Bus Observatory

A public archive of real-time data on vehicle movements and status, collected from transit systems around the world.

Nov 2020

Real-time transit data is valuable for travelers, helping them use services more effectively with less inconvenience. However, this data is also valuable for analyzing larger trends and issues. However, this data is ephemeral. Transit agencies lack the resources to archive and maintain logs of position data for use by the public.

The Bus Observatory, launched in 2020, seeks to fill this gap by retrieving and archiving systemwide snapshots of vehicle positions every minute, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, for several transit systems around the world.

Our goal is to demonstrate the potential for longitudinal, cross-city studies that can inform both operations and long-term planning.

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(api.busobservatory.org)
Tags
  • Transportation and Logistics