with this platform & data

  Left: Differential impact to New York Transit network after Hurricane Sandy

  Right: Mode “Accessibility gap” in Washington D.C. between car and public transport, plus employment

McGurrin, M. F. & Greczner, D. 2011, 'Performance Metrics: Calculating Accessibility Using Open Source Software and Open Data', 11-0230.

http://www.theatlanticcities.com/commute/2013/01/best-maps-weve-seen-sandys-transit-outage-new-york/4488/

Reflections   Would it be worth a more open, commonly-maintained ‘platform’ of tools &

data for the public transit system for different stakeholders to study, improve – inc. in growth areas where different requirements apply?

  If yes – what are barriers & issues for greater contribution from data providers? What is governments, universities role, ABS, etc? Are there international examples worth looking at more closely e.g. in Finland, Boston, …

  What problems might there be with these data & tools for different user groups? E.g. in the developing world “para-transit” may not work so well with GTFS’s format as-is …

  P.sunter@pgrad.unimelb.edu.au T: @PatSunter

  http://www.appropedia.org/OSSTIP