Transit data providers join forces as Optibus acquires Trillium | Smart Cities Dive

2022-09-23 20:34:37 By : Ms. Linda Zeng

Many transit agencies are adjusting their bus and rail schedules as riders return, while also dealing with labor shortages that can cause short-term service cuts. Those changes affect riders who may be used to existing schedules. Optibus can help manage those changes, but "If the data doesn't flow to passengers, we can't really do that," Haggiag said. 

Trillium's expertise is in developing software that uses General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) data, a widely-used standard that can provide real-time information via apps such as Google Maps and Apple Maps, and through passenger information screens at stations and on trains and buses. "Trillium is really focused on what the passenger sees, making sure that the information is accurate and being updated, and it's [available] both offline and in real-time," Haggiag said.

According to the companies, passengers lacking information perceive unexpected wait times more  burdensome than the time they spend on the bus or train. 

More than 350 transit operators, as well as state and federal agencies in the U.S. and Canada, use Trillium software. "Open data systems are what drives public transport forward," Aaron Antrim, founder and CEO of Trillium, said in a statement.

Trillium also offers consulting services for strategic transit planning and for the integration of transit information technologies such as online trip planners, automatic vehicle location and automated stop annunciators. Haggiag said that helps fill a gap in their offerings.

Haggiag said they have already begun integrating the two companies and their products. 

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Under the Clean Air Act, 17 states and D.C. can now follow this lead. Massachusetts established a trigger law this month to adopt the regs once California does. Automakers are worried about their ability to meet the timeline.

Carl Gershenson of The Eviction Lab at Princeton University shares how local leaders could assist low-income renters who are facing eviction or denied housing, even in the absence of new federal funds.

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