Can social networking improve transport?

Andrew Nash GreenCityStreets.com SPUR – November 2012

Can we use information technology to improve citizen involvement?

Participatory Chinatown

Boston

•  Educate people about sustainable transport, •  Create a forum for submitting ideas, and •  Provide tools enabling public transport

agencies to effectively use and respond to input.

GreenCityStreets is an integrated application using Web 2.0 techniques to:

GreenCityStreets Forum: Social network for public transport.

Social Networking in Transport: A Typology? 1- Reporting, problem identification

SeeClickFix, FixMyTransport, FixMyStreet – many more

2 - Provide Information – Allow Feedback – BettaStop.net 3 - Geographic Information / Tracking

Dynamic Connections, MeineRadspur, StreetBump (?),

4 – Strategic or Planning (?) Input GreenCityStreets.com, Participatory Chinatown, simpl (?)

5 – Designing an App (?) – designing Chicago 6 – Using Sensors – DYI Traffic Counter, Flight Noise … 7 – Relationship Building – examples?

Social Networking in Transport: A Typology? (2) Existing Application Features •  Allow users to report problems •  Allow users to provide “planning” input •  Provide information to users •  Educate users •  Track users •  Citizen sensor data •  API feeds from citizen-collected data (seeclickfix) •  More? New (?) Features for Applications •  Thank users •  More?

Benefits of Social Networking

•  Generates better ideas –  Detailed neighborhood knowledge & fresh perspective

•  Provides clear show of political support –  Especially important for tough decisions (like bus lanes)

•  Creates committed customers –  People willing to help (maybe pick-up newspapers?)

Notice: They help reduce costs and improve service!

Problems 1- Transport organizations don’t want our help.

See next slide.

2 – How do we attract users? Nothing really unique about transport applications.

3 – How do we create real change and improvements?

•  Shaming government to do something about a problem we identify?

•  How do we bring about real political/ institutional change? Do we want to?

4 – More?

What do organizations say? Attitude: “Why would we buy something that lets passengers

complain about our service?”

Answer: Complaints are good, they’re suggestions. Added Work: “Responding will be too much work!”

Answer: Design efficient response processes. Fear of Change: Developing emotional connections with

passengers is a huge and risky change … especially in a conservative and political industry.

Answer: Not trying is more risky in the long term..

GVB Amsterdam – Back End Issue tracking and analysis (verbeterdebuurt system)

Andrew Nash andy@andynash.com andynash.com @andrewbnash

GreenCityStreets.com

Music Videos:

YouTube.com/user/andrewbnash

GreenCityStreets was made possible through generous support from ZIT, the City of Vienna Technology Agency.