Open information
Although «open data» and iRail are often mentioned in the same sentence, they are no synonyms. In fact, we don’t even want to provide open data! It’s not a goal of the non profit Jumping Castle organisation (NPO) to provide datadumps or sublicense data that might be copyrighted. We are also not going to redistribute already available datasets. Let’s get this misconception out of the way…
Data and information
There is a huge difference between data and information: datasets are huge collections on which you perform queries. Information is the answer to such a query. For instance, if I ask iRail on what platform the train to Antwerp leaves, that’s information. It’s not our purpose to provide users with copious amounts of data concerning all trains on a given day.
To us, the software developers in the NPO, accessibility of information is the most important aspect of our application. If we provide our users with a wrong or incomplete response to their query, nobody will use the application, how nicely engineered it may be. The actual visualisation of that information is realised by a third party, contacting our servers through a well-documented application programming interface (API).
To be able to provide this service the iRail servers need to have access to the relevant data. Since we (plan to) use a lot of datasets – trains, buses, underground, tube, weather reports, street names, point-of-interests… -, it is impractical to require all of our developers to get proper permissions. Therefore the NPO is a huge supporter of open data, which allows everybody to access data without explicit approval. However, having such access to data isn’t only beneficial to us, it is also a key to innovation.
Open information
Recently, we sent a letter to the MIVB/STIB asking to access their data. This would allow our API to provide bus information for the Brussels region as well. Their response was one of plain refusal, since they though we would sublicense their data, something against the company’s terms of data sharing. I hope my reply, similar to this blogpost, brought clarity.
Needless to say, we don’t agree with their point of view:
- We don’t provide data, we provide information. Developers create «browsers» to this information, using our API.
- We don’t sublicense data, as we don’t allow someone else to download datadumps. This is not our responsibility, the data should already be available for download on the company’s site.
- We cannot sublicense something that’s not copyrighted. According to the second European database law, public transport information cannot be copyrighted.
But there is some good news! De Lijn will soon provide us with bus-data for Flanders on these very terms. We cannot call it open data though, as only the iRail servers Bouncy Castle For Sale will have access to the raw data. We will however provide open information: everyone can create applications to fetch information from our API, and the NPO will support those people.
A long way
It’s a long way to get the word out. People pulling the strings usually don’t realise how opening data might even be profitable. But there is also a fear of quality loss when people are allowed to distribute the data over and over again. To that end, open information is the perfect balance between open data and closed data, with the quality being assured by the open API. Creation of such an API can always be out-sourced to NPO’s such as the iRail vzw/asbl. Do not hesitate to contact us!
Pieter and Tim (@pietercolpaert, @maleadt)
iRail npo: General Meeting 2011
There we go. Our very first NPO General Meeting. And you are very welcome to join us.
The date has been set to 14th February 2011, starting at 19h00, and it will be help at Tour and Taxis.
The invite sent to the list:
Dear list,
Hi guys,I’d like to invite you the 14th of February for our very first general meeting.
When?
14th February, 2010
Start: 19h00 — doors open at 18h45
Meeting ends around 22h00Where?
Tour & Taxis, Brussels
> http://goo.gl/maps/xcr3There will be a shuttle taking you from Brussels North to Tour & Taxi (and back again)
A drink will be provided
Who?
Everyone! 🙂
npo member or not, anyone is welcome to participate in this.
Of course, we would like all the npo members to attend.
> Please confirm whether you can attend or not directly to this list or yeri[@]irail.be — thanks !Those who can’t attend, be sure to be on Skype!
And a final report on the wiki will be provided.
Facilities?
Beamer and internetPlanning?
// If there’s anything you want to discuss that’s not on the planning, please let us know– npo: what is it and what does it mean?
> Becoming a member?
> Copyright; should I hand it over to the npo ?
> @iRail.be e-mail addresses– BeTrains
> Showcase
* Qt
* Bada
* WP7
* BB Playbook
* Android– iRail.be => new UI
– API v2.0
> New specification: more extensible
> New requests: geolocation, POI …
> Requests from API-users fixed
> Wrappers will slowly start using APIv2 in March
> API v1.0 stays up and supported until 2012
> Extensions: De Lijn, MIVB & TEC (hopefully!)Further details will be posted on the wiki.
Everyone interested in iRail, BeTrains and anything related to this is welcome to attend.
We hope to see you there!
Special thanks to Christophe Petitjean of RentalVALUE for sponsoring the location.
The BeTrains application for iPhone is now available.
The iRail team is very proud to announce the release of the BeTrains iPhone application. As you know, Android has had its BeTrains application for more than a year, with a lot of happy users even preferring it above the official NMBS Android version. Having experienced all this positive feedback from the users, we all felt the need to also make the app available for the iPhone-platform.
What is BeTrains?
BeTrains defines itself as “A handy mobile application for the belgian train users. It lets you plan your trips very quickly and makes it possible to share messages with other users for a happy travel.”
The iPhone application has two main features: Chat and Route planner.
The Chat gives the opportunity to the users to leave messages on any subject and attach it to a specific train or station. A picture and precise geolocalisation can be attached to each message. What the users will do with the Chat is up to them: announce an event on a train or station, tell what goes through their mind, share a funny picture … our only concern is for them to have fun!
