Metropolitan Transportation Commission and Interline to tackle regional transit data challenges
January 8, 2020: MTC and Interline have released the Regional GTFS Feed. See this more recent blog post.
August 10, 2020: MTC and Interline have released additional functionality in the Regional GTFS Feed. See this more recent blog post.
We’re excited to share that the Metropolitan Transportation Commission has selected Interline through a competitive process to participate in its 2019 Startup in Residence (STIR) program.
Regional Transit Data for the Bay Area
Interline and MTC will collaborate on the problem of regional transit data. The Bay Area has over 30 public-transit operators. Most agencies provide open-data in the GTFS format, which is in turn used by many companies and developers to power navigation and transportation apps. However, to use all of these GTFS feeds together presents many technical challenges to both public agencies and private consumers. During the STIR residency, Interline will use the Transitland platform to help the MTC improve regional transit data distribution.
Transitland currently aggregates GTFS feeds from approximately 2,500 transit operators around the world. Transitland users — including startups, large corporations, advocacy groups, and government agencies — currently query Transitland’s open APIs five million times per month. Transitland is powered by open-source software, and can be customized by Interline for particular agency needs.
Transitland currently aggregates transit data for the San Francisco Bay Area from 36 operators:
For a current list of Bay Area transit agencies that provide open GTFS data, see the Transitland Feed Registry.
Startup in Residence Program
The national STIR program is supported by the City Innovate Foundation.
“The Startup in Residence program is a model for civic innovation and national collaboration,” says Jay Nath, former Chief Innovation Officer for San Francisco and Executive Director for City Innovate. “This program is a unique opportunity for government agencies and startups to think creatively about how we can all work together to modernize government to benefit residents.”
For more on STIR, see City Innovate’s announcement of the 2019 program.
Metropolitan Transportation Commission
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) is the transportation planning, financing, and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area. MTC is based out of downtown San Francisco.
MTC provides 511.org with transportation information for travelers around the Bay Area and 511 Developer Resources to power third-party apps and websites.
Transitland and Interline
Transitland is powered by open-source software and open data. Started in 2014 by Mapzen, Transitland is now supported by Interline and a growing list of partners.
To follow Interline’s progress on this project, follow this blog or subscribe to our newsletter. We are welcome questions at info@interline.io.
Interline’s team of principals and specialists all live in the Bay Area and ride public transit regularly. We’re pleased to have this opportunity to collaborate with the MTC on improvements to our region and its transportation systems!
