OPEN DATA’S IMPACT TRANSPORT FOR LONDON GET SET, GO!

OPEN DATA

by Becky Hogge January 2016 OPEN DATA’S IMPACT TRANSPORT FOR LONDON GET SET, GO!

by Becky Hogge January 2016

www.odimpact.org

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License TRANSPORT FOR LONDON: GET SET, GO!

Summary deliver tens of millions in monetised time savings to its core customer base, all for Transport for London (TfL) was a cautious relatively low investment. Open data thinking entrant into the open data fold. But now, is now “embedded” in the organisation, and five years after beginning to release its key datasets, many in real time, the apps built on TfL’s experience with open data has led to the back of its data number in the hundreds, other national transport authorities following reach millions of London transport users and in their footsteps.

Key Takeaways

• Transport data is very amenable to the open data approach. The market for developing apps based on transport data is highly responsive.

• TfL was a cautious entrant to the open data fold. The decision to open TfL’s data was in large part an experimental one, since the business case for open data was hard to model. The risk paid off: TfL is now converted to open data, and has been able to demonstrate the benefits of an open data policy to other stakeholders in the field who may never have been in a position to take the initial leap of faith themselves.

• TfL knew its customers increasingly wanted to access information about transport services across a wide variety of smartphone platforms. This was a key factor in the decision to move to open data, since the alternative—developing apps in-house that served every smartphone platform—would have been an expensive undertaking.

• Innovation in the transport apps market may slow once personal data becomes a more important part of the mix. Apps like Google Now have the potential to lock users in to transport data-based services thanks to location data Google collects mayor. Itisfundedby“farepayers and by aBoardofDirectorschairedLondon’s (GLA). Itispubliclyowned,andgoverned TfL ispartoftheGreaterLondon Authority Charge scheme. hire vehicles,andrunsthecity’s Congestion roads. ItregulatesLondon’s taxisandprivate traffic lightsanda580kmnetworkofmain city atGreenwich.Itcontrolsthecity’s 6,000 that crosstheRiverThamestoeastof station, andtheEmiratesAirLinecablecars cycle hirescheme, itsRiverServices,coach Overground, andTramlink, itrunsthecity’s Tube network,DocklandsLightRailway, As wellasmanagingLondon’s buses,the network everyday. of transportinEurope’s largestcity, with24millionjourneysmadeacrossLondon’s transport strategy andmanagingtransportservicesacrosstheUKcapital.Itoverseesalmostallaspects Transport forLondon (TfL) isthelocalgovernmentbodyresponsibleforimplementingtransport BACKGROUND good businesssense. investment innewtechnology oftenmakes and thescaleofitsoperationsmeansearly innovator inthefieldoftransportservices, funding TfL enjoysareputationasan borrowing, cashmovements,andCrossrail GLA, andtheremainderwasmadeupof the UK’s DepartmentforTransport andthe A quarter(25%)wasfromgrantfundingvia other income(e.g., theCongestion Charge). £10.9bn fundingwasderivedfromfaresand taxpayers”. In2014/15, nearlyhalf(47%)ofits developed in-housetokeep users’paymentdetailssecure. smartphone servicesthatincludeapaymentelementandthereforemustbe that willbeunavailabletocompetingproviders.At thesametime, TfL isdeveloping tremendous journey.” what wouldhappen.” Emer Coleman,GreaterLondon “TfL havecomeona just goforitandsee “You couldn’tprove eventually whatwe decided waswe’d in advancewhat making thedata open wasgoing Authority/TransportAPI. to leadto. So Vernon Everitt,TfL

