Skip to main content

New API unlocks travel value for Bristol

A new application programme interface (API) developed by UrbanThings for Bristol City Council claims to provide easy and free access to a huge wealth of transport data in one place, making it possible for innovative technologies to be developed. The Bristol API supports the Council’s approach to opening up data sets, as it already does through the Bristol open data portal and is being further developed by the Bristol Is Open project. The wider aim is to work with the technology community to explore ways
January 5, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
A new application programme interface (API) developed by UrbanThings for Bristol City Council claims to provide easy and free access to a huge wealth of transport data in one place, making it possible for innovative technologies to be developed.

The Bristol API supports the Council’s approach to opening up data sets, as it already does through the Bristol open data portal and is being further developed by the Bristol Is Open project. The wider aim is to work with the technology community to explore ways to use and present the data framed around relevant and actual transport challenges in the city.

The new web-based service has been specifically designed to provide information such as live bus and train times, stop locations, route maps and other data, although it is not restricted to public transport.

Developers interested in building apps, websites, connected devices or even customer information displays will be able to use transport data for Bristol and the West of England region completely free for the next year.

It also gives instant updates on occupancy in local car parks as well as electric vehicle charging locations. It is currently possible to provide live statistics on bicycle dock availability in London and New York, meaning the API could be attractive to developers and further adding to the benefits of The Bristol API.

Related Content

  • July 7, 2017
    Missouri’s smart solution for rural road monitoring
    David Crawford sees how Missouri is using commercially available information to rapidly improve monitoring and driver information on rural highways. Missouri is a predominantly rural state with the second largest number of farms in the country and agriculture the main occupation in 97 of its 114 counties. US statistics starkly reveal how road accidents in rural areas tend to be more serious than in urban regions and of the 32,000 US motorists killed each year, 54% die on roads in rural areas even though onl
  • June 5, 2018
    MaaS must be seamless and invisible - or forget it
    MaaS experts from around the world converged on ITS International’s MaaS Market Atlanta conference to talk about how MaaS can be implemented in the US. Andrew Bardin Williams had a front row seat. Transportation experts from around the world gathered in the US earlier this month to discuss the future of Mobility as a Service (MaaS) and how it could be deployed in the US market. While most attendees at ITS International’s MaaS Market Atlanta conference were familiar with the MaaS concept, the US’s highly
  • December 30, 2022
    What does 2023 have in store for ITS?
    From VRUs to EVs, from customer experience to connected vehicles, here are some thoughts...
  • December 10, 2015
    Phoenix rises to the Smart City challenge
    Andrew Bardin Williams looks at the City of Phoenix where voters backed a $30bn plan to revamp its transportation network to cultivate a more connected community. According to a Land Use Institute study, half of all Americans and even more millennials (63%) would like to live in a place where they do not need to use a car very often. The City of Phoenix is putting in place plans to revamp its urban development and transportation policies to meet these changing quality of life perceptions.