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Source: http://www.trb.org/Publications/Blurbs/165626.aspx

This issue of the Legal Research Digest discusses the legal importance of real-time data usage to over 6,000 transit agencies in the United States. Technological advancements in the collection and distribution of real-time data have thus raised some issues regarding the ownership of such data, as well as the implications of advertising and releasing data to the public.

Recurrent themes within Research Digest 37 are copyright law and the protection of transit agencies’ real-time data, the applicability of copyright laws to computer programs that collect or disseminate data, and agencies’ proprietary rights when it comes to such data.

For the full report, please click here.

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Source: http://www.gis-t.org/

The GIS-T 2012 Mainframe to Mainstream 25 Years of Progress symposium is being held in Loveland, Colorado from April 16-18 this year. In addition to the forum, workshops will be held on April 15. Sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), GIS-T aims to bring together transportation professionals, executives, and GIS/Information Technology Specialists to promote the utilization of GIS for transportation-related systems.

Six concurrent sessions will consist of four presentation sections each, which will highlight best practices and illustrate common needs in integrating GIS successfully within one’s organization. Moreover, a showcase of map products and electronic displays will exhibit successful GIS projects and Web Mapping applications. Participants are encouraged to emphasize their own successes in implementing GIS technology by submitting products to the symposium. Prizes will be awarded as well.

For more information on the GIS-T symposium and submission information, please click here.

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Source: http://www.fastcodesign.com

Utilizing geotagged tweets, Eric Fischer creates maps that visualize how people move throughout cities. The result highlights transit corridors that are the most traveled, as well as areas of opportunity in providing transit. The above map illustrates those transit corridors most traveled, with the darker, more pronounced inkblots representing higher travel densities.

Fischer’s maps are exemplars of ubiquitous sensor technology – utilizing Twitter and networking to provide information on a scale not seen before. And as a result, other aspects of urban design can be influential in the transit planning process.

For the full article, please click here.

Continue reading »]]> Webinar Date: Wednesday, February 29, 2012, 1:00pm EDT

Webinar Description:

National Rural Transit Assistance Program’s (RTAP) General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) Builder web app is a set of tools—simple Excel spreadsheets, checklists, and videos—that will help transit agencies prepare bus route and schedule data files to support the integrated Google Transit trip planner, customizable OpenTripPlanner, 511 traveler information systems, and other rider-friendly mobile and on-line software applications.  Through shared GTFS data your agency and RTAP managers may see new ways to enhance partnerships, as well as help riders get where they need to go.

GTFS Builder provides step-by-step guidance on how to put your transportation information into GTFS format, including:

• Evaluating whether your transit agency should proceed with GTFS Builder
• Data management and downloading the necessary GTFS Excel files/tools
• Gathering and updating data such as bus stops and schedules
• Generating stop times and trips
• Wrapping up, validating and testing new routes
• Coordinating with Google to share your information and request to go live

During the webinar, you will learn how to access the free GTFS Builder through National RTAP in the Cloud, download the GTFS tools and set up your workstation.  You’ll also get an overview of all the GTFS Builder tools and available support.

Webinar Objectives: The objectives of this webinar are to:

• Discuss the benefits that GTFS data can generate for your transit agency
• Introduce transit managers to National RTAP’s free GTFS Builder web app
• Show how to access GTFS Builder through National RTAP in the Cloud
• Demonstrate use of the GTFS Builder tools to create a GTFS file

Webinar Presenters:

John Krause, Mobility Program Manager, Idaho Department of Transportation and National RTAP Review Board Member (Moderator)

John Krause is a Mobility Program Manager within Idaho Transportation Department’s Division of Transportation Performance.  John provides a liaison between mobility in Idaho and the state’s implementation of Federal Transit Administration and Federal Highway Administration programs.

John has been with ITD for nearly ten years, the first three of which he spent managing the Department’s information technology infrastructure and data center.

Prior to that, John spent over fifteen years with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare (IDHW) developing and managing advanced information technologies in addition to three years in strategic planning and operations research roles with the Union Pacific Railroad Company in Omaha Nebraska.

John has a BS in Engineering and a MBA from Idaho State University.

Frank Condon, Director of Technology, National RTAP (Presenter)

Frank Condon is a marketing and business development professional with 20 years of experience marketing products and services.  His experience also includes developing technology for public and private sectors.  Frank is currently responsible for the strategic development of new web-based products to help bring National RTAP and other agencies up-to-date using the latest technology.

Marcy Jaffe, Transportation Innovator, MJC (Presenter)

Marcy Jaffe has recently focused on data integration.  Marcy Jaffe Company (MJC) serves over thirty rural, private and tribal transit systems with General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) making it possible for public and private transit partners to offer on-line, integrated trip planning.  MJC developed the on-line training tools and videos for National RTAP‘s GTFS Builder. Through national solicitation, MJC was selected by California Center for Innovative Transportation, at University of California, to expedite the launch of GTFS data and study the benefits of GTFS for small transit agencies in California.

