Joshua Seek

I'm pretty interested in public transportation.  I've lived in Arizona my entire life.  I've visited other cities and I've been amazed by the design of public transit.  Recently, I was able to board a plane to Seattle, connect to the local transit system, and walk 100 feet to my friend's front door - and it didn't take too long.  The only time I used a car the entire day was to get from my house to Sky Harbor.  The new light rail system in Phoenix has excited me and I've used it quite frequently

About six months ago, I inquired with Valley Metro about using Google Transit.  Google Transit allows public transit agencies to share their information and embed it into Google Maps.  A rider can input their start and end addresses and receive detailed directions on how to get there.  You can even change the route around. The current system on the Valley Metro website allows users to plan their routes, but they are nonsensical.  A user has to have the EXACT crossroads they are at.  Any misspelling will cause the system to misinterpret your request.  You cannot see it on a map, so you have no idea where you are being taken.  Accessing the website via a mobile phone is a waste of time - by the time you can get the website to understand your request, you've missed you're connection.

These are my actual experiences.

So instead, I call Valley Metro's phone number, which is a voice activated system - useless on a loud bus or on the light rail when announcements are being broadcast from the loudspeakers.  Attempting to get a live representative on the line will take about six minutes.

So we have a problem with data management.

Enter Google Transit.  Now, Google is not the solution to everything, but it can be very helpful.  Google Transit will allow users to have easier access to transit data, and could increase ridership.  

The responses I received from Valley Metro weren't very encouraging.  The first person I spoke to - in media relations - was fairly snotty about the issue.  After being blown off by this person, I called and spoke to another person at Valley Metro who gave some great information.  They told me that there is internal strife within Valley Metro and the cities involved over sharing data.  This confirms comments made here.  

So the agency is sensitive about who uses their data.  Valley Metro seems to consider their schedules to be proprietary information.  Why?  Who is your competition?  You put out transit books every year with your schedule in them.  It's not some big company secret.  I can even access the schedules online.

What is the harm in opening up your information to developers.  The only thing I can see is that Valley Metro intends to charge for use of their information, which is stupid, because if they open up their data they could increase revenues through more riders.

The solution would be to open the data up to everyone.  Give the data to Google.  Give it to anyone who asks.  Print it in open source databases.  Allow anyone to develop applications with it.

What will this do?  Valley Metro RPTA will receive more riders.  The cities involved will be recognized as innovators in public transportation and information sharing.  Riders will benefit with more ways to access information.  Businesses can encourage employees to "go green" by developing systems to show them how to get to work using Valley Metro.  We all benefit by cleaner skies.

Valley Metro and cities of Maricopa Country:  Just do it already!