ITP uses open data to inform and expand our analysis of travel patterns and transport issues for projects around the world.
Our in-house data science experts have the capability to create and apply open data to a range of transport projects. We specialise in using web-based and geospatial data visualisation techniques to highlight key trends, routinely feeding open data into analysis and visualisation software tools we have created for specific purposes.
We are able to combine freely-available open data on topics such as public transport schedules, the condition of highway networks, and geospatial road links, with datasets that we collect and manage on behalf of our clients.
We regularly contribute to OpenStreetMap, and have helped Ordnance Survey with the development of open data standards (CityGML) for mapping the accessible streetscape and indoor accessibility features.
At present, public transport usage data and road traffic speeds come from disparate sources - offering a limited picture of how city transport networks function. Maximising the value of this data requires better aggregation tools than are currently available.
ITP won innovation research funding from the Department for Transport (DfT) to develop DemandVis - a tool that reduces data processing effort and provides an interactive web-based environment for exploring aggregated travel survey and open datasets. The tool facilitates rapid understanding of local travel demands and enables comparisons with public transport supply, which we derive from GTFS service schedules.
DemandVis forms part of ITP’s growing suite of smart data collection, analysis, and modelling tools. It streamlines the process of analysing and optimising public transport networks to meet local mobility needs.
Dhaka’s rapid population and economic growth means it is a focus for mass rapid transit investment, and the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA) was established to plan and manage these new services with support from international donor banks.
ITP was appointed to work alongside World Bank colleagues to provide capacity-building support and advice to the DTCA, with a specific focus on integrating open data and evidence-based planning techniques. We shared knowledge of international open transport data specifications (GTFS) and accessibility modelling; applying open source software tools developed by our sister company Conveyal to a series of interactive training courses delivered in Dhaka.
Our work resulted in a research-quality GTFS feed for the city, and a published report that estimated current and future differences between men and women’s accessibility to key local services and jobs.
Metro Manila’s complex network of 1,300 privately-operated passenger transport routes can seem impenetrable for the city's 22.9 million residents and visitors alike. Making sense of it all was a critical precursor to detailed transport appraisal of potential new mass rapid transit routes.
The World Bank commissioned ITP to model Metro Manila’s public transport routes using the General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) that powers Google’s online journey planning tool. We combined printed franchise data with ground-truth mapping of each bus route and key stopping points using TransitWand – a dedicated survey app developed through the project.
ITP’s work, in partnership with the University of the Philippines, informed Metro Manila’s first ever bus maps. We also built capacity among Government staff for using open source software tools to maintain the GTFS dataset and exploit it in the future. A ‘Hack-a-Thon’ with the local tech community resulted in the city’s first online journey planner, with the underlying data informing supply and demand modelling to make the case for Bus Rapid Transit line investment and major restructuring of the city’s public transport network.
