Overview

This article describes Web 2.0 technologies that can assist in improving information provision for transport planning.

It constitutes chapter 2 of a paper developed for the US Transportation Research Board by Andrew Nash. The other five chapters are presented in these articles:

• Web 2.0 - 1. Web 2.0 for Transport Planning - Introduction to series of articles.
  

• Web 2.0 - 3. Planning Process Applications
  
• Web 2.0 - 4. Social Networking Applications for Transport Planning
  
• Web 2.0 - 5. Analysis and Evaluation Applications for Transport Planning
• Web 2.0 - 6. Recommendations for Transport Planning Applications including ideas for applications to improve surface transport operations, environmental planning and the FTA New Starts planning process.

The full paper can be downloaded at: http://www.andynash.com/nash-publications/2009-Nash-Web2forPT-14nov09.pdf

The paper will be presented at the TRB 2010 Annual Meeting: Session 337: Public Involvement in Transportation; January 11, 2010; 2:30PM - 5:00PM; Washington.

2.   Information Provision Applications

Information provision applications are designed to communicate information to their users. In Web 2.0, third parties can add information to an organization’s website and/or application developers can use data made available on the Internet to create their own informational websites. This section describes three main types of Web 2.0 information applications: wikis, personal information sharing, and mash-ups.

 

2.1 - Wikis

A wiki is a website that provides special tools enabling anyone to edit the website pages and to create new pages. The word wiki comes from the Hawaiian word wiki (quick), which was used in the initial wiki-based applications. [3] The most familiar Web 2.0 wiki application is Wikipedia, the open source on-line encyclopedia.

The idea behind wikis is that “crowd sourcing” (i.e. the idea that everyone together knows more than one person alone – even if that person is an expert) can provide accurate information.

There are problems with the open approach used in wikis. For example popular Wikipedia pages have been “hijacked” for political purposes. Therefore most wikis now have a series of safeguards including ‘moderators’ responsible for helping control the information.

In terms of results, the information quality in Wikipedia is similar to traditional encyclopedias (e.g. Encyclopedia Britannica), but the amount, breadth and accessibility of Wikipedia information is much higher. The Wikipedia story is a fascinating example of development of new socio-technical systems. [4]

Two examples of transport related wikis are StreetsWiki and the ITE Pedestrian and Bicycle Committee wiki. These wikis illustrate an interesting point: StreetsWiki is open to everyone, where the ITE wiki is only open to ITE members.

 

StreetsWiki – Crowd sourced transportation information

StreetsWiki is a community-created, online encyclopedia for transportation, urban environmental, and public space issues. It is managed by the Livable Streets Initiative as part of a multifaceted approach for improving transportation that uses all the key Web 2.0 techniques.

StreetsWiki illustrates three important Web 2.0 concepts: first, it is part of a suite of Web 2.0 tools used by an organization to further its mission; second, it illustrates how it is possible to develop a “strong reference work more deeply and narrowly focused on issues of interest to (in this case) sustainable urban transport advocates” [5]; and, third, information is freely available to everyone.

According to their website, the Livable Streets Initiative (http://www.livablestreets.com) is an online community of about 125,000 people working to create sustainable cities through sensible urban planning, design, and transportation policy. The Livable Streets Initiative uses the following Web 2.0 techniques:

• Streetsblog – a website with information including links to over 350 transport-urban planning blogs from throughout the world;
• Streetfilms – a website providing sustainable urban environment themed videos; and
• StreetsWiki – an online encyclopedia with information about sustainable urban policies from around the world. [6]

The Livable Streets Initiative also engages in more traditional advocacy activities including sponsoring an education program on transportation, urban design and livability.

 

ITE Member-only Wikis

Another example of a transport planning wiki is the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Pedestrian and Bicycle Committee wiki. [7] In contrast to StreetWiki, the ITE wiki is only accessible to members. While limiting access is understandable, it raises the question of whether this is an effective policy. On the one hand, the wiki is benefit of membership. On the other hand, if the information is only accessible to members it will have limited impact and reflect a more limited perspective.

A key Internet maxim is that “Information wants to be free.” When citizens are looking for information – and today most people use the Internet – where do they get it? Probably from StreetsWiki not the ITE.

 

2.2 - Personal information sharing: Blogs, YouTube, Photo Sharing, Twitter

The second category of Web 2.0 information provision websites are applications that enable users to create their own personal platforms for providing information. These applications allow users to create websites and share various types of media – with practically no limitations. The most important examples are Blogs (applications that enable anyone to create webpages), video sharing sites like YouTube and photo sharing sites like Flickr.

The latest development in the field of personal information sharing is Twitter. Twitter uses short message system (SMS) technology to broadcast 140 character messages from people to websites and directly to other users who ‘follow’ the broadcaster. Other users can also see messages related to a specific subject by entering the subject in a search box. Messages can be sent and read via the Internet or using mobile telephones. Twitter is growing rapidly and has developed an interesting series of web pages that describe how it can be used in business. [8]

All these personal information applications have tools that enable other users to comment and add information (a must for Web 2.0 applications), so they are a two-way street. The applications also provide tools enabling users to find related information, link to other websites and rate the quality of information (which helps provide some order in the system).

The applications also are designed to enable easily linking user-generated information between applications: for example embedding YouTube videos on your blog or adding links to favorite websites or creating Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds of your blog. It is also possible to use features like Google Maps to geographically tag (i.e. locate) information. All these features are (relatively) easy to use and are provided for free (at least for now).

