Delhi Government launches Open Transit Data Platform for Buses
The Delhi Government has a launched an Open Transit Data Platform for buses (otd.delhi.gov.in) in India’s National Capital Region. This is a joint initiative of the Department of Transport (Govt of NCT of Delhi) and IIIT-Delhi.
To begin with static datasets (agency, calendar, stops, routes, trips, stop-times) have been made available. Authorised users can request for real-time data (live GPS of cluster buses) using assigned API keys. The government proposes to add real-time data of Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses when a new GPS vendor is in place.
“It’s a major step to promote collaboration and co-creation of innovative and inclusive transport solutions for the people of Delhi. Delhi’s Open Transit Data platform provides free of cost static and real time datasets of Delhi’s buses for app developers and researchers in machine-readable format,” said Kailash Gahlot, Cabinet Minister, Govt of Delhi (Law, Revenue, Transport, IT and AR).
The platform was developed by a team from Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) , Delhi led by Assistant Professor Pravesh Biyani. Within two days the platform received over 300 unique applications for use of real-time data. “To maintain quality of service, we have started testing with few users with real-time feed,” said Pravesh Biyani, Assistant Professor at IIIT Delhi.
The data is made public according to GTFS (General Transit Feed Specification). GTFS defines a common format for public transportation schedules and associated geographic information.
“Researchers and app developers are welcome to apply for using the data to scrutinise the quality of bus services including route adherence, stopping at bus stops and over-speeding,” said Varsha Joshi, Delhi Transport Commissioner. “All public service transit vehicles including autos & taxis have to give GPS feed to the department, and it is scrutinised in our Operations Control Centre. We will increase the capacity of the open platform and work out other facilities by and by. It’s just government buses for now.”