4 OPEN DATA’S IMPACT | Transport for London: get set, go! data offerattemptstoexclude anyform ofpersonalinformation.Nonetheless,onedatasetdid (Tube departureboards)toannually(London UndergroundPassenger Counts data).TheTfL TfL’s website specifies howregularly each datafeedisupdated, rangingfrom every30 seconds Young, headofTfL Online, responded: TfL refertoitas“opendata”, asdoobserversingeneral.Whenquestionedonthispoint,Phil released byTfL doesnotconformtotheopendefinition.Nonetheless,internallyandexternally, about theirintendeduseofthedatabeforebeinggrantedaccesstoit.Inthisrespect any productscreatedasofficial TfLproducts.Usersmustalsogive TfLaccurateinformation the dataAPIs,theseconditionscoalescearoundprotectingTfL’s brandingandnotpassingoff as settingfairlyreasonablelimitsonthedemand(numberofcalls)anyoneusercanmake on 2.0 oftheOpenGovernmentLicence, containsomeimportantadditionalconditions. Aswell the registrationprocess,usersagreetoasetoflicensingtermsthat,whilebasedonversion TfL requiresdatare-userstoregisterwiththeminorderaccessanyoftheirdata.During datasets (detailingoperationalperformance, directors’remuneration,etc.). datasets (suchastimetables,stationlocations,andfacilities)transparency-oriented departure boards,livetrafficdisruption,busarrivals,and TfL’s JourneyPlannerAPI), fixed TfL makes available62separatedatasets.Thesearea mixofreal-timefeeds(suchasTube THE DATA 2 1 IDs inthedatahadbeenanadministrativeerror someone’s lifeinLondon”exposure of“adetailedrecord[of] Facebook post,picture, ortweetlinkingan individualtoacyclehirelocation),leadingthe the presenceof“anyseeminglyinnocuouspersonal signal”(suchasaFoursquarecheckin, cycle hireusestatisticsconnectedtoCustomerIDscouldtheoreticallybede-anonymised in appear toposeaprivacyrisk:InApril2014softwareengineerJamesSiddledemonstrated how from Quartz:http://qz.com/199209/londons-bike-share-program-unwittingly-revealed-its-cyclists-movements-for-the-world-to-see/ been Mirani, L.(2014,April16). Siddle, J. (2014,April10). than anywhereelsepossiblyintheworld,wouldsuggestthatit’s …fairlyopen. get moredevelopersworkingonourstuff, andmoreappscreatedonourstuff, data is.Really [whatwestipulateis]incrediblylight,andthefactthatprobably data unlessthey’reparticularlynarrowintheirviewofwhattheythinkthatopen As farasdevelopersareconcerned,Ithinktheywouldconsiderittobeopen . Retrieved fromTheVariable Tree: http://vartree.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/i-know-where-you-were-last-summer.html London’s bike-share programunwittinglyrevealeditscyclists’ movementsfortheworldtosee. I KnowWhereYou Were Last Summer:London’s publicbike dataistellingeveryonewhereyou’ve 2 . Theyhavesincebeenremoved. 1 . TfL said thatincludingCustomer

Retrieved

5 OPEN DATA’S IMPACT | Transport for London: get set, go! profiled inthisreport),thathadbegun player inanotheropendataproject the charitythatrunsmySociety, isakey trustee ofUKCitizensOnlineDemocracy, by Tom Loosemore (who, asaformer defunct developernetworkco-founded and specificallyBBCBackstage, anow working inthepublicservicespace, points totrendsamongotherdatateams embeddable widgetsin2007, PhilYoung his team’s motivationtodevelop of improvementworks.Discussing was undergoinganintenseprogram lines atweekends, asthenetwork check thestatusofLondon Underground a strategytoencouragecustomers websites. Thereleaseswerepartof and iGoogle, aswellcustom-designed content aggregatorserviceslike NetVibes like livetravelupdatesintopopularweb users tointegrateTfL onlineproducts widgets. These“codesnippets”allowed Young, releasedasetofembeddable when thedevelopmentteam,ledbyPhil TfL’s journeytoopenbeganin2007, THE PATH TO OPEN scheduling data: to experimentwithreleasingtheBBC’s 3 Interview, PhilYoung, HeadofOnline, TfL [the BBC’s] data. done. Andwequicklysawthatourdatawasprobablymore interestingthan just asinterestedinthisworldeveryone else, andthe thingsthatcouldbe was goingon.We wereasmalldigitalteamofkeen developers,sowewere We neverreally engagedwiththeBBConit,butwewereobservingwhat 3 Box 1 accessibility androadsfeedsadded. serving millionsofcustomers.New feeds, hundredsofappsonthemarket 2013 –Over5,000 developers,30data Over 4,000 developersregistered. Paralympic Gamestransportdataportal. full London 2012Olympicand 2012 –LivebusarrivalsAPIlaunched, over 1,000. launched. Registered developersriseto location andJourneyPlannerAPIs 2011 –London Undergroundtrain with hundredsofdevelopersregistered. Additional real-timefeedslaunched 2010 –London Datastorelaunched. launched onTfL website. 2009 –Specialareafordevelopers Journey Planner. “widgets” forlivetravelnews,mapand 2007 –Launch ofembeddable

