12 March 2014

Melbourne public transport: Tram, train, bus users stranded with unusable data

The inability to use Google to plot public transport journeys in Melbourne has long been a source of frustration, made all the more galling by the fact that it can be done in every other Australian capital.

Use Google Maps to find the best way to get from the CBD to St Kilda, say, and you'll see options on how to get there by car, bicycle or on foot, but not by train, tram or bus. This is because the state has never publicly released its timetable data to be used by Google or any other developer.

Public Transport Victoria took a step towards fixing this situation on Thursday when it quietly released an "app programming interface" containing the state's timetable data. But just as PTV's own smartphone app was swamped by hostile reviews upon its release almost two years ago, this latest move by the authority has failed to please either the app developers or public transport advocates, who both say the data release is virtually useless.

The data has been released to conform to a state government policy to make its data available for the public good, in a format that "matches the operational needs of our business", PTV says. But it was evidently not released in a format that matches the needs of most developers who want to make apps for the public.

Rob Amos, who developed the popular TramTracker app for iPhones, said the release was so limited in scope it was effectively "targeted at the hobbyist developer".

Google will not use the data in its current format, so Melbourne will remain a public transport black spot on Google Maps.

"We look forward to receiving transit information from Public Transport Victoria in an accessible format so that we can work with them to include their data feed on Google Maps," a spokesman said.


PTV said the release included timetable data for all train, tram, bus and V/Line services, plus myki outlets.

Tony Morton, president of the Public Transport Users Association, said PTV was "meeting the public halfway".

"It's not the full publication that you have in other places," Dr Morton said.

"In other parts of the world it's virtually a no-brainer that this is public transport and so the information is just published and there is no attempt to impose rules on how people use it [because] it's information that ultimately belongs to the public."

Jill Hennessy, the shadow minister for public transport, said Labor would, if elected in November, see that the data was fully released and in a more user-friendly format for developers.

"The culture of secrecy surrounding transport data has meant commuters have been stuck with PTV’s crappy app, which doesn’t even have a map function," Ms Hennessy said.

"Sadly the Napthine government’s limited release of data won’t bring our public transport technology out of the dinosaur age."

PTV said the release included timetable data for all train, tram, bus, and V/Line services, plus myki outlets.

A Napthine government spokeswoman said the data release was "evidence we are open for business, and committed to facilitating third party providers to develop innovative and customer focused applications".

"The Coalition government will work with industry to ensure data formats meet business needs so that new applications can add value to the products already provided by PTV," she said.

theage.com.au 11 Mar 2014

The results from the actions of a policy of secrecy from the police state of Victoria.

Keeping the corporate slaves (general populous) in the dark is high on the agenda.

Public transport is exactly what it suggests, transport for the public, and not 'secret agents' therefore any information pertaining to the transport system can be published.

Since the Victorian government is a business headed by Dr. Napthine, this policy could be discouraging overseas tourists, therefore effecting the state's economy.

Such action is therefore bad for business and Dr. Napthine's employment should be terminated immediately.

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