Help needed to build GMTPE Database and API

[Ben Gibbs]

Hi all,

At the last "Bus Fair" meeting we agreed that before we can create the app, we need to get the ATCO-CIF data from GMPTE into a database so we can query and use the data for the application. And since other app developers would like to use this data, we decided there should be an API to this database of GMPTE data. This would mean that up-to-date Bus data is available to any app developer and will speed up the creation of apps using this data and get this incredibly useful information to more people across Greater Manchester. But we realised we will need help to build this.

So we want you to help us build a system which parses the GMTPE ATCO-CIF data (which is released weekly, and sometime more often than that) into a MySQL database (which will be hosted in the cloud) with an secure API to query the data.

If you think you can help and want to boost democratic access to Bus information, please come along to as many of the hack sessions below as you can which we've arranged with support of FlyThe.Coop:

Monday 6th Sept, 2-5pm, FlyThe.Coop

Wednesday 8th Sept, 6-8pm, FlyThe.Coop

Wednesday 15th Sept, 9am-1pm, FlyThe.Coop

Saturday 18th Sept (Software Freedom Day), 11am - 4pm, FlyThe.Coop

Monday 20th Sept, 6-8pm, FlyThe.Coop

Saturday 25th Sept, 11am-4pm, FlyThe.Coop

FlyThe.Coop is on the first floor of the MadLab building, 36-40 Edge Street, Manchester, M4 1HN.

This will be a great Open Source project and will contribute to the opening of Bus Data in Greater Manchester by making it even more accessible. It will also be useful to other regions when their ATCO-CIF Bus data is released.

Ta, Ben

--

www.bobop.co.uk

07811 197374

web design, development, consultancy

[crowbot]

Hi,

Francis Irving has written an ATCO-CIF parser in python that may be
useful:

Python Atco-CIF parser:
http://github.com/mysociety/commonlib/blob/master/pylib/mysociety/atcocif.py

Code that uses it:
http://github.com/mysociety/mapumental/tree/master/ptdaemon/

I also wrote a hacky script that uses it to dump out stops and routes
from the NPTDR dataset to CSV.

http://github.com/mysociety/fixmytransport/blob/master/script/dump_nptdr_routes.py

Cheers

Louise

> *www.bobop.co.uk*

[Ben Gibbs]

Hi everyone,

A quick reminder that the first GMPTE Hack Session to build a database and API from their ATCO-CIF data is this afternoon from 2-5pm at FlyThe.Coop.

Please come along if you can to help shape this project, plan a roadmap, work out the best way to build this, and to meet other people interested in getting this Bus data more accessible.

Hope to see you here, Ben

--

www.bobop.co.uk

[Ben Gibbs]

Our second GMPTE Hack session will be tomorrow (Wednesday 8th) from 7pm at FlyThe.Coop.

Do come along and help build this vital tool to get the GMTPE data accessible to the masses!

Ta, Ben

[Ian M]

Hey Ben,

Can't make all of these dates, but would like to follow progress.

Can you let us know where the git repo and todo list is?

Hope to donate some time to one of the Saturday hack sessions.

Cheers,

Ian.
http://twitter.com/oceanician

[carlb]

Hi,

As a Peak District based developer working on Linked Data, I was
searching for groups in the area working on similar projects and came
across ODM. I gather from the others posts that you're planning on
using MySQL with a secure API to query the data.

I was wondering if you have any plans to publish the GMPTE data as
Linked Data? A lot of commentators in the Linked Data and Open Data
arenas are arguing in favour of Linked Data, RDF and SPARQL as a
standard approach for publishing, querying and interconnecting open
data sets, and against proprietary / custom Web APIs, arguing that the
latter slice the Web into 'data silos'.

Regards,
Carl Blakeley

On Sep 2, 2:40 pm, Ben Gibbs <bobopm...@gmail.com> wrote:

> *www.bobop.co.uk*

[Julian Tait]

Hi Carl,

The need for the API has come from the fact that we are receiving a large 200MB ATCO-CIF every week and that people building apps have had to hold a local copy of this data to make their apps work. We think that this is something that GMPTE should be doing but it is down to the community at the moment. It would be great to publish the data as Linked Data but we need people with those skills to do it. Do you fancy it?

Cheers

Julian

Julian Tait

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[Ian Carroll]

Hi Guys,

A few months back I was working on a project for the NHS Information Centre
in Leeds to open up access to data. The prototype can be accessed here:

http://uatapi.ic.nhs.uk/

Due to the public sector cutbacks the project funding ran dry and it never
got released. I no longer work at the NHS IC but your feedback would be very
valuable as I suspect the project will start-up again once further funding
is secured. I'm also discussing options for open sourcing the API so I can
continue the development within the community. Is this of interest?

Cheers,

Ian.

[Andy Loughran]

The message "You have no right to use it unless you're from $$$$$$$$$$" put me off.

You sure we can access this legally, although we may be able to do so technically?

Regards,

Andy

[Julian Tait]

I do like the way it tells me that I have no right to be there and to 'Please Leave Now'

J

[Ian Carroll]

Hi Andy,

 

Yes it’s fine. Admittedly, it’s a badly worded disclaimer. As long as you’re just evaluating the interface and providing feedback then its fine. It’s certainly not in a production quality releasable state so I wouldn’t go rolling it into any killer apps!

 

Cheers,

 

Ian.

[Ian Carroll]

Hey Julian, “Please leave now” seems to have worked on Andy ;)

 

From: opendatam...@googlegroups.com [mailto:opendatam...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Julian Tait
Sent: 09 September 2010 23:17
To: opendatam...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [ODM] NHS API

 

I do like the way it tells me that I have no right to be there and to 'Please Leave Now'