rodalia.info english
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Information on Interactivity MobilityUsing social networks for the provision of service information
English version 9th June
The idea
• Twitter as a rapid medium for information via hashtags.
• Successful use of #neucat hashtag during snowstorms.
• Functional failure of official sources.
Strong points
• Low barrier to entry; bidirectional and participative.
• Demand for information by users of Barcelona’s suburban trains that are frequently delayed.
• Critical mass of users on Barcelona’s suburban rail network with mobile Internet and Twitter.
• User and media support for Twitter.
• Web page that provides information without need for Twitter or information input.
How It Works 1/5TWITTER ACCOUNTS AS THE BASIS
• 5 Twitter accounts for Rodalies de Catalunya lines run by Renfe.
• 2 Twitter accounts, one for each FGC (Catalan Rail) network.
• 1 Twitter account as node between the creators and the user community.
- 1 Twitter account for all lines.
HASHTAGS AS A SEARCH SYSTEM
8 hashtags, one for each line, plus another for all Rodalies de Catalunya lines running via Plaça de Catalunya.
How It Works 2/5
• The system searches all the tweets for hashtags every 2 to 3 minutes via the API (http://apiwiki.twitter.com).
• The system uploads the tweets with the hashtags to the corresponding Twitter accounts, as per the line number.
The system always cites the source (the Twitter account that information is uploaded from).
How It Works 3/5
How It Works 4/5
SEARCHINGHashtag search (function: search)
AUTOMATIC FILTERINGto avoid trolls and spam,
and basic monitoring of system users.
UPLOADING SEARCHED AND VALIDATED INFORMATION
Republishing to each line’s accounts (function: publish).
WEB AS A DISTRIBUTION TOOL
•The tweets uploaded to the Twitter accounts are published simultaneously at Rodalia.info (and Rodalies.info).
•Developed with PHP/MySQL using the CodeIgniter framework http://codeigniter.com/
•Two web versions: browser format and mobile device format.
How It Works 5/5
We have been working to include official information supplied by the operators:
Autoritat del Transport Metropolità: Transmet. With a web box (via their own JavaScript library).
Rodalies.gencat.cat: By uploading messages for each line to the Twitter accounts and web page (by colors of the tweets from the users) via regular “scraping” of their website.
The role of official information
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• Both messages from users and operators are available in a web archive for each line. The website stores information from the whole community, the source, and even the geographic position at the moment the user sent the information.
This contrasts with the operators’ sites that lack records.
Records as the basis for transparency
Community feedback
