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

  • Bringing the Internet of Mobility to life
    July 16, 2021
    As we chart our route to the ITS World Congress in Hamburg, a recent Ertico-ITS Europe webinar explored the future of connectivity including policy, infrastructure and security
  • Cut freight deliveries – improve Southampton’s air quality
    November 23, 2018
    Taking the pressure off cities’ road networks can have a beneficial effect on the environment. David Crawford looks at a new economic model which seeks to quantify the societal effect of freight traffic in Southampton, one of the UK’s five most polluted cities Cuts of 60% or more in volumes of freight deliveries are being predicted - along with badly-needed improvements in air quality - from a load consolidation scheme currently being introduced in the UK port city of Southampton. The forecasts are based o
  • MaaS Market Conferences on both sides of the Atlantic in 2018
    December 20, 2017
    Momentum shift in prospect as authorities accelerate plans to rethink transport provision. TS International’s second, two-day international MaaS Market conference takes place on 20 and 21 February 2018. The Mobility as a Service (MaaS) event is ideal for all organisations exploring new ways of getting people to their destination and new methods for them to pay for transport services.
  • Brooklyn eyes Bogota’s BRT system
    June 17, 2016
    David Crawford considers the increased interest in bus rapid transit and looks that the latest trends. Bus rapid transit (BRT) is gaining an increasingly high profile in the US public transport agenda, for two main reasons. One is the potential for ‘trains on wheels’ to save substantially on installation costs as compared with other modes such as underground metros or light-rail transit. Another, highlighted in the case of New York City, is the value of having a rapid surface-based alternative available whe