Organisations of all sizes have data that is of benefit to users both inside and outside their boundaries (both in the private and public sectors). Therefore having the tools and processes to find and share this data should make things run more efficiently and effectively... hopefully.
In a recent client conversation, we discussed the creation
of a data portal / platform for the easier discovery and sharing of data. This
inevitably led to the discussion about the types of data that the organisation
wanted to share and who they wanted to share it with. Leading to the realisation
that they actually had the need for sharing data that ranged from the very
secure (restricted customer or commercially sensitive information) through to
Open Data (information that they wanted to share for free outside of the
organisation). They also had requirements for sharing data that sat somewhere
in the murky area between those two extremes (information limited either by
license or by access / user) including some they wanted to monetize.
https://www.theodi.org/about-the-odi/the-data-spectrum/
So creating a single data sharing technology platform that
can share any sort of organisation data creates a number of issues:
Privacy and security:
Balancing accessibility and protection is tricky. You want your service to be
easy to use, but with more sensitive data, strict access controls and strong
security measures are vital.
Data standardisation:
Different users across an organizations often format their
data differently. Such a service needs to be able to handle these
inconsistencies or offer tools to convert data to a common format for sharing.
Traceability & reusability:
Data consumers need to understand how the data was collected
and what it can be used for. Your service should provide clear audit trails and
data provenance, as well as ways of licensing and charging for the data -
especially if the data consumer is an external user.
In advance of the World Passenger Festival 2023, I was asked to answer a few questions. These were published in a document for those attending. (Question 1 is here , Question 2 is here, Question 3 is here, Question 4 is here and Question 5 is here)
If you had one message for the public transport industry,
what would it be?
Transport is no longer about regional applications, platforms
or even modes.
It is about making data F.A.I.R. (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable &
Reusable) across entire mobility ecosystems, to quickly take advantage of new
technologies and achieve Net Zero.
In advance of the World Passenger Festival 2023, I was asked to answer a few questions. These were published in a document for those attending. (Question 1 is here , Question 2 is here, Question 3 is here and Question 4 is here)
Here's the fifth question.
AI is the technology of the moment: do you think the
public transport sector is taking the most of the opportunity with this
technology? What do the possibilities look like?
It is pretty hard to avoid the mass of AI related articles
and opinions right now. With Artificial Intelligence ‘experts’ seemingly
appearing from every direction (especially on LinkedIn!).
But it is obvious that our sector is not currently making
full use of this technology. Sure, some more innovative companies have been
using Machine Learning (ML) processes for some while, such as to ‘watch’ video
clips & automatically report safety issues or to cleverly merge disparate
transport data sources to analyse & enrich them. But transport is already
late to the AI party in many ways.
As an example, the current generation of Generative AI services (e.g. Chat GPT & Google Bard) learn by taking in huge amounts of content and processing it to create in-depth replies to a range of questions. But these services are limited at scraping documents & websites, so the best way to train them is to provide them with access to APIs of data sources. But in a sector where the zipped-up text file is often the most popular data exchange format … we are missing the technological opportunity to train these services properly and then learn how to use them for better public transport.
In advance of the World Passenger Festival 2023, I was asked to answer a few questions. These were published in a document for those attending. (Question 1 is here , Question 2 is here and Question 3 is here)
Here's the fourth question.
You are a big proponent of open data, what is the benefit
of this approach?
Yes, I am. But firstly, let’s be very clear on the
definition of Open Data:
“Open data is data that can be freely used, re-used and
redistributed by anyone - subject only, at most, to the requirement to
attribute and share alike.”
https://opendatahandbook.org/guide/en/what-is-open-data/
Open Data is NOT data that is shared but limited in its subsequent
use. Open Data is NOT data that a company charges some else for using. Open
Data is NOT specific customer account data that is securely shared with a third
party (that’s what the UK Government calls ‘Smart Data’).
Open Data is the type of data which sits on the far right of
The Data Spectrum and has significant potential benefits for the transport
& mobility sector and society.
https://opentransport.co.uk/the-data-spectrum-for-transport-mobility/
These benefits include:
- transparency & accountability of transport operations
- time saving from better informed journeys
- growth from data-powered innovations
- reduction in costs for providing information (e.g. contact
centres)
- integration of other providers & modes (e.g. healthier
/ greener options)
With a study by Transport for London back in 2017 showing
that the release of their Open Data is generating £130m annually.
The UK Department for Transport (DfT) has also fully embraced
the use of Open Data. In its recent Transport Data Strategy “Innovation through
data” it clearly states that:
“Data should be open by default and using open standards”
This ‘Open by default’ approach means that UK public transportation
providers must now make their data openly available, unless it is controlled
(e.g. it is sensitive), and DfT will even challenge data owners as to why they
cannot make their mobility data open.