Finally, it is important to note that companies and organizations are now using these Web 2.0 information applications to promote their views. In fact, smart companies have embraced the idea of Web 2.0 and are using these applications to improve their products and services. [9] The best approach is to think of developing Web 2.0 applications as you would starting a business, namely aim to be the best in your field. [10]

There are countless examples of these personal information sharing applications that concern transportation. As mentioned above, the Streetsblog alone lists over 350 different blogs directly related to livable cities and sustainable transportation. The main point for transportation organizations to consider is that these public platforms exist and many people are using them. All organizations need to develop an approach for using them to help achieve their goals. For example, BART encourages users to submit photos of BART to flickr and tag them “BART”, these photos are then used on BART’s official website. Over 3,500 photos are tagged BART transit as of 9 November 2009. (http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=BART%20transit)

 

2.3 - Mash-ups

A third type of Web 2.0 information provision application is a “mash-up”. A “mash-up” is an application that combines information from several sources to create some new information. Most of the information used in a mash-up application comes from data made available on the Internet and often mash-ups are created by developers from outside the data-providing organization.

For example, an independent application developer might combine data from BART with data from a business locations database to map the closest coffee shops to all BART stations on Google Maps. (Or Starbucks might map all its stores and include special information about each store.) These examples show the importance of data access for mash-ups.

Some government agencies have been very innovative in the providing data for mash-up applications. Great Britain initiated a program called Show Us a Better Way (www.showusabetterway.com) in which people described the application they wanted to develop and the data they needed to create it. The best applications were chosen in a competition (with cash prizes) and the government information department is working with the winners to help obtain the data necessary (often from other government agencies) and otherwise help bring the applications to reality.

In Washington DC, the Apps for Democracy (http://www.appsfordemocracy.org/) program held a similar competition to identify the best 3^rd party applications that could be developed using public data (the city offers a data feed of almost all the data collected: over 400 different data sets). It is interesting to note that many of the applications developed in both the Show Us a Better Way and Apps for Democracy programs were transport related.

 

Washington DC Apps For Democracy: Selected Transportation Mash-ups

Washington DC’s Apps for Democracy program includes many transport applications. For example:

• Carpool Mashup Matchmaker (http://demos3.jackbe.com/mashlets/DCCarpool/);
• DC Bikes, a guide to biking in DC (http://www.outsideindc.com/bikes);
• DC Historic Tours, a Google Maps mash-up that combines walking itineraries with photos and information about what you are seeing (http://www.dchistorictours.com/);
• DC Pedestrian (http://www.dcpedestrian.com/); and
• Stumble Safely, an application that shows the best cocktail bars based on, among other data, public transport access and crime rates (http://www.appsfordemocracy.org/stumble-safely/).

 

Google Transit

Google transit is a mash-up of local public transport information with Google Maps. Essentially public transport information is plotted on the Google Maps. The public transport information is provided by the public transport agencies in a format that can be automatically used by Google Maps to display station locations and to calculate best routings. Many public transport authorities (but not all) have made their information available to Google for Google Transit.

Google provides information for public transport authorities that want to use its system. Among the benefits are the fact that the system is available in 12 languages, for various different mobile devices and is supported by one of the most powerful companies in the Internet sector. This provides local public transport operators with a product that none but the largest agencies could match. (http://maps.google.com/help/maps/transit/partners/)

 

Walkscore.com

A classic example of a mash-up is the website walkscore.com (http://www.walkscore.com/). Walkscore.com started with a website that mashes-up geographic information with locations of different types of businesses and public services on Google Maps to determine the ‘walkability’ of specific locations. It uses an algorithm to calculate the walkability index on a scale of 1-to-100. This means that people looking for a house can click on the house location and receive a walkability score for the neighborhood where they live.

Walkscore.com has recently been improved to add public transport information based on the same information used in Google Transit. This means that it is possible to get a very good idea of any area’s sustainable transportation services and to compare different areas in terms of this important variable.

This also provides a good example of why it is beneficial for public agencies to provide data for third party developers. If public transport schedules are provided in this type of system it helps those interested in public transport to find the best places to live – since these are people more inclined to use public transport, it may therefore help increase ridership. This is the type of win-win situation that creative use of Web 2.0 strategies can help foster.

 

ALSO ON THE LIVABLE STREETS NETWORK

• Web 2.0 - 1. Web 2.0 for Transport Planning
  

• Web 2.0 - 2. Transport Planning Information Applications
• Web 2.0 - 3. Social Networking Applications for Transport Planning
• Web 2.0 - 4. Planning Process Applications
• Web 2.0 - 5. Analysis and Evaluation Applications for Transport Planning
• Web 2.0 - 6. Recommendations for Transport Planning Applications

• Bus Meister - An integrated Web 2.0 Transport Planning Application

REFERENCES

References start at [3] since this was taken from a longer article, sorry!

[3]  http://c2.com/doc/etymology.html  accessed 30 July 2009.

[4]  http://en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia accessed 29 July 2009.

[5]  http://www.livablestreets.com/streetswiki/about-streetswiki accessed 29 July 2009.

[6]  http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2009/07/win-place-or-show.html accessed 31 July 2009.

[7]  http://www.ite.org/councils/Ped_Bike/  accessed 29 July 2009.

[8]  http://business.twitter.com/twitter101 accessed 6 November 2009.

[9]  http://www.forrester.com/Groundswell/index.html accessed 30 July 2009.

[10]  http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2009/07/win-place-or-show.html accessed 31 July 2009.

 

PICTURE REFERENCES

Pictures are cited in the order they appear above. Please keep citation style consistent.

[1]

[2]

 

FURTHER READING

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