Public transport shakeup required for data

A new guide released this week has looked into how local local authorities and the wider public sector are delivering transport services through data

The "Local authority guide to emerging transport technology", jointly authored by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) and Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS), has been published as the UK government last week closed down its Transport Direct information website. The Department for Transport (DfT) said the decision to discontinue the service after 10 years was the result of a number of equivalent journey planning tools available to the public.

It is in this marketplace that IET and ITS have released their new guidelines, detailing case studies of how authorities are using new and emerging technologies to improve public transport services, while potentially cutting the costs required.

"Examples range from smartphone apps to determine road and cycle path conditions, to Bluetooth systems that allow transport operators and planners to analyse journeys across multiple transport modes in near real-time," said IET.

"It also discusses some of the important issues when implementing these new solutions, including open standards, security and privacy issues."

Among other key challenges currently facing the UK public transport planning, the report said authorities also had to address issues such as congestion, accessibility to services, air quality, improved information provision and supporting greener options like electric vehicles.

Considering the dual requirements of curbing spending and improving service quality - the guide noted there was growing demand among local authorities to discover how new technologies can overcome the sometimes contradictory nature of doing 'more for less'.

More widespread connectivity to online services was highlighted as a major change to how communications are delivered, with data sharing between different authorities and geographical locations seen as a key benefit to integrate and automate systems.

To make use of these services, the guide stressed the importance of having appropriate security and privacy protection to ensure public safety and confidence in any new systems.

Information that can be used to identify individuals through personal information was seen as a notable risk from open data use, requiring information to be sufficiently anonymised to ensure the public are comfortable in using such services going forward.

"From a security perspective, the procurement of systems and services must address security in a holistic fashion. This should include appropriate measures to address the following system security attributes: confidentiality, possession and/or control, integrity, authenticity, availability, utility and safety," said the guide.

According to the findings, when releasing local authority information, a short licence outlining requirements of any agreement - like placing limits on the maximum number of data requests available in a specific period of time and ensuring data users clearly detail the source of any information used - should be considered.

The guide also touched upon the importance of open standards in supporting innovative services that can be supported across a number of different user platforms, stressing the importance of good engineering and business practices.

Security was once again identified as a key concern for building services around public data, with authorities called upon to ensure anonymised data was not being used alongside other publically available information in a way that individuals could be identified.

Strong communication protocols in line with industry standards were also advised with secure protocols like SSL being recommended to send or handle sensitive or authenticated data.

The guide also pointed to several examples of local councils embracing technology to push forward with innovative transport strategies including:

• A collaboration between Sunderland City Council and the Met Office to deliver a transport and weather information pilot to address traffic build up.
• Hampshire County Council implementing a 'smarter' street lighting and signage programme that is claimed to have curbed Co2 emissions by 4,000 tonnes.

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