6 OPEN DATA’S IMPACT | Transport for London: get set, go! that wouldeventuallybecometheLondon Datastore. Thisopendataportalwouldteaseout boroughs tocollaborate. Oneofthepoliciesshedevised wasapropositionaroundopendata funding andanewfocusongovernmenttransparency, shewasseekingawayforLondon (one ofLondon’s 32boroughs).Tasked withrespondingtoimminentcutspublicsector Emer ColemanhadarrivedattheGLAin2009onsecondmentforayearfromBarnettcouncil a goodideabecausetheirdefaultsettingwasalreadyopenness Everitt observesthat“no-oneneededtopersuadeourpoliticalmastersattheGLAthis was the releaseofdataandachieveitfasterthanwouldotherwisehavebeencase Vernon EverittandPhilYoung agreethat“theclearpolicyof[theGLA]helped TfL toprioritise overriding goalofservingLondon’s transportusers. TfL nowviewaccurate, real-timetraveldataasa complementtotransportinfrastructureintheir journey sofarthus: Experience, Marketing andCommunicationsTfL’s opendatachampion,describesthe data releasesisgiveninFigure1.Vernon Everitt,ManagingDirectorinchargeofCustomer team launchedadedicatedareaontheTfL websiteforwebdevelopers In 2009, recognisingthatwebdeveloperswantedTfL togofurther, PhilYoung andhis 7 6 5 4 the collectionofpeoplewhoattended: and callsfordatawereoverwhelminglyfocussed oncrimeandtransport.Clarke remembers to gov.uk, DirectGov. Thetwoeventsthatfollowedattractedbetween60and100participants, the governmentopendatacommunitywhowas thenworkingasacontractorattheprecursor of theportalindevelopercommunity, withthehelpofPaul Clarke, awell-knownfigurein Ahead oftheLondon Datastore’s release, Colemanissuedanopeninvitation topotentialusers been runningsince2006),toputpublicdata in publichands. enthusiasts, andparticularlythe and stimulateeconomicgrowthinthecity, andtoexternaldemandscomingfromopendata collaboration acrossLondon’s boroughs,andrespondbothtointernalpressuressavemoney Interview, Vernon Everitt,ManagingDirectorinchargeofCustomerExperience, Marketing andCommunications,TfL Private correspondence, PhilYoung andVernon Everitt Interview, Vernon Everitt,ManagingDirectorinchargeofCustomerExperience, Marketing andCommunications,TfL The modernversionofthisarea isavailablehere:https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/open-data-users/ did awholebunchofstufffortheOlympicswhichgaveitaddedimpetus. plug inandplay. Andthenin2012ourbusdepartureAPIwaslaunched,andwe forwardly. HencethedevelopmentofmoresophisticatedAPIssopeoplecould openly available, youhadtodoitinaformthatpeoplecouldconsumestraight- got thehangofitandseenthatnotonlydoyouhavetomake thedatafreelyand Between 2007and2010wewerefeelingourwayabit.Andthenby2011we’d Guardian newspaper’s FreeOurDatacampaign (whichhad 7 ”. 4 . AtimelineofTfL’s 5 6 ”. Vernon

7 OPEN DATA’S IMPACT | Transport for London: get set, go! services forcustomersincreasinglywantingaccessviasmartphoneswasacrucialfactorin TfL’s Today, Everitt,Young, andColemanagreethattheeconomicsofdevelopinginformation authorities like tocontrolthings”. Phil Young tellsthestoryfromhisperspective: as reasonablecaution.“You havetoremember,” observesVernon Everitt,“thattransport What appearedasreticencefromoutsidetheorganisation,wasexperiencedinsideTfL the wire”, assheplannedthelaunchofportal: But ColemandescribesareticenceatTfL toreleasetheirdataopenlythatpersisted“rightup It wasbecomingclearthatanylaunchoftheLondon DatastorehadtohaveTfL datainthere. 11 10 9 8 with travellerswantingtoaccessinformationservicesonthemove: decision toreleasetheirdata.ChannelsforconsumingTfL dataweresettodiversifyquickly,

