The Routing Company (TRC) and Swiftly, a transit data platform, have launched a joint approach that works to improve on-time transit connections.
The partnership leverages the real time transit feed specification or “GTFS-rt” data usage across more transit modes in TRC’s customer deployments, enabling TRC’s Transit Connect™ feature to work – meaning more options and on-time connections for passengers.
GTFS and GTFS-rt are common standardized formats of data distribution used to provide relevant transit system data to passengers, such as transit schedules and associated geographic information.
While GTFS use has spread rapidly since its introduction in 2007, it is not yet universally adopted in the United States, with just more than 75 percent of transit agencies currently using GTFS.
Swiftly's GTFS-rt data engine ingests all possible GPS and assignment sources and applies its custom prediction algorithm to ensure the most complete and accurate information for all passenger-facing applications, boosting prediction accuracy by up to 50 percent. Beyond accuracy, Swiftly works to ensure realtime predictions are created for all vehicles in service and importantly removing predictions for all canceled service, preventing any surprise missed connections.
"Our partnership with Swiftly is positioned to advance transit accessibility while providing greater confidence to passengers that they’ll make their connections on time,” said TRC CEO James Cox. “Our products are perfectly complementary; not only expanding the reach of critically-needed GTFS data from Swiftly, but leveraging it to supercharge our Transit Connect feature, which guarantees on-time onward transit connections for passengers.”
TRC’s Transit Connect™ feature was developed as a solution to improve passenger experience and boost reliability and efficiency in connecting to onward transit modes.
“We are really excited to work more closely with The Routing Company," said Jonny Simkin, co-founder and CEO of Swiftly. “By pairing Swiftly's highly accurate passenger information system with The Routing Company's Transit Connect feature, we can ensure riders catch their connection to their fixed route network, helping to increase ridership and reduce congestion in the cities we serve."
The Swiftly and TRC approach has already made an impact around the San Francisco Bay Area. Riders viewing fixed route transit options for FAST Transit will have less than a three to five percent chance of missing the bus if arriving at the exact displayed time. Similarly, for riders seeking to catch a Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) train via Transit Connect™, Swiftly’s predictions mean a less than 0.5 percent chance of missing a train if riders arrive as instructed and more than 90 percent accuracy overall.
“We have been leveraging TRC’s Pingo technology to improve connectivity to places like the Sonoma County Airport Station – which means our riders need to be running on-time,” said Eddy Cumins, general manager, SMART. "Leveraging real-time data for Transit Connect translates to a highly reliable service, minimizing the likelihood of our riders missing the train. This level of dependability aligns with our goals for robust first and last-mile transit solutions."
“The fact FAST riders can see real-time travel options for fixed routes is a critical part of delivering reliable transit service,” said Diane Feinstein, transportation manager, city of Fairfield, Calif. “By using Pingo Journey – powered by Swiftly GTFS-rt feeds – FAST riders know they can get where they need to go on time. This has helped minimize wait times and enhance the rider experience, meaning we are delivering a service that riders can truly count on.”
