GovWire

Local authorities should consider aligning with the government and operating an open by default data policy.

In 2012, the government published an open data white paper, setting out a vision to maximise the benefits of sharing data. This led to the government promoting a policy of open by default for public sector data, across all departments.

The Department for Transport (DfT) supports open data.

It has demonstrated the value of sharing transport data to monitor the impacts of coronavirus (COVID-19) and travel restrictions. Data sharing is also essential for the Future of Transport (FoT) agenda.

What open data means

Open data means data that anyone can freely access, use, modify or share for any purpose.

Open data should be:

• accessible
• discoverable
• machine-readable
• reusable
• shareable

Why you should share your transport data

To bring operational efficiencies

Open data can improve efficiency by reducing duplication within a local authority. one.network is a tool used by more than 98% of UK road authorities to manage lane closures and works. It estimates that for each local authority staff member adding data to the platform, up to 20 staff members access that data.

Many local authorities have saved money on traffic surveys and sensors by better sharing of data they already have.

The Open Data Handbook also reports that a senior UK government official saved 4 million when finding the data they wanted to buy already existed as open data.

To improve accountability and transparency

Sharing data increases awareness of how decisions have been made. This improves levels of confidence and trust. Raising awareness of the data you are using to help with your decision-making is good for residents.

To improve collaboration

Open data supports collaboration with neighbouring authorities and other public sector bodies.

Local authorities often have little to no understanding of their neighbouring authorities operations. This can create difficulties, for example, when planning roadworks or setting up a diversion near a local authority boundary.

Opening up and sharing data can foster closer connections with stakeholders. For example, by sharing speed data Transport for Greater Manchester has been able to help identify speeding hotspots.

Local authorities share data with their sub-national transport bodies (STBs) to increase understanding of transport issues in the region. This can help them to prioritise investments and submit bids to the government for funding.

To make savings and generate revenue

Sharing data could help a local authority make savings and generate revenue.

For example, there could be a reduction in the number of freedom of information (FOI) requests that are placed and processed if data is easier to access. Open data might also allow staff to respond to requests more quickly if they can link to data that has already been published when supplying a response.

Sharing parking data can also generate increased parking revenues where the public uses apps to pay for parking.

To support strategic and economic goals

Open data will help to support local authority priorities.

For example, open data about cycling routes or bus information can encourage people to use active travel or public transport. This could help reduce congestion and emissions in your area, generating economic benefits and meeting local authority objectives.

Transport for London (TfL) found that its open data is currently powering more than 600 apps, and that over 40% of Londoners use apps powered by its data.

TfL estimates that its open transport data has provided savings and annual economic benefits of up to 130 million for travellers, London and the authority.

To facilitate innovation

Open data stimulates new ideas, services and products. The power of data analytics is fast becoming realised, leading to greater insights from open data.

For example, TfL uses multi-modal predictive models for planning and managing the transport network. This is achieved by combining its data with third-party data sets and internal traffic models.

Sharing and publishing data allows third parties, such as universities, to create innovative solutions that benefit a local authority or region.

To support the Future of Transport agenda

Open data has an essential role to play in many Future of Transport (FoT) services, including mobility as a service (MaaS), micromobility and demand responsive transport.

DfTs Future of mobility: urban strategy outlines the governments approach to maximising the benefits of transport innovation in cities and towns.

This strategy sets out 9 principles that will guide the governments response to emerging transport technologies and business models. One of the principles is that data from new mobility services must be shared where appropriate to improve choice and the operation of the transport system.

If local authorities share more data including public transport and vehicle movements with e-mobility providers, they can plan where to develop and expand EV schemes. For example, sharing data could help local authorities to provide an alternative to using cars for short journeys.

Open data for charging points is also essential to improve the take-up of electric vehicles.

To add to the public good

Local authorities collecting and opening their data can support the creation of national data sets, for example roadworks and bus open data. National data sets allow greater insights and are more valuable to third parties, such as satellite navigation suppliers.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) response led to the publication of monthly local authority transport data digests. When local authorities opened up their data to establish baselines for local traffic it demonstrated the potential that data has to benefit public interests.

Sharing data doesnt have to be expensive

Many local transport data sets that are currently closed data can be shared by existing suppliers, for example, through urban traffic management and control (UTMC) systems.

City of York Council developed a prototype solution that shared data at relatively low cost and provided immediate benefits.

Newer solutions, such as e-mobility schemes, often provide open data by default, due to the trend towards cloud hosting and open data.

Open data principles

These principles should inform your decision and policy-making around open data.

Make your data machine-readable

Some file formats are easier for machines to handle than others. For example, TXT files are machine-readable and not specific to any operating system. However, a PDF file requires additional processing to be machine-readable, which can introduce errors.

Where possible, you should provide open data in a file format that is easily machine-readable. Example file formats for transport data include JSON, GeoJSON and XML.