Authority 2009-2011 Authority 2009-2011 Interview, PhilYoung, HeadofOnline, TfL Interview, EmerColeman,Director(Business Development),Transport Interview, EmerColeman,Director(Business Development),Transport Interview, Paul Clarke, Independentcontractor which wouldreflectbackon TfL. Andthat’s actuallywhathappened. the travellingcommuter[ofreleasingdata openly]wasgoingtobehuge, revenue thatwasgenerated,wouldbesmall. Whereastheknock-on benefitto design appsthatwouldn’tmeettheconsumer demandandthemoney, the It waslikely theauthoritywasgoingtospendalotofpublicmoneytrying We didgettotheplacewhereargumentwasover, andthecoursewasset. about ayearofdiscussions,debate, workingitthroughwiththeGLA,Emer…. held themforareason,therewassomelogicbehind….Itprobablytook There wasarangeofviewsinsidetheorganisation…andpeoplewiththose to them,well,that’s notreallyhowtheeconomicsofthiswork. [And] theyhadaconcernaroundaccountability….Sowedidlotofworkexplaining fair tosaythattherewereanumberofconcerns.Theywantedmonetisethedata. place now, soIdon’twanttokeep harpingbacktohowdifficultitwasthen.Butit’s They didn’twantto. […]TfL havecomeonatremendousjourney. It’s inaverypositive out ofreusingandaddingvaluetopublicdatasets. There werepeopletherewhoveryseriousabouttryingtobuildbusinesses It wasn’tjustthearmchairenthusiastorcasualhacker, orthetrainenthusiast. API API 8 ; DirectorofDigitalProjects,Greater London ; DirectorofDigitalProjects,Greater London 9 11 10

8 OPEN DATA’S IMPACT | Transport for London: get set, go! connection toTfL datafeeds” “many developersfeedtheirappestatefromownserverarchitectureandhaveasingle are reaching.Examiningdatadownloadandaccessstatisticscouldbemisleading,because cannot ascertaindirectlyhowmanyappsareusingtheirdata,orusersthese developers needtoregisterwiththeminorderaccessthatdata.However, beyondthis,TfL TfL areabletoputexactfigureshowmanydevelopersaccessingtheirdatabecause over 5,000 userswereregisteredtoconsumeandtransformTfL data numbered morethanathousand.In2012,thenumberhadrisentoover4,000 andby2013 of usersregisteredtoconsumeTfL datawasinthehundreds.Thefollowingyear, 2011,it In 2010, theyearafterlaunchofspecialdevelopers’areaTfL website, thenumber transport users’growingdemandtoaccessdataaboutTfL transportservicesviasmartphone. and servicesbasedonTfL data,appsthatservedTfL’s customerbase, andrespondedto For thepolicytobeasuccess,theyneededexistingornewbusinessesdevelopproducts TfL’s mainaiminreleasingtheirdatafreelywastospurthedevelopmentofapps in themarket. OUTCOME case, hesays hewouldstillbewritingit: experimental one. IfEveritthadtriedtositdownandwriteaconventionaltransportbusiness But atthetime, TfL wasconsciousthatthedecisiontogoopeninalargepartan 15 14 13 12 transform themintoapps,aturnaroundwhich alsoimpressesVernon Everitt: Coleman iskeen toconveythespeedwithwhichdeveloperstake newTfL datareleasesand They estimatedthatsuchappshadbeendownloaded nearly4milliontimesin2012(3,979,300) downloaded appspoweredbyTfL data,basedonaproprietaryresearchtoolprovidedbyxyo.net. In areportpublishedinMay2013,Deloitteprovided analysisofhowmanypeoplehave 362 smartphoneappsusingTfL data data acrossthemajorsmartphoneplatforms.Thelatestcount,doneinNovember2014,showed Each year, TfL attemptsto ascertain take-up ofitsdataindirectly, bycountingthe appsusingthe

ment-of-public-sector-information.pdf and Skills:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/198905/bis-13-743-market-assess Deloitte. (2013,May). Everitt, V. (2014).Deliveringbettercustomerinformationthrough freeopendata. Reed, S.(2015). Reed, S.(2015). eventually whatwedecidedwaswe’d justgoforitandseewhatwouldhappen. You couldn’tproveinadvancewhatmakingthedataopenwasgoingtoleadto. So Open DataandBusApps. Open DataandBusApps. Market AssessmentofPublicSector Information. 13 . Transport forLondon Customer Group. Transport forLondon Customer Group. 14 . Retrieved from DepartmentforBusiness,Innovation PTI, 1 , pp. 8-11. 12 . 15 . -

