Reblogged from Open Transportation, March 12, 2013:
A couple of weeks ago, Chris and I attended the NY Open Transportation Meetup “ALL aboard! The reboot, a presentation of MTA’s Bus Time & NYC DOT data” co-hosted by NYU’s very own Sarah Kaufman. Not only were we greeted with free pizza, we were also given the opportunity to interact with some of the most interesting and innovative people in the transportation field.
First we heard from Neil Freeman of the Department of Transportation, about the agency’s strategic communications initiatives and the current state and future of open DOT data. We also heard about how the DOT is undertaking the important initiative of performance measurement. Having completed Wagner’s Performance Measurement and Management course, I am familiar with the challenges public agencies face in measuring their success. As the DOT seeks to provide New Yorkers with safe and efficient public space, measuring safety, or even perceptions of safety can be quite difficult. For an agency as large as the DOT, it is good to know that they have a talented and creative team taking the reigns.
We also heard from Mike Frumin of the MTA who, while he couldn’t go into too much detail about the latest Bust Time API updates, was able to get us excited for what is to come. I am very much looking forward to seeing how developers will utilize open data so that I can know exactly when my bus is coming, and spend less time outside in the cold.
All in all, the Meetup was entertaining, informative and delicious. A relative newbie to all of this open data talk, I was impressed with the MTA and DOT’s policies that seem to be truly embracing developers and open data to create better and more efficient ways for New Yorkers to move around, and even enjoy it!
The MetroCard Collective 