Real-Time Transit Information – A Regional 511 Perspective

Nisar Ahmed

June 13, 2013T3 Webinar, RITA

What’s covered

• The Agency

• Transit landscape

• Regional connectivity and coordination

• 511 stitching it together

• A look ahead

2

The Agency: who we are

3

• MPO for the nine county San Francisco Bay Area region

• Governed by a policy board, mostly appointed by local elected officials

• Transportation planning, coordinating, and financing agency

• Bay Area Toll Authority

• Service Authority for Freeways and Expressways

Bay Area transit

4

The region

West and South Bay

East Bay

North Bay

Transit connectivity: regional hubs

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Transit connectivity: Wayfinding

6

Kiosk

Hub ID sign

In the hub

TIDs

One card, all transit

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• What 511 Delivers• Traffic – real-time highway conditions and driving times; historical travel times

• Transit – travel planning and real-time departures

• Ridesharing & bicycling

• Parking - location and real-time availability

• Emergency messaging (bridge closure, transit work stoppages)

One source of information

8

• Transit hub signs

• How It’s Delivered• Phone – 511

• Web – 511.org

• Mobile – m.511.org

• App – 511 SF Bay Transit

• Texting (SMS)

• Highway traffic CMSs

• Ferry flap sign

• Data feeds

Path of accomplishments

9

Phone

Driving Times

New Transit Trip Planner and Revamped Transit Webpages

Real-time Transit Departures

Twitter Updates

School Pool

Website – Traffic, Transit, Rideshare & Bicycling

Driving Times on Highway Changeable Message Signs

MY511 Personalized Service

Mobile Website

Driving Times & Real-time Transit APIs

Real-time Transit Texting

Bike Mapper

Multi-modal Trip Planner

New Traffic Website

Transit App

Parking

20022004

2007

2008

2010

2011

2012

Popular source for info

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“511.org is the most useful web site I have ever encountered. This web site should be located on all Bay Area residents favorites list!”

49 Million Calls

200 Million

Web User Sessions

12,700 Twitter

Followers

Real-time transit on the phone

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• Dial abbreviated number ‘511’

• Say ‘Departure Times’

• Provide stop ID or use the help menu to navigate through the agency, route, direction, and stop name

Real-time transit on the web

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• Real-time prediction tool on desktop web

• Real-time predictions with the trip planner on desktop web

• Real-time prediction tool on mobile web

• Also available through texting

• Soon to be added to the Enhanced Trip Planner (Multi-modal)

Real-time on digital displays

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Hub signFlap signTransit Tracker

Open data exchange

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• Standardize data collection and delivery

• Support for bulk as well as ad-hoc query based data needs

• Collection and delivery of static (configuration) and real-time data

• Adoption of available standards

• Easy and streamlined access to data

Transit data flow architecture

Realtime Data

Config Data

511 XML / GTFS+ / manual

511 XML / SIRI XML

Email / FTP

JMS: publish/subscribe

API (SIRI,

NeTEx)

GTFS

Convert GTFS-Realtime

External Developer

using bulk data

511 Tools

External Developer using

ad-hoc query

Open data development timeline

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• Workshop was held on March 28, 2013

• Complete revised specification to be published this month through our developer group

• API development and deployment expected to be completed this Summer

• Organize a launch event in Fall