9 OPEN DATA’S IMPACT | Transport for London: get set, go! of TfL data,(seeFigure2foroneexample Advanced SpatialAnalysisatUniversityCollegeLondon increatingandcuratingvisualisations looking intoissuessuchasroadsafety. ColemanhighlightstheworkofCentrefor including businessesplanninglocationsofnewstoresandoffices,aswellacademics most researchandmonitoringinthisarea,it’s importanttonoteotherusersofTfL’s dataoffer, Although thisthrivingappgarden,grownfromtheseedsofTfL’s data,isthemainfocusof 17 16 customers bybetterinforming themofdelaysanddisruptionstotransport services?Has the majorityofitsappdevelopment?Iftimeis money, howmuch“money”didTfL saveits to viewthisquestion.DidTfL savemoneybyadoptingapolicythateffectively outsourced What istheimpactofTfL’s opendatapolicytodate? Therearemultiplelensesthroughwhich IMPACT

Interview, Vernon Everitt,ManagingDirectorinchargeofCustomer Experience, Marketing andCommunications,TfL Formoreexamples,see(CASA blognetworkn.d.) products liveintheApplestore48hourslater. When weputthecyclehiredockingstationdatalivetherewereliterallytwo Copyright WillGallia.Reproduced withpermission. Figure 2:VisualisationofTfL Tube data. 17 ). 16

10 OPEN DATA’S IMPACT | Transport for London: get set, go! Did thefactthatTfL’s opendatapolicyeffectivelyoutsourcedits appdevelopmentdelivera own website. requirements foraccuratereal-timedatabothtomanagethetransportnetworkandpower its ongoing costsofsupplyingopendataare“almosttoohardtodisaggregate is generallyunderstoodinternallyatTfL tohaveincurredaone-timecostofabout£1m TfL’s data“inareliableshape Preparing TfL’s dataoffer, launchingthedeveloperareaofwebsiteandgenerallyputting transport users(andthereforedownloadersofLondon transportapps)overall. over timeandinanycasebike hireschemeusersmustmake uponlyatinysubsetofLondon by Deloitte. Thislatterestimateisinawayevenmore crudegivenittakes noaccountof reach FOI response),TfL wouldneedtohavespent£16,321,501.77 toachievethe~4mfigurereported app downloads,ofwhichTfL report therehadbeen29,139 forthecycleappat thetimeof to deliverall362appscurrentlypoweredbyTfL opendata.Alternatively, lookingatreach(i.e., develop allofitsappsin-house, itwouldneedtohaveoutlaiddevelopmentcostsofover£43m Crudely, wemightthereforesuggestthathadTfL madethedecisiontoholdonitsdataand with thenewapp. of InformationrequestsubmittedtoTfL terminal receive abike releasecodestraighttotheirphone, withouthavingtousethedockingstation its ownin-houseappforusersofLondon’s SantanderCycleHireScheme, enablingthemto data totheappmarket, ratherthandevelopingallitsappsin-house. InMay2015,TfL released It ispossibletoconcludethatTfL havesofarsavedbetween£15m-£42mthroughopeningraw other transportplayers,nationallyandinternationally, andwithwhatconsequence? contribution toLondon andthenation’s GDP?AndhasTfL’s leadershipinthisareainfluenced TfL, andtoLondon? HasTfL’s dataofferstimulatedanappeconomythatismakingareal general customersatisfactionimprovedfollowingthepolicyandwhatisvalueofthisto 23 22 21 20 19 18 cost benefitratioof1:43?Or1:16?“It’s conjecture, really, isn’t it?”saysPhil Young:

London: https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2015/may/revolutionary-new-santander-cycles-app-launched Interview, PhilYoung, HeadofOnline, TfL Interview, Vernon Everitt,ManagingDirectorinchargeofCustomerExperience, Marketing andCommunications,TfL Interview, Vernon Everitt,ManagingDirectorinchargeofCustomerExperience, Marketing andCommunications,TfL Both PhilYoung andVernon Everittusedthisfigureininterview, althoughneither wereabletopointasourceconfirmingit. Baxevanis, A.(2015,May13). Retrieved from WhatDoTheyKnow: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/santander_cycles_app Transport forLondon. (2015,May11). millions since2010. Itwouldbeinthatorder, anyway. because Ididn’thavetodoit.Butlet’s imagineIwouldhavespentanumberof services? Idon’tknowhowmuchwouldhavespent onthat.Ihaven’tcostedit, How muchwouldIspendonbuildingnativeapps forallofTfL’s transport 18 (formoreonwhyTfL developedthisappinhouse, seeDiscussion, below).AFreedom FOI request:SantanderCyclesapp 20 Revolutionary newSantanderCyclesApplaunched ” sothat,forexample, peoplecouldqueryitonaregularbasis, 19 revealsdevelopmentcostsof£118,898.06 associated . 23 . Retrieved fromTransport for 22 ” fromTfL’s 21 . The

