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

  • Call for a new vision for ITS in America
    February 6, 2012
    Pete Goldin talks to Dr. Joseph Sussman, Chairman of the ITS Program Advisory Committee, about the state of intelligent transport systems in America
  • Peter Norton: “My fear is that the technology itself is mistaken for the answer”
    August 5, 2022
    Peter Norton, author of Autonorama, tells Adam Hill why automakers kept the consumer dissatisfied, why Futurama got such a hold on the public imagination – and about how active travel can be promoted
  • Sydney completes transition to ticketless public transport
    August 12, 2016
    Sydney, Australia, has retired its last paper public transport tickets and completed the transition to the Cubic-designed Opal smart card ticketing system. Launched in December 2012, the Opal card system, which was designed, installed and operated by Cubic, is now used for 95 percent of all public transport trips. To date, customers have taken 800 million trips and more than 7.5 million cards have been issued. Starting this month, the old-style paper tickets will no longer be sold or accepted, markin
  • Are road user charging systems too complicated?
    February 27, 2012
    At any conference or exhibition, it tends to be the ad libs and asides, the departures from the scripted or official lines, which are the most telling. In mid-February, ITS-UK's Road User Charging Interest Group met in London. The event was no exception to that statement. Keith Mortimer, the Group's chairman, and his colleagues put together one of the better programmes on charging and tolling that I've seen in recent years. Sadly, however, the very positive presentations on deployments and technological pro