Mass. giving transit data to software developers

ASSOCIATED PRESS | Mon, Aug 17, 5:32 PM EDT

Massachusetts is planning to "democratize the data" behind its public transportation network.

It's providing software developers with all the coding and background data they will need to develop iPhone applications and other high-tech aids incorporating MBTA subway, bus, train and regional transit information.

A restaurant owner, for example, could easily add official government data about the location and details of transit stops or bus schedules into a Web site about his business.

It builds off an earlier initiative helping Google Maps incorporate the same information into driving and walking directions requested by its users.

"With the help of thoughtful technical developers, making this data public will spawn many possible applications to help transit users use their cell phones or laptops to find and use the right bus or train in the right place at the right time for them," Transportation Secretary James Aloisi, who also heads the T's board of directors, said Monday in a statement.

FULL ARTICLE: http://dailyme.com/story/2009081700003245/mass-giving-transit-data-software-developers.html