11 OPEN DATA’S IMPACT | Transport for London: get set, go! over 10years,atacosttoTfL of£820,000 Reed hasshownthatappspoweredbyTfL’s busdata will deliver£83mofcustomerbenefit Using adifferentapproachandsetoffigures, TfL’s HeadofBusSystems& Technology Simon of amajorandpoliticallycontentiousinfrastructureinvestmentproject. making itsdataopen,TfL hasdelivered monetisedtimesavingsthatarecomparabletothose as theDeloittestudy HS2 railprojectlinkingLondon andBirmingham,which,ifcalculatedusingthesametimevalues Deloitte comparetheseannualsavingstothoseprojectedforusersofthefirstphase estimate) in2012. based onTfL datasavedtransportusers£15m(conservativeestimate)or£58m(optimistic estimates ofthevaluetransportusersplaceontheirtime by beingbetterinformed hypothesised howmanyusersofappsbasedonTfL datawouldhaveavoidedthedelays Deloitte usedofficialannualfigureson LostCustomerHoursduetotransportdisruptions,and Information inMay2013.Thefoundationofthisanalysisistheideathattimemoney: policy, istheonederivedbyDeloitteaspartofShakespeare Review ofPublicSector account. Thefiguremostquotedwhendiscussingthisaspectoftheimpact TfL’s opendata sense thattheimpactofitsopendatapolicyonpublicitservesmustalsobetaken into How hasTfL’s opendatapolicyimpactedthepublicitserves?TfL isapublicbody, soitmakes 28 27 26 25 24

