1. Public Transports in Data Age
Too much data, not enough knowledge
Teresa Galvão Dias -FEUP
Dezembro 2011

2. Citizens mobility is a major problem
Cities are increasing very fast which
demands a well structured plan for
mobility and transportation planning.
Transportation and traffic issues are
major concerns for governments,
authorities and municipalities.
Promoting the use of public transports is
vital for environmental sustainability and
to reduce carbon emissions.
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3. The Data Age
• Data has became central to all activities and
business areas.
• Concerning mobility and transports, data may
come from different data sources, with different
owners, providers and users.
• Mobility and Transport Data is
› dispersed
› complex
› Valuable
There is some gap between the amount of data and information available
and the knowledge that we can extract from it.
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4. Data sources
Raw data
› GPS data
› Mobile data
› Sensor data
› Publicly available planning data (e.g., GTFS)
Proprietary systems
› GIS (Geographic Information Systems)
› Operational Planning Decision Support Systems
› Fleet Management Systems
› Fleet Maintenance Systems
› Ticketing Systems
› ERP Systems
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5. Data providers
Who owns the data?
› Public transport operators
› Transport authorities
› Government organizations
Who has access to the data?
› Software houses
› Public transport operators... sometimes…
Who will provide the data?
› Data owners... however…
› Software houses …. however…
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6. Data users
All these data is useful to: What for?
• Politicians • Defining the offer
• Urban planners and policy makers • Understanding the demand
• Income distribution among operators
• Resources planning and management
• Public Transport Operators • Controlling the operations
• Evaluating the operation
• Passengers and Citizens • Public Information
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7. Public Transport new challenges
Better resource planning allows the
company to control costs and to offer
a better service.
Passengers are more and more
exigent concerning public transport
services.
Updated and real time passenger
information promotes the use of
public transports
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8. Resource planning
Current trends
Solutions Information Interaction
› Interactive › Integrated › Good Usability
› Smart › Consistent › GUI based
› Robust › Online › Flexibility
› Fast
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9. Passenger Information
Current trends
Mobility Information Technology
› Flexibility (customization: › Integrated › Geo-referenced data (GIS)
paths, timetables, vehicles)
› Intelligent › Position (GPS)
› Integration (intermodality)
› Interactive › Portability (smartphones)
› Environment (consumption,
air, noise) › Visual (graphics, map based) › Mobile (GSM, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth,
infrareds, ...)
› Online
› Informatics (processors,
graphics)
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10. SOME EXAMPLES
IN PLANNING AND SCHEDULING
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11. Optimization and Transportation Planning
Planning and scheduling
GIST 3 – Network module
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12. Optimization and Transportation Planning
Planning and scheduling
GIST 3 - Vehicle and driver scheduling
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13. Optimization and Transportation Planning
Operations Control
GESBUS
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14. SOME EXAMPLES
IN PASSENGER INFORMATION
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15. Optimization and Transportation Planning
SMSBUS ® - Real Time Information with Text Messages
› 40.000 messages a day during
initial month of free usage
(4.000, after 0.20€ cost).
› 2005: 1st prize IV Fórum Telecom
“Public Services of Information”.
› 2006: 1st prize Deloitte/Diário
Económico “Electronic Services
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16. Optimization and Transportation Planning
INFOBOARD: real time information using large displays
for Porto Metropolitan Area
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17. Optimization and Transportation Planning
INFOBOARD: real time information using large displays
for Porto Metropolitan Area
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18. Optimization and Transportation Planning
SPIDER MAPS
Automatic production of
Spider Map Posters
› Schematic maps with all bus
routes available from one
specific area
› An optimization approach
being applied in partnership
with FWT, UK
› It is already being used by
STCP (Porto) and Carris
(Lisbon) but it can be
extended to a metropolitan
area
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19. Optimization and Transportation Planning
Move-me.com - Real time multimodal route planner
Internet Application ANDROID System
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20. Optimization and Transportation Planning
www.rotapartilhada.com - carpooling web platform
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21. Too much data, not enough knowledge
There is a huge amount of data collected by heterogeneous data sources that
are successfully used for specific purposes.
However, to take full advantage of the available data there is the need of:
› Systems INTEGRATION
› COLLABORATION among operators and organizations
› POLITICAL commitment
› Resources QUALIFICATION
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22. Conclusions
A new era requires innovative solutions for
public transport services.
Most of these solutions involve complex
problems often requiring intelligent
approaches.
Solid knowledge and innovative ideas for
transport planning and public information are
needed.
Political and institutional commitment play a
major role in this new generation of products
and services.
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