TransLink Data to Google Transit?

[Fares_Fair]

Note the 'mainly in South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia' part.
Does that leave Queensland at a disadvantage? Probably.
Is that constitutional? Unsure.

I'm sure there would be no problem.  Unfair funding arrangements for different states have been constitutional for decades.

e.g.?

[somebody]

The whole carve up of the GST, which redistributes money from Vic & NSW to QLD & WA.  Not to mention NT & Tas.  Not sure where SA fits in but I presume it benefits.
Funding the RRL but not CRR.

I could go on but I'm sure you get the idea.

[colinw]

The whole carve up of the GST, which redistributes money from Vic & NSW to QLD & WA.  Not to mention NT & Tas.  Not sure where SA fits in but I presume it benefits.
Funding the RRL but not CRR.

I could go on but I'm sure you get the idea.

Ah, that old chestnut. 

I'm afraid you're fighting a battle that is a decade or more out of date with this one. While it was once true, since around 2008 it has no longer been the case for either QLD or WA.

IMHO the current balance is about right, now that QLD & WA are now grouped with NSW & Vic as net "donors".  I certainly would not be supportive of dropping the level of support for Tas & NT, and I think a case can be made for SA & ACT as well.

I would be quite happy for the per-capita GST carve-up for QLD, NSW, Vic & WA to be pegged at an exactly equal level, provided the level of support for the smaller states and the territories remained higher.

Of course if we got rid of the antiquated system of States based on the old colonies, that would be even better. (But even that runs the risk of creating a bunch of entities which behave like BCC).



The above sourced from a WA-centric article: click here

[somebody]

Still shows vast discrepancies in the "Payments for specific purposes".  Perhaps these even out over time, although I doubt it.

[ozbob]

http://statements.qld.gov.au/Statement/2013/6/24/queensland-looking-for-data-gurus

JOINT STATEMENT
Premier
The Honourable Campbell Newman
Assistant Minister to the Premier on e-government
Mr Ray Stevens

Queensland looking for data gurus

Queensland is putting out the call to all smart web and application developers and data gurus to create solutions for Queensland as part of the new Premier's Awards for Open Data.

Premier Campbell Newman said the awards would recognise those who developed new and innovative ways for the community to use publicly released Queensland Government data.

"We are the only state where all 20 Government Departments have released comprehensive Open Data Strategies clearly setting out how they will deliver open data as a core priority as well as identifying what datasets will be released when," Mr Newman said.

"We know there are Queenslanders with great imagination and talent who can help super-charge Queensland's economy by using this data to find new ways to deliver better services.

"A particular focus of the Awards will be the use of public transport data to enhance our existing public transport system.

"We know this is a real priority for many Queenslanders, and we want people to put on their thinking caps about how we can use government data to improve out public transport systems."

Assistant Minister for e-Government Ray Stevens said $5,000 prize money would be available for entrants who showcase the most innovative use of and real outcomes from public data in a number of categories.

"The categories include Public Transport, where we're looking for solutions that deliver real improvements to customer experience; Improved Service Delivery, which will produce better social services; and Growing and Developing Queensland's future, which will produce real economic benefits for Queenslanders," Mr Stevens said.

"The final category is a wildcard, where we're looking for thinking 'outside the box'.

"By giving the experts a chance to develop these apps or web services, the Government can focus on delivering high quality customer services and better business practices.

"We will also work with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland to drive business participation in identifying how data can be used to create jobs throughout Queensland."

Mr Stevens said public servants would also be able to compete so they could show how they are using open data to improve service delivery.

The winners of the Premier's Awards for Open Data will be announced in November.

For more information on the Premier's Awards for Open Data please visit www.data.qld.gov.au   

[ENDS] 24 June 2013

[aldonius]

Ooh, that's a pretty serious bug.

Maybe a matching-up can be done with a previous version.

[ozbob]

TransLink is part of the Qld Gov's Open Data

--> http://translink.com.au/about-translink/reporting-and-publications/media-releases/release/672

[aldonius]

I have what is probably the original version publicly posted (November 2012) here.