Open DataandBusApps. brings thetotalcostofproviding thedataover10yearsto£820,000 (against£83mofcustomerbenefit). Reed, S.(2015). costs oftheLiveBusArrivalsData feedof£47,000. Inaddition totheinitialdevelopmentofdatafeed(£350,000), this get thesameinformationforfree). Thisanalysisisinterestingnotleast becauseitputsafigureontheannualrunning(opex) lates avaluedeliveredtobuspassengersof£8.3mperyear (being theamountofmoneysavedby bususersnowtheycan about thetimeofnextbusandanyservicedelaysbytyping acode shownonthebusstopinto theirphone, hecalcu on passengers’historicwillingnesstopay1.44penceperjourney for SMSserviceswheretheycan receiveinformation that theyhavenotcritiquedtheHS2studyaspartoftheiranalysis. In this,Ihavefollowedtheirlead. time asusedintheDeloittestudy, soDeloittehaveswitchedthevalueshere. NotethatDeloittearecarefultomake clear calculated accordingtothelatterfigure, theoverallvalueoftimesavedwouldbemuchhigher. optimistic) wereabletousetheappfindanalternativeroute inthe eventofadelay ment-of-public-sector-information.pdf and Skills:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/198905/bis-13-743-market-assess Starting fromthe~4million“reach” figurequotedfurtherupthisreport,Deloitteestimated: Deloitte. (2013,May). The value of the time saved was calculated according to DfT values ofleisure/commutingtime, notbusinesstime—wereit The valueofthetimesavedwascalculatedaccordingtoDfT Using TfL’s ownsurveydata,Reed calculatesthat24%ofdailypassengerjourneysbybusaresupportedapps.Based The originalHS2timesavingsvalue(£440m/yearin2012prices) usesaworkingtimevalue, notleisuretime/commuting 20/40% (conservative/optimistic)ofpeoplewhodownloaded an appbecameregularusers of these, 10/25%(conservative/ information releasedbyTfL. to estimatethetimepotentiallysaved,andvalueofthattime, owingtothe through betteraccesstoinformation,andthevalueofanhour, itispossible By makingsomeassumptionsaboutthenumberofpassengerhourssaved Market AssessmentofPublicSectorInformation. 27 , comeinat£105million.ThisallowsDeloittetoimplythatbysimply Transport forLondon Customer Group. 25 . Fromthisanalysis,andusingofficialDepartmentfor Transport 24 28 . Retrieved fromDepartmentforBusiness,Innovation 26 , theycalculatedthatoverall,apps - - 12 OPEN DATA’S IMPACT | Transport for London: get set, go! London economythroughstimulatingappdevelopment,andexpecttohaveinitialfindings TfL areintheprocessofconductingresearchintowhatvalueitsdataofferhasdeliveredto together todelivera20%reductioninregulartransportdemandduringpeakGamesusage. that everythingweknew, theyknew,” of newapps,themove“gaveemployersandgovernmentorganisersasenseconfidence planning documentsasopendata,andalthoughtheydidnotseeasignificantspike inthecreation when thecapitalhosted2012OlympicGames.Duringthistime, TfL sharedallofitstransport He alsocreditstoopendatasomeofTfL’s successinmanagingLondon’s transport network data feeds“alleviatedatleastsomeoftheaggravation” causedtoLondon’s commuters: place inSpring2015,hebelievesthatdeliveringreal-timeinformationaboutdisruptionsthrough longer receivescomplaintsaboutTfL’s informationprovision.Referring toTube strikes thattook Although heappreciatesitisacrudemeasure, Vernon Everittbelievesitissignificantthatheno how muchTfL caresaboutitstransportusers: satisfaction, userexperience, progressandinnovation,valueformoney, andperceptionsof measures itsrelationshipwithtransportusersintermsoftrust,usingmetricsincludingcustomer Has opendataimprovedTfL’s relationshipwithitscustomers?AccordingtoPhilYoung, TfL 31 30 29 the developmentofintegrated transportappslike CityMapper. that moreopentransportdatalike thisiscomingonline, Everitt anticipatesanaccelerationin private companiesthatmake upATOC mighthavefeltlessinclinedtotake bythemselves.Now demonstrate thebenefitsofamoreopendata strategybytakinganinitialleapoffaith—onethe rail network,asfollowingTfL’s lead.It’s importanttorememberthatTfL wereonly ableto Operating Companies(ATOC) toprovidetransportinformationrelatingtheUK’s privatised organisations, notablyNationalRail Enquiries,theservice runbytheAssociationofTrain Finally, Vernon Everittcreditsrecentdecisionstoembraceopendatabyother transport and MXDataastwoexamples. started outusingTfL’s datahavegraduallygrownintolargertechcompanies,citingCityMapper report attheendof2015.PhilYoung notesthatalotofsmallappdevelopmentcompanieswho

Interview, Vernon Everitt,ManagingDirectorinchargeofCustomer Experience, Marketing andCommunications,TfL Interview, PhilYoung, HeadofOnline, TfL Interview, Vernon Everitt,ManagingDirectorinchargeofCustomerExperience, Marketing and Communications,TfL hard enoughweprobablycould.Butjustknowit’s working. It’s quitehardgetyourarmsroundthatandputanumberonit.Ithinkifwetried that you’regettingoutofit. data is]partofthereasonoracontributoryfactor—it’s hardtogettheexact delta These metricsadduptoatrustmetric,and[they’re]allontheway….[Open 29 31 and helped make the case for everybody involved to work andhelpedmake thecaseforeverybodyinvolvedtowork 30

