Should public transportation agencies release their route and schedule data to the public?

CNet blogger Rafe Needleman thinks the answer is a resounding yes. He just wrote a new post documenting the growing movement in open access to public transportation data, and other kinds of government data.

It really goes without saying anymore that open application interfaces to Google Maps and other online tools has reduced the cost of developing really incredible applications to the point that crowd-sourced applications are much more economical to build, and are usually superior in usability to government applications. Anyone prefer their local government’s clunky Web site to an iPhone app? It’s fast becoming clear that governments which try to prevent public access to data paid for by taxpayers are fighting a losing battle. Open access to data means that consumers can choose whichever application best serves their needs, and the competition of the marketplace fosters innovation:

In Portland, Ore., openness on the part of the local transit agency has been a blessing for transit app developers. There are more than 25 apps that use the public TriMet data stream. Many of the apps duplicate others’ functions and features, but it’s just this kind of competition that makes apps better over time. When companies control data about their services and are the only ones to provide the apps that use the data, users do not get the same benefit of rapid application evolution.

San Francisco just joined Washington, D.C. in making transit data, and other city data, readily available in the new DataSF.org Web site:

In San Francisco last week, Mayor Gavin Newsom unveiled (via TechCrunch) the Datasf.org initiative, which aims to put all the city’s data online for open access. Included in the program is the San Francisco Municipal Transit Agency’s schedule data. There’s no question that this is a positive development for San Francisco Bay Area transit app developers and that it sets a good precedent for developers elsewhere.

There was a little drama surrounding the release of transit data, however, between San Francisco and a contracted company, NextBus Information Systems (NBIS), which is in the business of collecting location data from transit vehicles, and then posting that data on its Web site. NBIS even temporarily shut down Routesy, a San Francisco transit iPhone app, claiming that the developer was violating NBIS licensing rules.

The San Francisco Municipal Transit Agency resolved the problem by re-writing the NextBus contract to say that the data it collects has to be made available to the public. No data, no taxpayer money. It’s a pretty simple argument.

It’s just too bad that NBIS thought it could build a business model on somehow monetizing access to the data taxpayers paid the company to collect, Rafe says.

In local blogs and on transit sites, outrage over agencies and companies that claim ownership of the data is growing. The core argument against locking down such data is that it’s collected by or paid for by public, taxpayer-funded agencies and thus should be open to all citizens, and that schedule data by itself is not protectable content. The argument against is that the agencies might be able to profit from using the data if they can maintain control of it. The counter to that is the belief that if the data is open, clever developers will create cool apps that make transit systems more usable, thus increasing ridership and helping transit agencies live up to their charters of moving people around and getting as many private cars as possible off the roads.

The increasing use of contractors to handle information systems for government, and the growing public demand for democratized data, really demands that contracts be written to ensure public access to the data contractors manage.

The NolaStat reform has adopted this approach, and contract language from the D.C. Office of the Chief Technology Officer is now being considered for all New Orleans information systems contracts.

Now, if we could just get New Orleans Regional Transit Authority schedules and vehicle location data, maybe we could actually create an efficient transit system that doesn’t keep people waiting outside, exposed to the elements without shelter, staring up the street wondering how much longer it might be until the bus or streetcar arrives.

HT: James L.

Tags: Digital Democracy, Open Data

This entry was posted on Monday, August 24th, 2009 at 5:11 pm and is filed under Best Practices. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.