[dwb]

New GTFS file as at July 22nd available:
http://translink.com.au/about-translink/reporting-and-publications/public-transport-performance-data
http://translink.com.au/resources/about-translink/reporting-and-publications/open-data/gtfs/seq.zip

[ozbob]

Minister for Transport and Main Roads
The Honourable Scott Emerson

Developers to tackle transport data

This Saturday innovative web and software developers will take their first step in creating practical real-time Apps that will improve public transport information.

Transport and Main Roads Minister Scott Emerson said more than 160 participants had registered with TransLink to take part in the first stage of the Premier's Awards for Open Data workshops. 

"TransLink has a treasure trove of information, including go card passenger loading data, Trip Tracker bus data and Queensland Rail real time data," Mr Emerson said.

"I'm excited to see what developers come up with at the data showcase this Saturday.

"This is a first-time chance for some of the brightest and sharpest minds to get together to help deliver real customer improvements to our public transport network."

Developers could win $5,000 prize money as part of the Premier's Awards for Open Data.

Judges will be looking for applications that offer innovative and practical ways to use or present real-time public transport, with the winners announced in November.

Mr Emerson said some smart developers were already creating apps using public transport data.

"Just this morning I attended a launch of a new alert system developed by QUT designed to warn you when your travel route is congested or if your public transport service is delayed," he said.

"QUT described it to me as a commuter version of severe weather alert texts.

"This great example of how information released by the Newman Government's open data strategy can be used to benefit the community."

Registered participants will gather at Kelvin Grove on Saturday, 10 August, from 8.30 am, with the showcase finishing early afternoon.

For more information on the Premier's Awards for Open Data, visit www.data.qld.gov.au or register at www.translink.com.au

[ENDS] 7 August 2013

[ozbob]

TransLink Data Showcase

--> http://translink.com.au/news-and-updates/data-showcase

[bcasey]

Some of the data feeds, particularly the real-time ones, and the OPIA API require a username and password to access. The developers who registered for the Premier's Awards for Open Data and the Translink Event that was held on Saturday were given access. If you didn't register, you might still be able to contact translink to gain access to them, but don't quote me on that. They have set some fairly generous limits on data calls, so the servers providing the feeds will not get overloaded.

The event on Saturday was pretty informative, and there were many developers who attended, including myself and some of my colleagues. They gave an introduction to the various pieces of data they will be providing, and went into a bit of detail on how the real-time information is collected, as well as some of the current limitations to the data and the reasons behind them. It was also a good chance to network with other developers, as well as the people from Translink who are working on providing this data.

[ozbob]

Premier
The Honourable Campbell Newman

Microsoft adds incentive to enter the 2013 Premier's Open Data Awards

Queenslanders now have even more incentive to enter the Premier's Open Data Awards following Microsoft's announcement of a significant prize package on offer at today's Open Data Mixer event.

Premier Campbell Newman said the government was keen to build relationships with private industry, and was excited Microsoft was involved in the awards.

"This impressive prize package will bring the competition to a whole new level," Mr Newman said.

"There has never been a better time to enter the Awards and I encourage teams with a knack for IT to get involved."

The Microsoft Start-Up Accelerator Award will be awarded to the team who develops the most innovative concept with the best start-up potential.

Charles Shavitz from Microsoft announced today that the prize will include:

·         five Nokia Lumia 920's

·         five Asus VivTab tablets

·         one four-month course at Founder Institute for the nominated team founder to attend from February 2014

·         a maximum of $60,000 worth of Windows Azure for a maximum period of two years.

To be eligible participants will need to have entered a concept submission into the Premier's Awards for Open Data by the deadline on 22 September, and have been selected to participate in the final round of the Awards competition.

Entrants will also need to nominate their team to Microsoft by emailing qmic@microsoft.com by 5.00pm 31 October 2013, the Award nomination deadline.

For more information visit www.qld.gov.au/data

[ENDS] 31 August 2013 

[bcasey]

The following link contains recordings of the panel sessions at the Open Data Mixer event. Only one of the sessions is directly related to the purpose of this forum, but I'm sure people will find all of them interesting.

http://mediasite.webcastcloud.com.au/Mediasite/Catalog/catalogs/opendatamixer

Unfortunately, I don't think the sessions at the Translink Data Showcase a few weeks ago were recorded, as they went into more detail on the data that is being released by Translink, etc and would have been of more interest to the readers of this forum.

