The 21st of October was the first regular Data4PT consortium meeting after the kickoff in March. ITxPT, as the Data4PT Technical Manager, joined forces with the project coordinator UITP in informing the consortium about the project progress. The meeting also addressed upcoming activities and the vital role the nine Member States in the Data4PT consortium play. This report aims to provide insights on the discussed topics during the meeting, highlighting the project’s key activities and next steps.
The Data4PT project aims to advance data-sharing practices in the public transport sector by implementing European standards and data exchange models. The aim is to fulfill the current and future needs of multimodal travel information services within the EU. Read more about Data4PT here.
Upcoming events
Stakeholder Workshop
The next particularly important Data4PT event, the 5th of November stakeholders’ workshop, was presented at the meeting.
During the workshop, ITxPT and UITP will inform and lead discussions between the EU Member States, authorities (PTA), operators (PTO), IT Industry, and other experts. Central topics will be the roadmap towards implementing harmonized European public data standards (Transmodel, NeTEx, and SIRI) and publication of standardized data in the National Access Points.
Furthermore, participants will learn how Data4PT will enable union-wide multimodal travel information services and contribute to a seamless door-to-door travel ecosystem across Europe, covering all mobility services.
You can register for the workshop here.
Local workshops
Within the project, the Member States will organize local workshops on the national level to inform and discuss with stakeholders in their language. UITP and ITxPT will support such activities, hoping that in 2022 the workshops can be physical meetings.
Supporting standards implementation
Expert team assembled
Apart from the ITxPT experts, with experience from the specification of the TS13149 standards for onboard IT systems (from the same CEN group that Transmodel, Siri, and NeTEx), a dedicated Data4PT expert group has been assembled.
In the Data4PT project, the experts have a particularly important role. They not only supply the know-how on implementing the required standards, but they will also spread knowledge and expertise by training new experts. The resulting extended network of experts will support the Members States in the standards implementation process. The Member States will identify persons at a national level to become members of this network of experts.
The current expert team consists of professionals with immense experience and significant involvement in standards development, that are well known for their contribution to EU initiatives and projects. The team is already in place to respond to technical requests and requirements to support stakeholders during the National Access Point implementation phase.
Submit your request or requirement here
Pilot operational use of DATA4PT tools
The nine Member States involved in Data4PT will engage in pilot projects to collect and test data from authorities, operators, and other data producers.
The Members States are currently identifying pilot sites and developing strategies for the pilots. They and their identified actors will provide relevant data sets to support testing procedures and evaluate Data4PT tools.
ITxPT will share its experience in adopting IT standards from years of standards specification development in close collaboration with a vast community of public transport actors such as authorities, operators, and suppliers of IT, vehicles, and equipment.
The pilots’ ultimate goal is to facilitate data preparation to feed National Access Points and familiarize the involved authorities and operators with the EU standards.
Feedback on tools
A central activity in the Data4PT project is to develop validation tools to verify data to feed to the National Access Points. The ITxPT labs already validate standard compliance within the ITxPT labeling process, which will expand to encompass Transmodel, Siri, and NeTEx. According to the plan presented by the ITxPT team, the first release of tools will be in June 2021, and by the end of the year, the Member States should provide feedback on them.