13 OPEN DATA’S IMPACT | Transport for London: get set, go! above—had signalledtosomethatTfL wasmovingawayfromopendataasapolicy: for sometime—theSantandercyclehireappthatincludesapaymentcomponent,mentioned Vernon EverittwasconsciousthatthereleaseinMay2015ofTfL’s firstappdevelopedin-house them, Idon’t know” of transportusersstillwantanofficial TfLtravelapp, although“whether we’re readytogiveit Interestingly, PhilYoung pointstocustomerfocusgroupresearchthatindicates thatamajority going totryandmake moneyoutofsellingappsthenitwastransportornothing” London Datastorewas“anorderortwoofmagnitudebeyondanythingelse….Clearly, ifyou’re he witnessedwhilehelpingtoorganisetheGLAdevelopereventsaheadoflaunch immediate andobviousutility, thensowillothers.The“fascination” withtransportdatahesays Paul Clarkcounselsagainstassumingthatjustbecauseonesetofdata—transport—has now aco-director—didnotplanforTfL changingtheiropendatapolicyatabusiness-risklevel. organisation, andsaidthatTransportAPI—the opentransportdatawholesalerofwhichsheis growing population.EmerColemandescribedthepolicyas“embedded”withinTfL asan the program,seeingitashavingakey roletoplayinmeetingthechallengesofLondon’s All intervieweessawnoendtoTfL’s commitmenttoopendata.Vernon Everitt wishes toexpand DISCUSSION 34 33 32 publishers function,soonceserviceslike GoogleNowbecomemore adeptatanticipatingtheir change. JustastheriseofFacebookhasconsolidatedaudiences andaffectedthewaynews data (thatis,theamountofappsextractfrom theirusers)iscurrentlyquitelow, thiscould develop andgrow. AlthoughwhatClarke terms the“datasuck”ofappsusingopentransport open data,andhowitmightconsolidateasapps exploitingthepersonaldataoftheirusers does pointtoanissuealsohighlightedbyPaul Clarke, aboutthefuturemarket fortransforming get thisright.Buttheinterplayofpersonaldata andtransportdatainthenewSantanderapp error thatsawCustomerIDnumbersbrieflyreleased withcyclehirestatistics, TfL appearsto that containspersonaldetailsisundoubtedlyagoodthing,andapartfromtheadministrative This awarenessofthedifferencebetweendatathatisappropriatetoreleaseopenlyand data

Interview, Vernon Everitt,ManagingDirectorinchargeofCustomer Experience, Marketing andCommunications,TfL Interview, Paul Clarke, Independent contractor Interview, PhilYoung, HeadofOnline, TfL payment detailsofourcustomers.Whatsaneorganisationwoulddothat? It’s notformeorTfL togiveawayeithertheindividualjourneyhistoriesor the you havetobereallycareful.You’re talkingaboutpeople’s bankdetailshere. What Ican’tdoishandover[paymentdetails]totheappsmarket ….Ijustthink There isabsolutelynoquestionofourcommitmenttoopendatainallitsforms. 33 . 32 34 .

14 OPEN DATA’S IMPACT | Transport for London: get set, go! • • For policymakers CALLS TO ACTION global communicationsplatform,weshouldbewaryofrapidmarket consolidation. turn outtofunctioninanywaylike themarkets createdbytheriseofworldwidewebasa be consciousofhowlittleweknowaboutthemarkets createdbyopeningpublicdata.Ifthey Opening publicdatashouldnotequalprivatisingdata,andsofar, ithasnot.Yet weshould Vernon Everittalsoperceivesthisrisk: Facebook today, anddatapublishersmayfindthemarket fortheirdatastarklyreduced. users’ needs,usersmayfindthemselveslocked intosuchservicesjustasmanyarelocked into 35 • For funders • For theopendatacommunity

communications platform, weshouldbewaryofrapidmarket consolidation. function inanywaylike themarkets created bytheriseofworldwidewebasaglobal understanding isneededofthemarkets createdbyopeningpublic data.Iftheyturnoutto as smartphoneusersbecomelocked intopersonalisedserviceslike GoogleNow. More More researchisneededintohowthemarket fortransportdatare-usemightconsolidate the HS2railprojectlinkingLondon andBirmingham—amajortransportinfrastructureproject. all forrelativelylowinvestment.Thisiscomparable tosavingsusedjustifybuildingthefirstphaseof has beenshowntodeliver£15m-£58minannualmonetised timesavingstoLondon’s transportusers, This caseshouldformpartoftheopendatacommunity’s advocacytoolkit.TfL’s movetoopenitsdata necessary tomoveanopendataapproach. encourage policymakers tosupporttransportauthoritiesinmakingtheleapoffaith A traditionalbusinesscasewashardforTfL tomodelattheoutset.Thisstudyshould data approachtooutsourceappdevelopment,anditsopenhasalsoimprovedtrust. adoption amongtransportusersishigh.TfL achievedsignificantcostsavingsthroughusinganopen Transport dataishighlyamenabletotheopen dataapproach,particularlywheresmartphone Interview, Vernon Everitt,ManagingDirectorinchargeofCustomer Experience, Marketing andCommunications,TfL I thinkthatwouldworkagainsttheprinciplesofopenness. stuff andtomake productsquickly. Ifthisbecamejustabigcorporateenterprise, I thinkit’s importantthatwepreservetheabilityofappsdeveloperstotake this 35 15 OPEN DATA’S IMPACT | Transport for London: get set, go!