While some of the things the current state government have done may have been controversial, I think their policy on Open Data, and the Premier's Awards for Open Data is something that will be very beneficial to the people of Queensland, and quite forward thinking of this government.

[haakon]

Looks like we are inching closer to Translink Data appearing in Google Transit.

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=1946049&p=30&#r587

I recently sent a query to TransLink, asking when Brisbane transit data would be available on Google Now. I just got a response from them – it looks like the wheels may be turning, but no timeline as yet. At least they have adopted the GTFS protocol, which is necessary for the data to be compatible with Google Now, so it may not be too far away.

Here's their response:

Thank you for your communication about the integration of TransLink data into Google Now.

TransLink have recently moved the GTFS feed from BETA to Production status. We currently have a roadmap for technology which includes the continuous improvement of access to customer information.

While this roadmap does include discussion with third party developers, we are unable to comment on the plans of other businesses at this time.

TransLink is continuously investigating ways to improve how people have access to transit information. Currently however, we have no timelines around if or when data will be provided to Google for use in planning journeys.

I checked, and yes, the GTFS schedule and route data is now available (but it may not be updated in "real-time"):
http://translink.com.au/about-translink/reporting-and-publications/public-transport-performance-data

It seems to me that TransLink have already done the "hard yards", and now all they really need to do is formally supply the relevant link information to Google Transit:
http://maps.google.com/help/maps/mapcontent/transit/participate.html

Given that the GTFS data is available on a publicly-accessible web site, I wouldn't have thought there was any need to develop "timelines around if or when data will be provided to Google for use in planning journeys." The basic data is already "provided" to Google – that's how I found it!

[aldonius]

Bing maps appear to already have some sort of integration, incidentally.

[longboi]

Looks like we are inching closer to Translink Data appearing in Google Transit.

Just watch that space...

[haakon]

I can now get PT information google maps etc. It has finally happened! 

[paulg]

Hooray! Why on earth did that take so long...

[ozbob]

 

[STB]

Hooray! Why on earth did that take so long...

I know several years ago, one of the managers at TL was against using Google for this purpose.  Also, Google themselves can be a bit slow off the mark at times when I've dealt with them in the past for various things.

[aldonius]

The challenge going forward is how often will TL update their GTFS data, especially will it be done in time for all the changes.

[ozbob]

http://statements.qld.gov.au/Statement/2013/12/10/google-transit-launches-in-seq

Media Statements
Minister for Transport and Main Roads
The Honourable Scott Emerson
Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Google Transit launches in SEQ

Almost 1500 TransLink train, bus and ferry services can be accessed via Google, with south east Queensland's entire public transport network now available through Google Transit.

Transport and Main Roads Minister Scott Emerson said Google Transit provided another avenue for passengers to plan their journeys, across one of the largest networks in the world.

"Tourists and visitors to south east Queensland will find this a useful tool, and it continues our promise to reinvigorate tourism which is part of Queensland's four pillar economy," Mr Emerson said.

"Google Transit is a fast, convenient and easy-to-use public transport journey planner that acts as an alternative to TransLink's current journey planner.

"It works by combining TransLink's network data with Google Maps, integrating transit stops, public transport routes, schedules and fare information.

"Passengers can enter their start and end points and Google Maps will provide a variety of public transport options that best suits the journey – including walking and cycling routes.

"The beauty of using Google Maps as a platform for journey planning is that the interface is familiar to people from all corners of the globe."

Public transport users could use Google Transit in more than 80 cities around the world, including New York, London and Tokyo.

Nabil Nahgdy, Product Manager for Google Maps, Australia and New Zealand said Google Transit was also available on Google Maps for Androids and iPhones.

"Simply search for where you want to go and Google Maps will show you how to get there using public transport from your current location," Mr Nahgdy said.

