Ito World is working with Department for Transport to deliver second phase of successful BODS project
30th June 2020, London – Following our work, alongside KPMG, to help launch the Department for Transport’s Bus Open Data Service (BODS) in January 2020, the DfT announced in June/July 2020 that reporting and analytical services will be added to the Service. Once again, the team at Ito World is excited to be the delivery partner on the second phase of this transformative project.
The service extensions will be rolled out from Autumn 2020, continuing throughout 2021, and will deliver better data to passengers, and enable national and local governments, regulators, and operators to monitor bus network performance across the whole of England.
Bus networks are critical transport lifelines to millions across the UK. Accurate, timely and accountable data will help operators improve their service provision and enable local authorities to enhance transport in their regions directly and through partners and, ultimately, ensure passengers can make the most from their bus services.
The addition of an Integrated Transit Model will match real-time data to timetables, archive historical data, and deliver easier to use GTFS and GTFS-RT data feeds to app developers, helping to drive innovation. A reporting and analytics suite will also enable a constant, real-time view of the national bus network at any point in time and provide valuable metrics to track and monitor performance of services across England.
The latest BODS announcements build on the Secretary of State’s aim to digitally transform the delivery of bus services across England. Legal requirements for bus service providers to publish their data openly come into force later this year, with timetables needing to be published by 31 December 2020, followed by fares and vehicle location data from 7 January 2021. These requirements will ensure greater transparency to passengers to help them use the UK’s bus network.
“These extensions significantly further the ability of BODS to digitally transform the delivery of bus services and, ultimately, the passenger experience. They will help revolutionise the way in which the DfT, and other stakeholders, collect and analyse bus data, enabling us to identify network optimisations more easily and help us support operators in reporting their on-time performance statistics.”
Meera Nayyar, Head of Passenger Experience (Buses and Taxis) DfT