Developing a Common Language for Microtransit Providers

Rural transit agencies could benefit from an emerging technology called  Transactional Data Specification (TDS), which “establishes a common language allowing transportation providers to share data related to customers, their destinations or scheduling,” according to a report from the Shared-Use Mobility Center with AARP.

As Skip Descant explains in GovTech, the report outlines how smaller agencies can use the technology to implement and improve operations of on-demand microtransit and coordinate efforts across platforms.

While data specifications are not new (many urban transit agencies and planning apps rely on the General Transit Feed Specification), there is no uniform standard for on-demand transit. “A pilot project led by the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) is working to develop trip-planning operations among three small transit operators serving dial-a-ride and paratransit customers in a small rural area.” The project led to a 4.2 increase in ridership in the first nine months of the pilot.

According to report co-author Jana Lynott, “Small providers have limited staff and technology budgets. The TDS allows demand-response transit providers to share trip and need-to-know customer data with one another in a way that is easy and convenient, without the need to pick up the phone or send an email. It is an essential tool to help them break down their agency silos.”