New Azure Case Study: Public Transit Data Community

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What is PTDC?  It’s an transit data aggregation platform, based on Windows Azure, that collects and hosts all kinds of heterogeneous transit data (even real time data) and then provides developer APIs to the data and other value added services (like route planning).  Think of it as a “transit data cloud” that metros/towns/cities can use to provide transit data to developers and consumers.

PTDC is a cloud-based SaaS solution for publishing mass transit data on the web in a variety of open formats for consumption by people and applications. The software and application programming interface (API) developed by EastBanc runs in Windows Azure and allows developers to easily integrate transit data sets from PTDC into original software applications that can be served to the public through the cloud for consumption on personal computers or mobile devices.

Here are some quotes:

“WMATA’s legacy trip-planning tools were not as effective because they only processed data from WMATA’s own transit system, and they couldn’t integrate data from outside operators such as Virginia Railway Express [VRE] or local bus lines, for example,” Conforti says.

“WMATA is in the business of running a transportation network,” Popov explains. “They’re not in the business of hosting data and fostering a developer community. PTDC enables transportation authorities to take advantage of a common service for publishing their data, so they can focus on their core business.”

The case study on the Public Transit Data community developed by EastBanc technologies has just been published to Microsoft.com. Here is the URL: https://www.microsoft.com/casestudies/casestudy.aspx?casestudyid=4000009148

This case study addresses the need of municipal transit agencies that struggle to provide citizens with a comprehensive multiagency and inter-jurisdictional service on bus, train, and tram schedules, as well as actual status of routes. EastBanc Technologies used the Windows Azure platform to develop the Public Transit Data Community, a cloud-based software-as-a-service solution that independent developers can use to build special applications for transit services. The benefits of the system include:

  • Integrated transit schedules
  • Rapid development platform
  • Enhanced services for citizens

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