In advance of the World Passenger Festival 2023, I was asked to answer a few questions. These were published in a document for those attending. (Question 1 is here and Question 2 is here)
Here's the third question.
What are the biggest opportunities you see for data
applications in the transport space?
There’s a few of major transport data trends taking shape in
different regions and countries right now, which should enable much better
services for both passenger & freight services.
1 System standardisation
The sector is moving towards more standardised and interoperable data technologies
that are going to make it much easier and cheaper to implement new digital mobility
systems. This is demonstrated by the success of the Open Sales and Distribution
Model (OSDM), a pan-European transport authority & supplier initiative that
has developed & published an Open Standard API specification for rail
retailing.
Hint: If your new online retailing service RFP does not specify the use of
OSDM, you may find yourself with more technical complexity & cost in the
longer-term.
2 Multi-modal and multi-sector data collaboration
Each mode of transport is gradually realising that it needs to standardise its
data and provide it in a more consistent and accessible way. But this work is
still happening in relative isolation from each other mode and also from other
sectors. For example… buses don’t just share the roads with private cars and
motorbikes, they also share them with taxis, delivery lorries, refuse collection
trucks, sightseeing coaches, and emergency vehicles. But there’s little to no
discussion, let alone collaboration effort, between the various standards bodies
to ensure that one sector’s definition of something (e.g. a road, a pavement,
etc.) is the same as another’s.
By working with these different sector standards bodies (e.g. smart cities,
utilities, tourism, etc.) now, we can hopefully save a lot of data focused
effort and re-work in the future.
3 The development of Data Sharing Platforms
RDG has made a great step forward to making UK train data more discoverable and
usable, with the recent introduction of the Rail Data Marketplace. And other
countries are doing the same, by launching their own transport data sharing
platforms.
The obvious next step in their evolution is to extend the scope of these
platforms to provide new, innovative, and trusted data sources for an entire country-wide
mobility ecosystem, as well as supporting data-driven innovations such as
Digital Twins.
4 Moving from historic to predictive data
We are now very good at collecting & analysing transport data about things
that have happened in the past (e.g. tickets purchased, journeys made, delays
incurred, etc.). However, we are far less accomplished at working out what is
going to happen, even in the near future, so that we can understand demand and
create better experiences for passengers.
The annoying thing is a lot of relevant data for making
better transport predictions is already available, it’s just not aligned. For
example, systems already know when planes and ferries are going to be delayed
in the next few hours and others know when large festivals & concerts are
going to take place months in advance.
In advance of the World Passenger Festival 2023, I was asked to answer a few questions. These were published in a document for those attending. (Question 1 is here)
Here's the second question.
What is your vision for the future of public transport
and where are the biggest challenges we face today?
We are all unfortunately doing a great job of destroying our
environment. We are doing this by pumping so much new Carbon Dioxide and other
gases into our atmosphere that it reflects heat back at us and cooks the
planet. Second on the list of the biggest Greenhouse Gas emitters (after Energy
production) is our own sector, which includes all passenger & freight
transportation via land, sea and air. We therefore have a responsibility to
stop this and urgently move to modes that can convey people and goods for the
least amount of carbon.
Public transport therefore has a huge role to play in our
shift to Net Zero, especially as part of a more joined-up mobility ecosystem.
Or put more clearly… all multi-modal mobility services & platforms must now
have sustainable public transport at their core.
One key data related challenge, that most people across the
sector are not yet aware of, is customer data lock-in. The GDPR Right to Data
Portability is very clear and enforceable. It allows individuals to obtain and
reuse their personal data for their own purposes across different services.
Meaning they have the right to move, copy or transfer personal data easily from
transport platform to another in a safe and secure way, without affecting its
usability. But when you look at the functionality of most transport accounts,
there’s no way for a customer to move their data between providers and
platforms. It therefore cannot be exported, shared, or integrated with data
from other modes and providers to create a more holistic view of a passenger’s
tickets & journeys. Also, with many regions or city authorities either
having recently implemented or now looking to introduce different Account Based
Ticketing and Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) apps, the issue of locked-in transport
data is going to get worse. Then, once this GDPR Right starts to be enforced by
the relevant governments, the sector will have a lot of work on its hands to
change systems and processes quickly.
What does data portability have to do with Net Zero aims?
Well, I believe that it is only by having a completely joined up view of all
mobility data, can we then hope to properly change customer behaviour and move
them to more sustainable public transport modes. Or stated more simply… no
data, no decarbonisation!
