Please lobby ACTION and ACT Govt to provide bus route and schedule data to Google

ACTION were talking to Google Transit about 6 months ago. I don’t know what the outcome was. Perth has signed up with GT.

My apologies, I missed the reference to Google Transit, now having read more about it, I reckon it looks good.

PsydFX, yes I know Sensis has the data that is for all intents and purposes as good as Google. Right now there is a specific Google Maps application (not a web browser) for the following mobile platforms:
* BlackBerry
* Java
* Windows Mobile (download binary)
* Symbian S60 3rd Edition (most new Nokia smartphones) (download binary)
* Palm OS (download binary)
* iPhone (pre-installed)

Just let me know where I can download the Sensis equivalent. It isn’t in the Itunes store for example.

So Sensis _could_ provide the capabilities, but it doesn’t. Hear that sound? It is the train that just left the station.

Thank you utah … you have made me laugh!

Patrick, Sensis could provide all those capabilities with the exception of Street View.

As for iPhone integration, it’s still likely that you would have to download an application to use it – and if that’s the case, you could just as easily download an application that interfaces with the Sensis engine. And for portable devices in general it’s the development of the website that mandates it’s effective use.

Hmmm… According to the marketing blurb for HASTUS:
http://www.giro.ca/docs/public/pdf/techno/en/GIRO-MKT-HASTUS-ART-TECHE-20081120.pdf

OIG interface tool
A built-in tool, OIG (Object Interface Generator) is provided to build interface file definitions.
…
The tool offers powerful data manipulation and formatting capabilities and can generate interface files either in traditional fixed-field or CSV formats, or as XML documents (with related XSD schema definitions).

So the bar’s now been lowered to “someone who can click on the File menu, and select ‘Save As'”. I guess we’ll have it up and running by the end of next week at the latest…

The Google page you linked says:

If your agency uses schedule software such as Trapeze FX or GIRO HASTUS, your vendor may have an interface that helps you to export the data. Please contact them for details.

This page, which I’ll not link lest I end up in the moderation queue:
http://www.legislation.act.gov.au/di/2002-62/20020823-2034/pdf/2002-62.pdf

..states at point 21 that ACTION own a licence for HASTUS, and presumably use it.

If there’s anyone at ACTION with local admin rights to their workstation, could you install a copy of the HASTUS route exporter and hit “File/Export”, and then pop the file on your website for Google to scan? Or even give it to JohnBoy, I’m sure he’d host it for nothing.

If there’s anyone from the Greens who feels like doing something Green that doesn’t involve land rights for chickens, could you hurry this along?

seekay said :

Bike racks etc? They are a token gesture – and that’s what the ACT Government is all about.

It seems they are getting used (the bike racks). According to an article in City News “the average weekday number of cyclists using bike racks on ACTION buses, and travelling for free, reached 295 bikes in October, a 28.7% increase from the previous month. In three years since the introduction of the racks usage has increased from 200 bikes a week to a record 1941 bikes in the week beginning October 27.” Of course the number of buses equipped with bike racks has grown significantly in this period as well, so this goes some way to explain the increase in usage.

I’m, all for bike racks on buses but I do agree that having less crowded buses and ones that run to the timetable and route should be a priority. I wonder if the use of the bike racks would drop much if the cyclists were charged full fare like everybody else?

The fact ACTION change their routes often is a reason for going to such a service – they make the feed Google does the rest.

As for Where Is – if you have been reading the tech pages, they are giving up and Telstra/White Pages/Sensis will now be using Google Maps for their online services.

In fact Canberra’s rambling public transport system has possibly heaps to gain from location aware mobile devices if some of the information can be mined later on.

Its the future. its Now. I expect ACTION will look into sometime 10 years away.

That DOESN’T MATTER!!!

If they change the route, all they have to do is to ensure that the updated route data is updated at the same time that their published timetable and maps are updated. Google takes a live feed (don’t know how often) and it is all in synch again.

When people fail to read the basic material offered in a base article and then provide uninformed commentary it ensures that Riotact preserves a delicious lightness in terms of information content.

acion changes their routes so often that this would not be up to date for long.

No sorry PsydFX, you missed the point. What Google Maps offers is a combination of things that make this idea attractive.

First is an application that runs in a web browser, but also as a specialist application on iPhone that can present geospatial information whether that is street maps, satellite images or street level images. It is tuned to run on the mobile platform.

Second, it is location aware. It talks directly to the GPS so you can ask for a driving route or a bus route from here to some point.

Third it integrates other positional information, such as geolocated photos, geolocated businesses etc.

So don’t even think about the satellite imagery part. Think about “I’m walking down the street and I get a call from a friend suggesting a coffee. How can I get from here to Bunda Street by bus? What time will I get there? What bus do I catch and where from? Google Maps answers these questions, and it does it if I am in Perth, Adelaide, San Francisco etc. etc. etc. etc.

All ACTION have to do is provide access to the data (which is currently exposed only as the html and pdf timetables) in the right format, Google do the rest!

And as to Sensis data, I don’t have to know the best routes or have the best street level data, I just have to know where the bus routes go. It is up to ACTION to define each bus route. All Google do is read the timetable and draw it roughly on the map.

Satellite imagery, while a cool technology and all is probably overkill for bus routes, personally I would prefer mapping data to come from an Australian company like Sensis / Where Is.

I got feedback from ACTION … well at least it was quick even if it wasn’t good. It says:

ACTION are currently working on the route finder and will be available
for public use via ACTION’s website at http://www.action.act.gov.au as soon as
possible.

Didn’t they read my message? I gave them a pointer to the Google Maps thing, explained the (mobile) functionality but whoever responded just thought I’d asked for an online route planner. I responded that they should have this as well…

This is a feature lacking of the ACTION website that has often annoyed me – and a mate of mine was even recently suggesting how they should modify the site and integrate it with Google Earth. So yeah, why not send ACTION an email (I just did), if nothing else it will give them some entertainment and a warm fuzzy feeling that people actually care about what they do.

But I must say, I’ll just be surprised if they even respond to my email (regardless of whether it is positive or negative).

Bike racks etc? They are a token gesture – and that’s what the ACT Government is all about.

And talking of token gestures, why haven’t the Greens send out free fabric swatches for the curtains they’ve promised us.

Planning a journey using public transport in Canberra could almost become viable 😉

A vaguely decent public transport service would be a better thing for ACTION to focus on, rather than bells and whistles (and bike racks,etc).

Dude, they can’t even get the info posted at the bus stops right. My local stop (a terminus at that) (Lanyon marketplace) has the new standard sign with timetable info but leaves off half the busses that stop there.

And their SMS info system is a joke.

Your not seriously thinking that the ACT Govt \ ACTION would do anything useful?

They don’t even like having to run a bus service, they only do it because otherwise it would put Queanbeyan on top with services.

I once tried to get ACTION to fix up a single route that was always over capacity on every day except Thursday, and yet they decided to do their checks on Thursday. (even though they where told that on Thursdays it’s not a problem) the result, nada.

Yes, ACTION truely is the perfect example of how not to run a bus service for a city.