Open Transit Data Initiative
In 2018, Delhi buses had a daily ridership of more than 4 million. However, there was no way for passengers to get accurate information about their commute since there was no access to data. Under the Delhi government's open transit data initiative, the Open Transit Data (OTD) portal was launched in November 2018 to solve this 'lack of data' problem, making Delhi the first-ever Indian city to provide transit data in an open-accessible format.
Dialogue and Development Commission of Delhi (DDC) has worked in close collaboration with the Transport Department, GNCTD, and IIIT-Delhi to design and implement the OTD platform. The platform publishes transit datasets (static and dynamic/real-time) for enterprises, third-party developers, researchers, and other members of the public to promote collaboration and the co-creation of innovative and inclusive transport solutions. The vision of the Delhi Government is not to restrict access to real-time tracking of buses but to keep it open for any app-builder who wishes to make use of it and provide more convenience to Delhi's citizens.
The OTD portal provides a wealth of information in static and real-time datasets completely free of cost at a single click of a button such as geo-coordinates of all bus stops, route maps, timetables as well as the real-time GPS feeds of bus locations every 10 seconds. All these datasets are provided in a machine-readable and globally-accepted transit data standard called the General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS). This will enable hundreds of app-builders to provide transit-related services like Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) at any bus stop, the position of the vehicle, alert and diversion messages etc.
As of 2022, more than 10,000 entities have downloaded the static data and more than 50 entities including Google maps, Here maps, Map My India, TCS Research, Harvard University researchers etc. use the Open Data in real-time. Further, Google maps have integrated the OTD APIs to show real-time information about the DIMTS buses in their application.
Key Brands Using Delhi's Open Transit Database
Harvard University, Google Maps, IIT Roorkee, IIT Madras, TCS Research, Moovit, Uber, Google Maps, Ford Mobility, Here maps, Chartr and Tu-Munich.
Center for Sustainable Mobility at IIIT Delhi
Leveraging the successful collaboration between the Transport Department and IIIT Delhi in setting up the OTD platform, DDC facilitated the setting up of a permanent Center for Sustainable Mobility (CSM) at IIIT Delhi to serve as a gateway to the solution of a number of urban transportation issues. Launched in April 2021, the Centre relies on data analytics, design and optimisation, and interdisciplinary research to solve existing issues in transportation with a futuristic approach and to increase the efficiency of public transport and para-transit systems.
The Centre also serves as a gateway to aid start-ups with a number of themes, namely: to spin-off technology related to smart mobility- Passenger Information systems, multi-modal journey planners, automation tools, ticketing framework, etc.