For over twenty years, Marcy Jaffe has worked professionally in transportation policy and technology at the City, Regional, Statewide and Tribal Nation levels of government.  Ms. Jaffe holds both a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) and a Masters of Public Administration (MPA) from University of California, Irvine.  Visit mjcaction.com for more information.

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Source: http://www.mta.info

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced that its open-source BusTime project will go live in Staten Island, and looked to expand coverage to all five boroughs by 2013.  This provides more opportunity for New Yorkers in various parts of New York City to ascertain real-time bus locations.

For more about the Staten Island release, please click here.

Continue reading »]]> The US Census Bureau is releasing the 2011 TIGER/Line Shapefiles today, December 12, 2011. The 2011 TIGER/Line Shapefiles website can be accessed through census.gov by selecting TIGER from the middle of the page or directly at http://www.census.gov/geo/www/tiger/tgrshp2011/tgrshp2011.html.  You can access the shapefiles through our ftp site at http://www2.census.gov/geo/tiger/TIGER2011/ or ftp://ftp2.census.gov/geo/tiger/TIGER2011/.  The 2011 TIGER/Line Shapefiles are organized by type of geography (e.g. Congressional Districts, Block Groups, etc.). The web download interface will be available later this week.

The 2011 TIGER/Line Shapefiles release includes geography for legal areas as of January 1, 2011 and for statistical areas as of 2010.

The 2011 TIGER/Line Shapefiles release includes a new Address Range Feature county-based shapefile which will allow for easier geocoding:

The Address Ranges Feature Shapefile (ADDRFEAT.shp) contains the geospatial edge geometry and attributes of all unsuppressed address ranges for a county or county equivalent area.  The term “address range” refers to the collection of all possible structure numbers from the first structure number to the last structure number and all numbers of a specified parity in between along an edge side relative to the direction in which the edge is coded.  Single-address address ranges have been suppressed to maintain the confidentiality of the addresses they describe.

The ADDRFEAT shapefile contains a record for each address range to street name combination.  Address ranges associated to more than one street name are also represented by multiple coincident address range feature edge records.  The ADDRFEAT shapefile includes all unsuppressed address ranges and will have better geocoding address match rates compared to the All Lines Shapefile (EDGES.shp) which only includes the most inclusive address range associated with each side of a street edge.  The TIGER/Line Files contain potential address ranges, not individual addresses.  Potential ranges include the full range of possible structure numbers even though the actual structures may not exist.

For questions about the 2011 TIGER/Line Shapefiles please contact geo.tiger@census.gov.

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Source: http://www.trb.org/Publications/Blurbs/166249.aspx

TCRP Synthesis 91 discusses the new trend in which transit agencies are taking part in utilizing mobile device applications to provide real-time, travel information. Considering that the provision of customer information is valuable in determining transit service success and encouraging its use, the availability of real-time data underscores its potential to attract more riders.

Since the early 2000s, many transit agencies have provided static information in the form of timetables or trip planning. Nevertheless, these early attempts at providing transit information to a limited number of mobile phone users have been superseded by the provision of real-time data, which is capable of meeting the expectations of  a new generation that can take advantage of such technology.

To view the full TCRP report, please click here.

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Source: Lakeland Florida Real Estate Blog

GIS Day in Polk County, Florida underscores the potential GIS has in creating a more efficient and productive government. Polk County Fire Rescue utilizes GIS mapping technology to confirm locations of hazardous materials, as well as emergency shutoff switches that are crucial to first responders. In addition, the Florida Department of Transportation in Bartow uses GIS to monitor road construction projects. Instead of searching through copious amounts of paper files to respond to information requests, GIS streamlines this process by placing such information a mouse click away.

For more information about Polk County’s successes with GIS, please click here.

Continue reading »]]> On November 16, 2011, the Transit GIS Clearinghouse webinar series got off to a successful start through Michael Frumin’s presentation of MTA’s real-time bus tracking and customer information system, which hosted 140 attendees. The MTA presentation is the first in a series of quarterly webinars that will be hosted by NCTR’s Transit GIS Clearinghouse. In case you missed it, the MTA presentation can be found at the link below; moreover, all future webinars will also be archived to the Clearinghouse website.

To access the MTA webinar, please click this link: mms:live.cutr.usf.eduGISbustracking.

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Source: Directions Magazine

The Taipei City Department of Transportation has adopted SuperWebGIS to provide its citizens with real-time road, dynamic bus, and even parking lot information. ‘Easy Travel in Taipei’ is this newly developed smart phone application that provides functionality for iOS, Android, and Windows Mobile devices, making access to transit information more convenient.

For more information on Taipei City’s implementation of SuperWebGIS, as well as its developer SuperGEO, please click here.