Skip to main content

NSW Government to unlock transport data for app developers

The New South Wales (NSW) government in Australia is to unlock its public transport data to app developers to create the next generation of real time transport apps for customers. Announcing the move, Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Andrew Constance said, “We’re inviting the app development community to shape a new Open Data Hub, informing how it will work and what kind of data is available to create the apps customers want. “The NSW Government is already a leader in the open data space with
October 26, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
The New South Wales (NSW) government in Australia is to unlock its public transport data to app developers to create the next generation of real time transport apps for customers.

Announcing the move, Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Andrew Constance said, “We’re inviting the app development community to shape a new Open Data Hub, informing how it will work and what kind of data is available to create the apps customers want.

“The NSW Government is already a leader in the open data space with more than two million downloads of our real time transport apps, but technical limitations have restricted access for the creation of more apps and new ideas.

The state has more than 2,000 subscribers registered for static timetable data on the existing Transport Data Exchange (TDX), but this data and the infrastructure that holds it was built for operators and planners. Until now, this has only allowed the provision of static timetable data to TDX subscribers.

Constance said the government is taking the next step forward with the investment by opening up its data channels for the wider app development community and for customers. He claimed the applications for this transport data are endless and will encourage innovation and ‘outside the box’ thinking that the app development community brings to the table.

“To make sure we get the execution right, we’re asking for advice from app developers to tell us what data should be made available and help build the new Open Data Hub,” he concluded.

App developers will still need to satisfy strict privacy and use conditions in order to receive data from Transport for NSW. Any data made available will be secure, private, and de-personalised including real time train, bus, ferry, light rail and selected Opal travel pattern data.

Related Content

  • CES 2020: ITS does Vegas
    March 3, 2020
    Keen to find out what the future holds, 170,000 people gathered in Las Vegas for CES 2020 to see 20,000 product debuts and 4,400 exhibitors... and ITS International was there too (All images: CES®)
  • Open-source journey planning - the way forward?
    January 23, 2012
    Peter Bell, managing director of journey planning provider Trapeze Group, ponders the business models which will underpin future travel information services from a UK perspective Traditionally, journey planning websites for public transport in the UK (for example, Transport Direct, the Traveline regions or National Rail Enquiries) have been provided by the transport operators keen to increase ridership and revenues, or by public bodies who hope to encourage a modal switch to public transport by making it e
  • Go Denver opens up a world of seamless mobility and better data-driven decisions
    June 5, 2017
    Denver’s pioneering Go Denver mobility-as-a-service app has attracted 7,000 users in a matter of months. Geoff Hadwick heard how at ITS International’s recent conference. If Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) is ever going to work, it needs to have “one universal platform everywhere” according to Sean Mackin, former manager of parking and mobility services at the Denver transportation and mobility department and now Colorado branch manager for ABM Parking & Transportation. Speaking at the recent MaaS Market confe
  • Travel information is heading towards smartphones
    January 30, 2012
    Travel information services are undergoing a step change as rapid increase in sales of smartphones brings ITS technology to consumers' fingertips. A virtuous circle of expanding capability is under way in traffic and travel information services, promising much for drivers and reduction of road congestion. A recent rapid rise in sales of smartphones has boosted numbers of vehicles carrying GPS enabled devices and so brought expansion of traffic data available for analysis and dissemination. Greater numbers o