Applications of open transit data

Abstract

The concept of open data has become quite popular in recent times among governments and public-facing organizations promoting transparency and collaboration. In a similar expedition, the Open Transit Data Platform for Delhi was established, providing open access to data for buses in Delhi, for both static and real-time components. The work presented in this thesis primarily focusses on exploring the applications of this data for two scenarios: the first one being, identification of service breakdowns in buses. Congestion usually follows a breakdown. So once a breakdown is identified, apply a fuel consumption model to calculate fuel wastage due to the congestion that accompanies. We have identified two types of breakdown cases, viz. clustered where GPS points form a cluster spread over a certain period and data loss - where the GPS trajectory of bus breaks for a significant amount of time. In our work, we figured the cost of fuel wasted by vehicles stuck in congestions because of such breakdowns to be around eight crores per year in Delhi alone.The second application is in traffic policy evaluation with a particular case of the odd-even road rationing scheme in Delhi. Traffic speeds for major road sections and bus routes calculated using the open transit data for periods before and during the restriction phase showed that public transport buses during the phase moved as fast as private vehicles on regular days with a consistent decrement of 15-20% in travel times.