Standardizing Data for Mobility Management (2013)

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I. INTRODUCTION Project Description The Transit Cooperative Research Program has funded a “Quick Response” project (TCRP J- 6/Task 82, Standardizing Data for Mobility Management) to assess the exchange of (computer based) data among transportation providers, brokers, customers and human service agencies for successful mobility management undertakings. The goal of this research is to identify opportunities for the standardization of data relevant to mobility management, focusing on realistically achievable objectives that can be achieved in the near-term, including possible specifications, and which can also contribute to more ambitious outcomes over a longer time frame. This research examined the types of data that are used in technologies that are part of mobility management systems as well as the environment in which these software systems function. The recommendations address: • Where data standards will provide value for mobility managers; • The specific data and related protocols needed for improved functionality; and, • Guidelines for procurement specifications for agencies purchasing new technology for mobility management. This Report This report presents the research findings and conclusions from TCRP J-06/Task 82. It includes a survey of both private vendors of scheduling and dispatch software and a range of transportation agencies judged to be on the advance edge of standardized data and/or are Veterans Transportation and Community Living Initiative (VTCLI) grantees. The survey was conducted using telephone interviews with written questions provided in advance to the participating individuals. A description of the survey and those contacted is contained in Appendix A. This report is organized as follows: • Chapter I: Introduction presents background information. • Chapter II: Context provides a context for understanding the problem, providing both a functional description and various perspectives on the problem. • Chapter III: Data Framework and State of the Practice begins with an in-depth look at the data requirements for discovery and transactional data. It then describes the current state of practice. 9

• Chapter IV: Data Exchange Standards identifies common approaches to data exchange, illustrates practices in other industries, and provides examples of the development of standards in related situations. • Chapter V: Advancing Data Standards identifies considerations in advancing data standards, proposes a core set of data standards for the mobility management community to consider, and outlines work to be completed to advance data standards. A glossary is included at the end of the report with definitions of many terms used in the report. As used in this report, the terms “data standards” or “standardization of data” are used in the generic context to refer to commonly defined data. The term “specifications” refers to the descriptions of such standardized data in a manner that can be used by software developers. Background For decades, communities have been pursuing mobility management to improve transportation options for older adults, individuals with disabilities, individuals with low incomes, and, more recently, veterans. The success of mobility management requires effective exchange of information among transportation providers, service brokers, customers, and agencies that provide health, social, education, and other services. Events have converged in the last decade resulting in a need to examine how technology can be used to enhance mobility management and coordination activities. Key events are: • Some transportation providers have been working to electronically share passenger trip records with subcontractors or other providers with the potential to provide some trips more efficiently. This builds on the system of faxing a driver’s manifest, or record of trips that each vehicle will operate, to a subcontractor and having the subcontractor fax back, at the end of the day, a report on the disposition of these trips. • The demand response transportation industry has begun to perceive the need for some level of interoperability between multiple software systems. Vendors of scheduling and dispatch software have developed, generally on a unique or one- off basis, data dictionaries and the software to translate data from one software system to another, enabling this to happen electronically, minimizing the data entry. Some individual transportation providers have experimented in developing software that will meet their needs, helping to define the functions where standardized data will be valuable. • Google has developed specifications now known as the General Transit Feed Specifications (GTFS), enabling transit providers to enter fixed-route information into the Google mapping system. These specifications have become widely used 10

in the Google mapping software and in public transit trip planners, essentially becoming de facto standards for describing fixed route data spatially and temporally. The address standards in the Google Trip Planner are also widely used. • Customers, human service agencies, and transportation providers have become very aware of the need to make it easier to access transportation services, particularly for groups such as the elderly, veterans, and low-income individuals. The concept of a “One-call, One-click” or other information and referral system is gaining in popularity. • The Veterans Transportation for Community Living Initiative (VTCLI) has allocated tens of millions of dollars of federal funds to initiatives that are primarily of two types: (1) Information and referral (I&R) systems, which may have as their ultimate objective a One Call/One Click system which enables veterans to be able to obtain information on all relevant transportation options via a single phone call or web site; (2) Transportation “coordination” systems in which the focus is on multiple organizations concerting their activities so that vehicle capacity can be shared among the participants. While there is a growing awareness of the desirability of standardized data and system inter- operability for mobility management, it is also clear that most participants in the demand response transportation industry have at most a rudimentary understanding of the advantages and challenges of developing such standards and accomplishing interoperability. The issue of data standards is considered to be a “technical” issue—or even more specifically, an “information technology (IT)” issue. Most system managers or program administrators perceive it to be outside of their functional comfort zone. In reality, data standards are as much about business/organizational processes as they are about technology, but this is not yet widely understood within the industry. This study, in fact, is in part motivated by the need to bring greater visibility to and understanding of this topic to a non-technical audience. It is important to build an understanding of how the absence of data standards and data interoperability is constraining the ability to develop effective mobility management systems. 11