Mr Emerson thanked Google for partnering with the Newman Government to make Google Transit a reality for hundreds of thousands of passengers who use the network daily.

"This is yet another improvement we've made to public transport, including halving Labor's fare hikes for 2013 and 2014, providing free travel after nine weekly journeys and adding 2000 additional weekly services," he said.

For more information about Google Transit, visit google.com.au/transit (external site)

[SurfRail]

The TransLink version is below - sanitised to remove the party political stuff.

http://translink.com.au//about-translink/reporting-and-publications/media-releases/details/1161

[dwb]

Does anyone here actually use Google maps for transit? Brisbane's must be really badly formatted because unlike other places the bus stops don't show on the map (only when a place to place journey has been searched will you see a route) and the icons for train stations shown on the map are in different locations to that shown when a rail journey ends. On mobile if you click on a rail station or bus station it should show you a timetable for that stop, it doesn't in Brisbane

Even Darwin has it and yet Translink still haven't figured it out!

[longboi]

Does anyone here actually use Google maps for transit? Brisbane's must be really badly formatted because unlike other places the bus stops don't show on the map (only when a place to place journey has been searched will you see a route) and the icons for train stations shown on the map are in different locations to that shown when a rail journey ends. On mobile if you click on a rail station or bus station it should show you a timetable for that stop, it doesn't in Brisbane

Even Darwin has it and yet Translink still haven't figured it out!

Constantly.
However I do still use the TL website for stop specific or stop list timetable.

But, just like I said previously regarding the launch of Google Transit; watch this space.

[dwb]

Hahah thanks Nikko, only problem is I've been watching this space for about 9 years now!

[bcasey]

Updated version of the GTFS files are available now, covering up to 13th April 2014, at http://translink.com.au/about-translink/reporting-and-publications/public-transport-performance-data

They have also populated a few extra fields in the files, as specified in their post on the developers google groups forum:

To our GTFS users,

We have just published our latest GTFS file, covering SEQ up until 13th April (the week before Easter). We're also excited to announce the addition of some new fields to our GTFS feed which will now be included in all future feeds.

Firstly, we have introduced the "route_color" and "route_text_color" fields to the routes.txt file. These colours match the current timetables and customer information – for example most buses are green, ferries are blue. We have also colour coded special routes – e.g. the Blue CityGlider is blue, the free City Loop bus and City Hopper Ferry are red, and all train services are coloured the same as LCD Passenger Information Screens at stations (Green for Caboolture, Red for Beenleigh etc.).

Secondly, we have introduced "platform_code" as a field in the stops.txt file. This will provide a short identifier for each stop that is assigned to a station. For example, each of Central station's 6 platforms is assigned to parent "place_censta", and will now also have a  platform code (from 1 through 6). This has not altered the old stop information (e.g. stop_ID) in any way – it is a brand new field added to the file. While this is not yet officially recognised as part of the specification, there are a number of transit agencies around the world who now publish this information in their feeds, and we hope that it will be of use to developers and our customers.

We have also introduced a number of extra parent stations to the stops.txt file to make full use of the "platform_code" field. This now means that all railway stations and busway stations, as well as a large number of our major bus stations, are identified as being part of a "place". If you do happen to find any stations or interchanges missing, please let us know – we are more than happy to try and add them to future updates.

Finally a minor tweak to the agency.txt file. We are now publishing the "agency_fare_url" field. As has been discussed previously on this forum, we are unable to represent our current fare structure due to limitations in the GTFS format. While we will continue to monitor whether there is an effective way to represent fares, we hope the static fares page will assist customers wishing to find out more information about our fares.

Thanks,
TransLink

[dwb]

I haven't had a chance to download the new zip file and inspect it yet, the previous files still left a bit of room for improvement. The route colours and text colour attributes will be good but it remains to be seen how they deal with train services. Eg previously there were over 60 train "routes" and that makes central stations an absolute mess. I hope they have cleaned that up!! To do the colours you'd imagine the answer would have to be yes given a CLCB (Cleveland caboolture) train would need to be navy then green.

