Open Data: Challenges and Opportunities for Transit Agencies (2015)

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7 This synthesis documents but is not limited to the follow- ing five major elements. • Characteristics of open transit data – Reasons for choosing to provide open data – Standards and protocols for providing open data – Underlying technology used to generate open data • Legal and licensing issues and practices – Legal and licensing issues – Public disclosure practices • Uses of open data – Applications – Decision-support tools – Visualizations • Costs and benefits of providing open data • Opportunities and challenges – Techniques for engaging users and reusers of data – Challenges associated with providing open data – Impacts on transit agencies and the public and pri- vate sectors A literature review, survey of selected transit agencies and other stakeholders, and detailed case examples or profiles were done to report on the state of the practice, including inno- vations, lessons learned, challenges, and gaps in information. A review of the relevant literature in the field is combined with surveys of selected transit agencies and other appropri- ate stakeholders to report on the current state of the practice. Based on survey results, four case examples were developed to describe innovative and successful practices, as well as lessons learned and gaps in information. TECHNICAL APPROACH TO PROJECT This synthesis project was conducted in five major steps. First, a literature review was performed to identify the char- acteristics of open data; legal and licensing issues and prac- tices; uses of open data; and the costs, benefits, challenges, and opportunities resulting from providing open data. See the References section for a list of sources. Second, a survey was conducted to collect information on factors such as the reasons for choosing to provide open data; standards and protocols being used; public disclosure prac- tices; customer applications and other data uses; techniques for engaging actual and potential users and reusers of the data; PROJECT BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES The primary focus of this synthesis is on the current state of the practice and policies in the use of open data for improved transit planning; service quality, customer information, and customer experience; implications of open data and open documentation policies; and their impact on transit agencies and public support. In addition, successful practices in open data policy, use, and protocols and licensing in the United States and abroad are documented. Within the past 5 years, more and more transit agencies have made schedule and real-time operational data available to the public. “Open data” provide opportunities for agencies to inform the public in a variety of ways about a transit agency’s services. For example, there is significant value to having web- based and mobile applications that are developed by people outside the transit agency—these applications allow riders to navigate public transit systems more easily. In this example, the agency does not bear the costs associated with the applica- tion development and encourages innovation in terms of how to present transit information to the public. Open data are being used to create enterprise-facing, decision-support tools that can help to optimize operations in real time, improve mainte- nance, and support capital planning and programs. However, in addition to opportunities, open data present challenges for agency operations and other business functions. The use of open transit data was first reported by TRB in 2011’s TCRP Synthesis 91 (1). At the time that synthesis was prepared, there was a keen interest on the part of several U.S. transit agencies to provide open data, and legislation had just been passed that governed the required open data in parts of Europe. In addition, local, state, and federal requirements for open data (including the Open Government Directive issued by President Obama in 2009) were under development in the United States. Since that report was prepared, many more agencies have embraced and provided open data, and have realized benefits well beyond what was originally thought. This development occurs within a context of agencies requir- ing opening of their data. This synthesis documents the cur- rent state of the practice and policies in the use of open data for improved transit planning, service quality and customer information, and implications of open data and open docu- mentation policies; and their impact on transit agencies and the public. It focuses on successful practices in open data policies, use, protocols and standards, and licensing. chapter one INTRODUCTION

8 and challenges associated with providing open data. In addi- tion, information regarding the impacts on transit agencies and the public and private sectors was explored through the survey. The survey instrument is shown in Appendix A, and the list of agencies and staff titles responding to the survey is shown in Appendix B. Third, the survey results were documented and summa- rized. Fourth, telephone interviews were conducted with key personnel at four agencies and organizations that have signifi- cant experience with providing open data; case examples from those four agencies are presented in chapter seven. Finally, the results and conclusions were prepared and documented. REPORT ORGANIZATION This report is organized as follows: • Chapter one presents the goals and objectives of the syn- thesis and describes the technical approach used to con- duct the project. • Chapter two summarizes the literature review. • Chapter three describes the characteristics of open data, including the reasons for choosing to provide open data; underlying technology used to generate the data pro- vided to the public; and standards, protocols, and for- mats being used to provide open data. • Chapter four describes the legal and licensing issues and practices, and public disclosure practices. • Chapter five discusses the uses of open data, including customer applications, decision-support tools, other uses of open data (e.g., nontransit applications), and open data applications statistics. • Chapter six presents information about the costs, ben- efits, challenges, and opportunities resulting from pro- viding open data. • Chapter seven presents case examples from selected agencies that have significant experience with open data. • Chapter eight summarizes the results of the synthesis and presents conclusions. • An Abbreviations and Acronyms section lists those elements. • The References section contains the list of literature that was reviewed and referred to in this report. • Appendix A contains the survey instrument. • Appendix B shows the list of responding agencies and staff titles. • Appendix C provides supplemental information regard- ing conferences, meetings, and agency events dedicated to open transit data. • Appendix D shows the total annual ridership for each responding agency. • Appendix E contains website addresses for agency license agreements and terms of use. • Appendix F shows examples of customer information- related applications that are available through agency websites. • Appendix G provides examples of applications noted through the Transport Innovation Deployment for Europe (TIDE) project. • Appendix H has a list of Transport for London (TfL) open data available from the London Datastore.