Back to Home Home BTOB RAIL

Data and Transport:
Open House?
BtoB Rail - Data and transport:Open House?

By opening up their data to application developers and programmers, transport organisations can both improve the travel experience for customers. accurate information for multimodal trips, journey planning, and service status updates in real time… despite the potential, the process appears far from straightforward in practice. BtoB Rail explores further, with an eye on the French experience in particular.

In France, open data on mobility has been largely driven by local authorities, such as Rennes Métropole, which took a first step in 2009/10 by requesting operator Keolis, which runs the city buses and metro, to make its transport data available to the widest possible audience.

RATP, the public transport operator for Ile-de-France (Paris and its region) has data.ratp.fr, to ‘enable third parties, notably developers and entrepreneurs, to use certain data pertaining to its public transport activity, so that they may imagine new ways of using and enhancing the value of open data, to create new and ever more innovative mobile services and applications.’

Government moves in this direction include transport.data.gouv.fr a public data platform accessible to all, designed to ‘improve passenger information throughout France thanks to open data’. Also, measures in the draft mobility orientation bill (projet de loi d’orientation des mobilités, LOM), due to be passed in 2019, include measures for opening up transport data to help stimulate new services.



Speaking at the 2018 edition of the urban mobility fair Autonomy, in Paris, French transport minister Elisabeth Borne insisted on the importance of these measures “to ensure open data really does happen and really does lead to services for citizens by 2021.” To further prove the government’s commitment in this direction, Ms Borne also announced the creation of a Strategic Committee on Data and MaaS (Mobility as a Service).

A joint initiative, this Committee comprises representatives of associations, of mobility service providers (public transport, carsharing, ridesharing…), data users, and other involved parties. Their task? To focus on what they consider key areas, such as, for instance, standardising data, boosting data collection on accessibility to improve the lives of disabled people, and combining information and ticketing to deliver MaaS.

According to the draft LOM, static – stops, timetables, fares, accessibility for people with disabilities – and real-time – timetables, disruptions, availability of bikesharing – data will be made available to everyone across France, in standardised formats, in two phases:

• by end-2019 for major cities and trans-European routes

• by 2021 across the whole of France

“Revolution” and “power for fuelling innovation”

“Open data is a real revolution in today’s society,” said Jean-Marc Zulesi, member of the French Parliament. Why? “Because by providing it, local authorities are helping optimise transport services, which in turn saves them money. Plus, offering what people want and satisfying their needs is bound to please.”

He sees open data as a kind of fuel for powering innovation. “I am convinced it will lead to a brighter future and better-informed territorial development, which is good for the image of the regions in France – both for visitors and people living and working there, or those considering a move. Open data enables offers like Trainline or MaaS, which are helping provide solutions for everyday travel.”

At the same time, he warned against setting up open data schemes for major cities only, insisting on the importance of paying attention to less dense networks [limited framework of routes, services] too. “This is vital if we are to mitigate the digital divide across France and provide mobility for the benefit of all. Right now, there are mobility gaps that we can fill in [i.e. by providing services to meet needs] by harnessing open data.”




“Enabler or facilitator”

At government level, Ishan Bhojwani explained how transport.data.gouv.fr seeks to make the data supplied as legible as possible and so act as an enabler or facilitator for developing innovative mobility services. As of January 2018, 53 agglomerations across France had put their data on this repository, with another 50 in the process of doing so. Figures that mean 55 to 60% of people in France can benefit from services enabled by open data.

‘Opening all data with no proper delimitations can cause strategic and commercial competitive disadvantages. On the other hand, the sharing of data and cooperation can stimulate innovation’ – The value of data for the public transport sector, UITP, September 2018

Boosting rail

Focusing on rail, improving the appeal, performance, and experience of train travel through new, data-driven apps is also something worth bearing in mind. Especially given concerns over climate change, air pollution, and traffic congestion.

“The train is the eco-friendliest way to travel. Through open data, local authorities can make journeys by rail more accessible [e.g. accurate journey planners, timetables, connections] to more people as well as boosting the simplicity and efficiency of services,” pointed out Carl Anderson, managing director, Trainline International.




Overcoming reticence

Although transport operators in France are or already have unlocked data, it still remains something of an uphill task, said Mr Anderson. “Our goal is to have a single platform for comparing all available transport options, but for this we need open data. However, many transport companies have their own data and identifiers, which means the data remains isolated and inaccessible.”

Reticence is in part down to companies wanting to keep customers on their own media platforms, to not let them ‘slip through their fingers’. But this thinking is counterproductive, reckons Mr Bhojwani. “If they want to facilitate mobility, it makes sense to go where the consumers are, and this tends to be popular apps that already exist, such as Google Maps or Transit Maps. At transport.data.gouv.fr we are unbiased about who uses the data.”

For a service like Trainline, which is keen to develop its data-dependent, journey planning capabilities, the outcomes of the LOM bill this year are crucial. “We are waiting for it to be voted in and that operationally the system functions all the way, with the broadest and most effective open data sets possible,” said Audrey Détrie, director, France & Benelux, Trainline International.

Work With BtoB Rail

Learn how we can help you to communicate effectively to the top decision makers of the rail industry.

Get in touch