[dwb]

I also seem to think that the Adelaide St stops should be grouped into stations as they are precincts on the map http://translink.com.au/sites/default/files/assets/resources/travel-information/network-information/maps/140120-adelaide-st-bus-route-map.pdf?140210

Eg Cathedral, GPO/Central, City Hall, Brisbane Square.

Cumulatively these four bus "stations" carry more pax than central rail station!!

[dwb]

Had a look and the colours are defined on the old routes... which means that some sections will be the wrong colour, ie one train runs through from one line to another on the same service, but can only have one colour.

In terms of the stations (places) I don't get why some busway stations have "busway" in the place name and others not, and why Windsor (train) station is "Windsor Rail" instead of just "Windsor".

Also, the stations seem to be in ever so slightly different places than the existing rail station icons in Google maps. What's with that?

[sorry for the monologue]

[longboi]

Had a look and the colours are defined on the old routes... which means that some sections will be the wrong colour, ie one train runs through from one line to another on the same service, but can only have one colour.

In terms of the stations (places) I don't get why some busway stations have "busway" in the place name and others not, and why Windsor (train) station is "Windsor Rail" instead of just "Windsor".

Also, the stations seem to be in ever so slightly different places than the existing rail station icons in Google maps. What's with that?

[sorry for the monologue]

- Addition of "busway" is when busway/rail stations are co-located
- "Windsor Rail" is a BCC issue as it's a BCC stop

And...stops are now visible on the map (see attachment)

[SurfRail]

^ Clearly still needs a lot of work by the look of it.

- Some stops are combined instead of showing the marker on both sides of the road (no explanation about which side to wait on for which service)
- There aren't separate stands for the bus stops at most interchanges or any explanation about which stands they leave from
- The "Garden City" interchange icon links to a station named Garden City on the Hempstead line on the Long Island Rail Road - bunch of similar results elsewhere.  The stop names aren't unique enough.
- Timetable data still missing from heaps of them

The routes don't plot either.

Hopefully these are ironed out quickly.

[SurfRail]

Compare these 2 stations - I think one is executed slightly better.

[dwb]

Getting better but a way to go yet...

The bus stop icons are tere but I can't get any next buses info, nor even usually the routes... Except for a few anomalies like the ferry stop above and Roma Street when searched for using a code and in classic maps.

[techblitz]

^ Clearly still needs a lot of work by the look of it.

- Some stops are combined instead of showing the marker on both sides of the road (no explanation about which side to wait on for which service)

Eg: miami hotel stop seems to be done correctly on both sides of the hwy yet just up the road at nobbys beach shops..only the northbound stop is listed...so for someone new referring to gmaps stops heading south they would have no idea if there is a nobbys beach stop...this would definitely be confusing for new users...

[SurfRail]

TransLink have asserted this is something to do with Google, but it can be solved pretty easily by giving each stop an individual distinct name and not just giving the stop the same name in both directions eg instead of "Smith St at Lee St" you have "Smith St approaching Lee St" and "Smith St after Lee St".  They should have been doing this anyway so it makes it clearer which stop is which if you are using the "nearby stops" function on their own website.

[dwb]

For map clarity google amalgamates points, over time at my local stop I've found this quite useful. The stops do actually have different names but google seems to pick one to display. Not all stops are close enough together to get amalgamated though

[dwb]

Ps I'm not sure it can be "solved" by giving stops different names as Google seems to disregard that. If you look at Adelaide St you will see this is the case, stop 19 and stop 20 are combined (on the one side of the road but not the other). Translink cannot control how developers including google use the data.

It *could* indicate Translink has either too many stops too closely together or that each pair of stops (across roads) *should* have a station assigned to them so that google could show inbound/outbound routes together for more logically grouped stops.

I'd also contend busway stations should have a single station ID (not one for each platform) with the platform code in that unique field, not as station.

[ozbob]

http://translink.com.au/travel-information/service-notices/16496/details

Google Transit data temporarily unavailable

Last updated: 3.47pm Monday 30 June 2014

There's been a minor issue with the data we supply to Google, and Google Transit won't be available for the next few days.

We're working hard to fix it and we apologise for any inconvenience.

In the meantime, please use our journey planner for all your journey planning needs.