open public data

[Vijay Patil]

Hello

I am sharing few links below. The theme is "open public data", created
by Govt. (i.e. taxpayer money).

1. Bus schedule data is public data and it MUST be openly published

http://www.xconomy.com/san-francisco/2012/02/21/google-transit-a-search-giant-remaps-public-transportation/?single_page=true

Google’s activism in public transit is having widespread ripple
effects. Most importantly, the company’s services are making it easier
for public-transit users to plan their bus or train trips to minimize
waits and missed connections. In theory, better experiences for riders
translate into higher ridership, greater revenues for transit
agencies, and less congestion on streets and highways.

The rise of GTFS has also helped to spur a larger “open government
data” movement that cuts across areas like healthcare, energy, and
education.

There was nothing particularly complex about GTFS. Agencies willing to
share their schedules simply needed to create about a dozen text files
full of comma-delimited data showing the latitudes and longitudes of
each stop on their system, the times buses and trains were supposed to
arrive at each stop, and a few other details.

2. No data on actual vehicle's passing toll booth
http://www.dnaindia.com/speakup/comment_warning-bell-tolls-for-road-contractors_1653426

I don’t think that the toll collection facilities on state roads have
been audited in the last 10 years. It is estimated that more than five
times of the actual cost to build the roads has been collected till
now. There is no transparency on the real figures of the revenue
generated.

3. No Statistics on RTO page.
http://www.rtopune.info/statistics.htm
Pune citizens should know no. of new vehicles (date, dealer, model
etc) being registered, no. of vehicles transferred etc. in Pune

4. Exercise for you
Find out (using Internet, phone etc. whatever takes minimal efforts)
daily temperatures (min and max) for Pune, for last 7 days. Hint: Some
govt. agency is responsible for collecting this data and openly
publish it. See if you can find the temp. figures for last 7 days,

--
Vijay Patil