The Route planner is a very straight-forward implementation of the iRail API. Users can quickly plan their train trip using the various inputs (station select, date/hour of departure/arrival). As new features are added to the iRail API, the iPhone application will progressively integrate them through periodic updates.
Overall, the application focuses on simplicity and efficiency. Be sure to get it and tell us what you think about it!
Here’s a quick history of the making of the application
About two months ago, Louis de Decker who met Christophe Versieux (developer of the Android version) joined the iRail team.
As Louis wanted to practice his young iPhone development skills on a useful application while using the iRail API, he saw a perfect opportunity in making the Betrains iPhone application. The objective for Louis was to follow the existing landmarks set by the Android application while adding a social feature called the “Chat”.
After only a month, a beta-version of the application was released. A two week testing-period then followed. The 10 beta-testers did a great job finding the last remaining bugs and made a lot of cool suggestions to improve the app. After polishing the app a last time, it was submitted and approved by Apple after only 10 days.
The iRail team was thrilled to see the immediate positive response from the first users of the application. After only 4 days of availability in the Appstore, BeTrains already made it in the top-50 of the free apps in belgium. A very promising start !
For more information about all the BeTrains applications, visit http://www.betrains.com
Let us help inform, please?
Dear NMBS,
I’m probably one of the few of your customers who does not blame you for the delays yesterday. There have been extreme conditions, which only happen one or two weeks a year, and dealing with several events, such as power-shortage and derailment due to mud, are not always as easy as some may proclaim. I do however blame you for the lack of information you provided during this chaos.Bouncy Castle
2 examples of December the second and the third
1. My sister, Lisa Colpaert, wanted, instead of going 30 minutes by bike, to go to school by train yesterday morning. It was the first time she planned to do that, and maybe if she would have found that a convenient way of traveling, she would do that more often in the future.
7:25: Lisa buys a ticket from her own money (she babysits) at the ticket office.
7:26: Lisa goes upstairs with a friend to wait on the platform for the train to come (should be there 7:36)
7:27: Other commuters inform her the train has been canceled.
The first question that comes to mind is:
Will my sister get her refund (yes, from Harelbeke to Kortrijk is still a lot of money for someone who babysits once a week)?
But maybe a more important question to ask:
Has the NMBS decided in those 2 minutes, that the train got canceled? Why didn’t they and my sister know earlier?
2. I study in Ghent and I decided to return to Harelbeke in the afternoon.
16:50: I arrive at the station of Ghent St Pieters. I’m waiting on platform 9 for my train to arrive at 17:09 (no delays reported)
17:06: Train appears to be canceled. “Next train to Harelbeke,” the speakers shout, “is the train on plaform 5”, which normally would have arrived 16:55, but has a delay of 15 minutes. Immediately a lot of people started moving towards platform 5 because we had to get there in less than 4 minutes now.
Stuffed train
Unreadable TV-screens
17:10: A lot (see picture) of people welcomed us at platform 5, where an already overpopulated train could not handle any more passengers.
Arrival at platform9
Standing on a stairway in the train
After finally surviving as one of the fittest Jumping Castle while embarking a half hour later, we made it on the staircase of that train. I arrived home 1½h late, missing the family dinner.
Of course I don’t tell you this because I want to keep people from commuting by train. To the contrary! With iRail we want to get more people using public transport and we want them to have a nice experience. This means of course we want to inform them as quick as possible about any delay and we want to give information about how populated a train is. We also want to do predictions of delays and research what trains tend be delayed regularly.
Yes… but how can iRail help preventing these situations?
I’d like to answer this question with other questions: Would I have left my place if I knew my train was canceled? Would I have left my place so early if I knew the next train had a 90% estimated chance of being delayed? Would I have gone to platform 5 if I knew the train was already too densely populated?
So, all these features, we can do that for you! In fact, we are already developing this! For free! We are commuters, customers, public transport enthusiasts and we want these tools because we are confronted with it every day.
If only we could have access to quality data, more easily…
Meer concreet: Vervotte beantwoordt iRail
De kamer – Vraag en antwoorden (PDF)
Samenvatting antwoord Vervotte:
- De rechtstreekse aanleiding van de cease and desist brief was een klacht van een klant waarbij de klant een kwaliteitsprobleem met iRail expliciet en onterecht toeschreef aan de NMBS.
- De NMBS is verplicht om haar belangen inzake intellectuele rechten te verdedigen. Ik heb wel aan de NMBS gevraagd om zich wat soepeler op te stellen, als het gaat over het ter beschikking stellen van databanken die gebruikt worden voor gratis consulteerbare, informatieve applicaties op het internet.
- De NMBS geeft er momenteel de voorkeur aan om in dialoog te treden en op zoek te gaan naar een minnelijke schikking. Dat impliceert natuurlijk onderling respect van de betrokken partijen.
- De NMBS heeft contacten gehad met enkele grote bedrijven waarmee strategische partnerschappen kunnen worden afgesloten. De NMBS zal de contacten tussen andere softwarebedrijven en iRail niet beletten, als de samenwerking gebeurt onder de voorwaarden die tussen de NMBS en iRail of andere bedrijven kunnen worden afgesproken en gerespecteerd.
- Om de rezigers degelijk te informeren en om te beantwoorden aan de doelstelling van het beheerscontract gebruikt de NMBS de software HAFAS, die ontwikkeld werd door dat gespecialiseerde bedrijf.
Mijn bedenkingen bij de antwoorden van minister Vervotte: