Transportation Hacks Presented at the Lewiston/Auburn Mini Maker Faire on 9/8/12 by CarFree Maine Sunday, September 9, 12 Intro. My name is Andrew Jawitz, I’ve been working on transportation issues for the past couple years under the banner of CarFree Maine. I’d like to present today on what I like to call “Transportation Hacks”, because I think we’re living in a moment where a number of developments, both positive and negative are disrupting basic assumptions we have all held regarding how we get around in Maine. I’m going to briefly go over what some of these disruptions are and then concentrate on the opportunities they create for individual innovators especially.
Transcript
Transportation Hacks
Presented at the Lewiston/Auburn Mini Maker Faire on 9/8/12
by CarFree Maine
Sunday, September 9, 12Intro. My name is Andrew Jawitz, I’ve been working on transportation issues for the past couple years under the banner of CarFree Maine. I’d like to present today on what I like to call “Transportation Hacks”, because I think we’re living in a moment where a number of developments, both positive and negative are disrupting basic assumptions we have all held regarding how we get around in Maine.
I’m going to briefly go over what some of these disruptions are and then concentrate on the opportunities they create for individual innovators especially.
http://onlyzerocarbon.org/sources_co2.html
Sunday, September 9, 12Over the past 4 years the United States has made incredible strides in both reducing dpendence on foreign oil and on fossil fuel combustion as a whole. In the transportation sector innovations in fuel efficiency, plug-in hybrids, and electric battery storage. But by concentrating technological innovation solely within the auto sector we’ve barely scratched the surface of transportation challenges.
Sunday, September 9, 12Citizens, planners and civic leaders have recognized that dense, urban, walkable cities offer a far more efficient and
sustainable lifestyle by cutting out the car commute altogether.
Conventional Wisdom
+ -
Maine Just Wasn’t Built For Public Transit
The Problem With Mass Transit In Maine Is “There Isn’t Any Mass”
1. Public Transit only works in large cities2. Mainers Don’t Want To Give Up Their Cars3. Maine is a mostly Rural State4. Transit Infrastructure is too expensive5. The Government Is Too Inefficient
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Sunday, September 9, 12But what happens to Rural States Like Maine?
These are statements I’ve heard from both state lawmakers, and even “urbanists” who tend to equate any region with a “low” population density with suburban sprawl.
Roads? Where we’re going, WE DON’T NEED ROADS!!!
Sunday, September 9, 12Sometimes in Maine the model for the future can be found in the past!
Technically, Maine WAS Built For Mass Transit!
Sunday, September 9, 12 Before the age of cheap oil and federally subsidized interstate highways, all those beautiful New England villages and quaint downtowns were connected by a rapid transit system comparable to anything found in Europe!
Is it worth saving?
Sunday, September 9, 12 I’ve actually heard debates where planners and urbanists have even questioned the need to promote “Low Density”
communities at all! BTW... Is is just me...or has the word “rural” disappeared from the lexicon. Its either “Urban” meaning “good” or “Suburban=Low Density” and every now and then “Rural” might appear as a replacement for “Impoverished”. But
the question remains “are rural communities solely defined by population density”? Is there a value to preserving rural communities and small cities?
Why is Transportation Important in Maine?
$0
$250.00
$500.00
$750.00
$1,000.00Monthly Transportation Costs Per Household
Waldoboro, Maine Brunswick, MainePortland Maine Boston Mass
•Across America, households in the lowest 20 percent income bracket spend about 42 percent of their annual income on transportation
•This burden is especially heavy during periods of high energy costs, since residents of rural areas drive about 17 percent more than than urban residents.
•Rising gas prices have cut nearly one-third of the potential growth in real disposable income, which could have gone to creating more economic activity within the economy, including the travel and tourism industry -AAA Memorial Day 2011 Travel Forecast, IHS Global Insight May 19, 2011
Accomodations15%
Food and Beverages20%
Shopping15%
Entertainment9% Other
3%
Auto Transportation39%
Average Family Transportation
Spending Budget in New England Memorial
Day Weekend 2011
Sunday, September 9, 12These are some of the disruptions that are beyond our control. This is happening already.
9
The share of automobile miles driven by people aged 21 to 30 in the U.S. fell to 13.7% in 2009
from 18.3% in 2001 and 20.8% in 1995
The proportion of people aged 21-30 actually increased from 13.3% to 13.9%
20-somethings went from driving a disproportionate amount of the nation's
highway miles in 1995 to under-indexing for driving in 2009.
Sources KRC Research 10/2010,
Department of TransportationFederal Highway Administration's National Household Travel Survey Census data
➡ Millennials are choosing to drive less for environmental reasons.
➡ This group would drive even less if they could find good alternative sources of transportation.
➡ Car ownership is prohibitively expensive for many in this age group.
October 2010 Study by KRC Research-
Traveled to Maine in Personal Car 2010
74%73%
86%Ages 55+Under 35Ages 35-44
The thought of living in a place which would require me to own a car ever again gives me chills. Imagine being beholden to a 2,000 pound piece of
metal which sucks 15% of your income every month, makes you pudgy, and does bad things to the environment.- CarFree Baltimore
Sunday, September 9, 12Even young tourists tend to drive less than their older counterparts.
Pick an industry, and you’ll find an internet or software company that’s transforming it right now. [Netscape founder Marc] Andreesen notes that we now have the tools to transform nearly any industry -- he points to healthcare and education as prime targets.
- Nick Grossman The Opportunity for Civic Startups Web 2.0 Expo 2011
* All text and copy this slide - Nick Grossman The Opportunity for Civic Startups Web 2.0 Expo 2011
Sunday, September 9, 124. Hand in Hand with this “Urban Renaissance” has been the rise of so-called “Civic Hackers”. The idea of Civic Hacking is to bring the same innovative energy found in a Tech Startup, to the public realm. This slide comes from a presentation called “The Opportunity for Civic Startups” by Nick Grossman.
Pick an industry, and you’ll find an internet or software company that’s transforming it right now. [Netscape founder Marc] Andreesen notes that we now have the tools to transform nearly any industry -- he points to healthcare and education as prime targets.
- Nick Grossman The Opportunity for Civic Startups Web 2.0 Expo 2011
* All text and copy this slide - Nick Grossman The Opportunity for Civic Startups Web 2.0 Expo 2011
Sunday, September 9, 124. Hand in Hand with this “Urban Renaissance” has been the rise of so-called “Civic Hackers”. The idea of Civic Hacking is to bring the same innovative energy found in a Tech Startup, to the public realm. This slide comes from a presentation called “The Opportunity for Civic Startups” by Nick Grossman.
Real-time Server
Mobile, web & other apps
Closed Model Platform Model
API
* This slide - Nick Grossman The Opportunity for Civic Startups Web 2.0 Expo 2011
Sunday, September 9, 12This slide is from a non-profit called OpenPlans (www.openplans.org) and it shows how an open transit data architecture works in comparison to a closed-proprietary model.
“Tech for Transit: Designing a Future System” Latitude Research 2010
http://sustainablecitiescollective.com/nextamcity/22658/latitude-transit-study-results-part-twoSunday, September 9, 12“Transit Apps”are already having a signifiacnt impact on ridership as this study from the Sustainable Cities Collective shows.
Sunday, September 9, 12This is the brand new Trip Planner for Portland Oregon. Its hard to do a demo on a static picture, but its important to explain why this is different from “Google Maps”.
Sunday, September 9, 12It includes data from Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, and GIS Elevation data. Plus bikeshare, Zipcars and any other info which may be useful... because its open source it is amazingly flexible and customizable in ways a proporietary platform could never be without acheiving a total monopoloy. Most importantly it is MULTIMODAL... Trip Planners are limited by the data they have access to, so you might be able to find the Portland MetroBus on Google, but you won’t find Concrod Trailways, or Lewiston. It also takes into account bicycle pedestrian info, and bike/transit combosOn this little triangle you can move the circle around to make your preference.
Sunday, September 9, 12So why don’t they appear on this map of cities covered by OpenTripPlanner? There are various reasons including scalability and cost. We want to make these technologies more applicable for rural regions and small cities.
07500
150002250030000
2011 2012
Lewiston-Auburn Citylink Ridership
February MarchApril May
Sunday, September 9, 12So this great stuff is happening in Portland Oregon, and Boston. But what about Rural States Like Maine? It turns out that the trends affecting transportation nationally are also affecting Mainers. Car ownership is down, while transit ridership is up!
Sunday, September 9, 12While Maine may appear as a big blank spot on the open data map, it certainly doesn’t mean we don’t have transit options. All these logos represent transit services serving various communities in Maine. The problem? THEY AREN”T CONNECTED TOGETHER!
Sunday, September 9, 12
MBTA “App Showcase”
Sunday, September 9, 12So in a city like Boston, where riders can reasonably expect to go to any downtown bus, or subway station and expect the bus/train to show up within a ten minute interval, these tools are handy... and the case could be made that they contribute to an increase in ridership, the case could also be made that all in all transit “apps” are essentially an added amenity.
Sunday, September 9, 12But in a rural state like Maine, where some services are limited to a single round trip a day... and may require multiple transfers on top of that... Having access to accurate, usable, up-to-date information may mean going without fresh groceries or missing an important medical examination for many. For others it may mean the difference between driving 60 miles a day, alone or for others still it may mean not coming to Maine at all.
Transportation Professionals
Multimodal Interoperability
Planning
Scheduling
Operations
MaintenanceEngineering
Consulting
Research
ProcurementDesign
Fundraising
Paying for Fares
Providing Public Input
Citizens/Riders
Multimodal Interoperability
Planning
Scheduling
Maintenance
Consulting
ResearchProcurement
DesignFundraising
Engineering
Operations
Providing Public Input
Paying for Fares
Then
Now
Sunday, September 9, 12This brings us back to that Venne diagram I showed earlier... not to mention the diagram showing public employees... For a region like Maine, where access to small-town government is still within reach for most residents... Open Transit Data can go even further by allowing riders to participate in PLANNING decisions previously exclusive to professional PLANNERS.
Grassroots Transit?
Ethan Allen NY-Rutland VT
Vermonter (DC-St.Albans VT)
Phil-Pitts
Kansas City-St. Louis
DC- Newport News
DC-Lynchburg
Adirondack (NYP-Montreal)
Wolverine (Pontiac/Detroit-Chicago)
New Haven-Springfield Shuttle
Downeaster (Boston-Portland)
Chicago-Indianapolis
0 150000 300000 450000 600000
37249519000
380000503290
125239162051
557528186077207422
7778349448
2011 Ridership Totals
Sunday, September 9, 12While official government agencies like MDOT have played a critical role in rebuilding Maine’s public transit infrastructure, recent history teaches us that fundamental change is most likely to begin on the grassroots level. Even sectors requiring enormous capital outlay, meticulous engineering and byzantine regulatory procedures like passenger rail became a reality in Maine only after decades of tireless grassroots organizing by groups lof private citizens. Today, more people ride the Amtrak Downeaster than live in the entire region between Kittery and Bath!
Identifying User Needs
Qualitative Research Methods
Civic Media
Prioritizing local knowledgeEmphasizing quality of place
Civic Life+Participatory
Media
Infrastructure/MemoryShort Form
Documentary SeriesExplores Historical
Transportation Systems and impacts on present
and future systems
Oral Histories/Interviews
Interviews with local residents highlighting mobility challenges on
individual levelPartner w/ with V.A,
Independence Assoc. and African Diaspora Institute to highlight transit equity issues
Social Networkingonline presence via
wordpress, facebook, twitter, vimeo,youtube,
tumblr, meetup, flickr etc... Participate in national transportation forums,
conferences
carfreemaine.orgSunday, September 9, 12Organizations like the Community Transportation Association are beginning to recognize that only evaluating rural communities based on quantitative measurements like population density has serious limitations. They are just beginning to explore techniques that evaluate “qualitative” value, like the role place may play in a given regions travel patterns. (Case in Point Acadia National Park...) We’ve been advocating for similar methods and have been designing tools to facilitate both quality and quantitative analysis.As this approach does require field work. and field work is expensive... Possible solutions might be... Educational Institutions... Time Bank...
Federal Transit Administration Research
Evolution of Intelligent Transportation Systems for Mobility Management and Coordination Serving
California’s Rural Frontier- January 2012
How to Avoid Pitfalls in ITS Innovations Deployed in a Rural Frontier Community (pp21) -
MCTC agreed to review any write-up the Contractor saw best to meet their internal needs for use-cases; however, with such limited MCTC staff, there was not time or resource for a small frontier rural agency to undertake another time-consuming complex use case document. This is one example of challenges the Contractor and the agency could not resolve through this ITS project or through functional prototyping. Similar ITS trip planner initiatives spent months to years developing the use-case scenarios while user expectations and technological capacities are changing so fast—as soon as the specifications are buttoned up, a new expectation pops up. Future ITS projects may consider a modified approach to detailed use-cases because technologies and user expectations are changing so rapidly. Alternatively, as with the OpenTripPlanner project, a shared vision through on-line collaboration brought a next generation of multi-modal trip planner to production in just 12 months. OpenTripPlanner continues to evolve swiftly with changes in technologies and user expectations.
19 OpenTripPlanner is fully deployed as a multi-modal trip planner for Tri-Met in Portland, OR. For more information on various initiatives and projects, visit http://openplans.org/projects/#transportation.FEDERAL
Future rural ITS projects should have clear, specific milestones that can be accomplished in six to nine months. Each of these milestone tasks will roll up to the larger project vision, with future data integration in-mind. This should avoid the possibility that a project is lost in a litany of uncertain requirements, the programming team is overwhelmed, or, worse, they find themselves unable to succeed.
“ Rural ITS Solutions Need to Be More Flexible ”
Sunday, September 9, 12The federal government has finally started to take notice of rural needs over the past few months. This has been prompted in part by fears of a “reverse white flight” phenomenon, where “Inner City” are now prime real esate, driving low income populations further out into non-accessible areas. Some of these studies directly address the need for “Rural Transit ITS Solutions” Of these specific Rural challenges- “Demand Response” support in OpenTripPlanner and the status of cellular infrastructure.
• Scheduling• Interactive Mapping• Ticketing• Contribute p2p Data
Cell Phone SMS• Real Time
Location Time• Contribute
GeoData• Ticketing• Contribute p2p
GeoData
Smart Phone• Real Time Location Time• Contribute GeoData• Ticketing• Contribute p2p GeoData• Interactive Mapping• Scheduling• Trip Planning
How it will work-
Real-Time Data Feed
Dedicated Server
Web-Based Application
Sunday, September 9, 12 Cloud based technologies enable a wide variety of interactions for people in a diversity of settings. SMS, Screens, TV, Desktiop, Tablets, Smartphones.
Open Transit Hardware Examples
Travelboard Norwalk CT.See also Routefriend.com and Livable Norwalk
Transit Appliance running on $60 Chumby digital picture
frame
“Homebrew” Transit Stop Notifiers built with Open Source “Arduino” Hardware and Open Transit Data
Real-time GPS tracker with Mobile phone uplink
Real-time Bus notifier signals when bus is
approaching
Analog dial bus location tracker using Arduino and
OneBusAway softwareMobilitylab.org Pilot Project
Arlington VAJava Shack Coffee Shop
Sunday, September 9, 12By employing an open source, cloud-based architecture it allows us to reach wider audience by configuring hardware for specific audiences.
~ $35~ $250 (new)
Raspberry Pi Microcomputer
Low-Cost Digital Signage for Transit
RPi Enclosure attached to back of monitor
Sunday, September 9, 12The Raspberry Pi is a credit card-sized computer created to teach children programming skills by providing them with a very low-cost ($35) but powerful platform. It is designed to connect to any monitor through an HDMI or standard component connection, which includes any television set. Its 256MB of RAM is powerful enough to turn any TV monitor into a fully functioning Transit Information Display or even ticketing kiosk.
Raspberry Pi- $35 Microcomputer
• Created by non-profit Raspberry Pi Foundation to stimulate computer science education in schools
• Initial run of 10,000 units sold out within five minutes of launch on 2/29/2012
• Broadcom BCM2835 system on a chip (SoC),which includes an ARM1176JZF-S 700 MHz processor, VideoCore IV GPU and 256 megabytes of RAM. It does not include a built-in hard diskor solid-state drive, but uses an SD card for booting and long-term storage.
• Foundation provides Debian and Arch Linux ARM distributions for download. Also planned are tools for supporting Python as the main programming language,with support for BBC BASIC, (using the "Brandy Basic" clone), C,and Perl.
• Outputs for Analog RCA and HDMI enables connection to majority of Television screens
• OS on SD Card allows for infinite customizations• Can interface with Arduino Microcontrollers to extend
capability• Wide variety of enclosures available to enable infinite
Sunday, September 9, 12Before we can have open transit data however, we need data in the first place. So far only the Island Explorer has a real-time location capability and it is based on software designed in the early 2000s. The problem is government contractors charge enormous amounts of money for the complete “enterprise” level system... Which has its advantages, but afforability isn’t one of them. original idea for Arduino only as prototype, but in the interests of flexibility it may actually make more sense to keep the set-up as basic as possible so as to enable easy customization when the need arises.
* Slides 30-33 from Article called “Flexible Bus Systems Using Zigbee as a Communication Medium” (http://www.online-journals.org/index.php/i-joe/article/view/1579)
Sunday, September 9, 12Possibly the biggest obstacle to any open source networking hardware deployments is in the fact that wireless transmission towers are almost exclusively dominated by the large telecoms. In the case of GSM communications it also presents a major obstacle for remote communities who lack coverage.A potential game-changing solution comes in a form of networking known as a Mobile Ad-Hoc Network.(Slides 30-34)
* Slides 30-33 from Article called “Flexible Bus Systems Using Zigbee as a Communication Medium” (http://www.online-journals.org/index.php/i-joe/article/view/1579)
* Slides 30-33 from Article called “Flexible Bus Systems Using Zigbee as a Communication Medium” (http://www.online-journals.org/index.php/i-joe/article/view/1579)
* Slides 30-33 from Article called “Flexible Bus Systems Using Zigbee as a Communication Medium” (http://www.online-journals.org/index.php/i-joe/article/view/1579)
A DIY, Foldable Electric BicycleThis Electric Bicycle was built for under $500 on a folding frame. The bike
can be easily disassembled for storage on Intercity Motorcoach or Railway Luggage Rack. Applications like the “Speedict” app for Android
serve a variety of functions, measuring everything from speed and battery life to GPS tracking and navigation
Sunday, September 9, 12Electric Bicycles hold enormous promise in areas with low transit accessibility by increasing the range riders may have between their home and the nearest transit station. This electric bicycle prototype was designed by CarFree Maine to fold into a carrying case for easy storage on an Intercity Motorcoach or a passenger rail luggage rack.
Sunday, September 9, 12
Boston MA 128 Minutes w/Bicycle
The Speedict Sensor (www.speedict.com) reads and
logs EBIKE voltage, elevation, and location data and converts an
Android phone into a dashboardSunday, September 9, 12The DIY nature of the E-Bike community has led to innovations like the “Speedict” sensor, which transmits (and even controls) EBIKE battery power, temp, location, speed, and elevation data to a Smart Phone (or specially configured standard cell phone) which serves as a dashboard and data logger. Such logs can be very useful for future networks if uploaded to an OpenStreetMap database.
Challenge Open Source SolutionConventional Solution
Riders must wait outdoors until bus arrives. Schedules are approximate.
Next Bus-7.06Min
Outdoor Digital Display-$25,000
Proprietary Vehicle Location Software
$60,000+ maintenance
Next Bus-7.06Min
Civic entrepreneur partners with local business near stop to display real time
bus location information.
Low population in rural areas can not support
regularly scheduled service. Majority of population lives in low-density regions with low or no transit access.
Massive resources allocated to centralized
bureaucratic authority and out of state consulting firms.
$
$ $Regional transit agencies
adopt an open standard and provide data sets to civic
entrepreneurs who develop applications according to
individual community needs
Transit services are managed seperately
with limited connectivity.
1-800-VANPOOL
Paratransit, Commuter Vans and Park and Ride
lots are subsidized through state and federal
taxes. Automobile ownership is still a necessity for most
citizens.
1-800-VANPOOL Vanpools and paratransit are integrated into regional transit network allowing for scalable access in small communities.
Location transmitters add microtransit to the list of
available choices.
$
$
No Bikes allowed on Amtrak Downeaster except for Wells
and Portland (neither of which have easy access to
bicycle facilities)
Partner with non-profit to form Bike-Train program with additional “bike car”. Similar
programs exist on the MBTA, MNRR, VIARail and GOTransit
Bike Car
Civic entrepreneur partners with local business to
participate in bike-share program. Partner
businesses are provided with Android tablets with
preinstalled software.
Sunday, September 9, 12With the world of possibilities enabled by open source frameworks, its very possible that rural regions will be able to offer comparable advantages to people who chose not to relocate to urban settings.
1-800-VANPOOL 1-800-VANPOOL
6:00PM 6:59AM6:00AM
11:30AM
Lunch Run
Next Bus-7.06Min
12:45PM
1-800-VANPOOL
4:00PM
4:30PM 5:00PM 6:00PM
Sunday, September 9, 12An average workday in the future.
1- With access to a range of transportation choices “Seth” will be able to plan his workday the previous evening by navigating to his digital day-planner on his television screen.
2- He can choose to reserve a spot on a vanpool and must confirm at least an hour before the vanpool route is finalized. Vans will be assigned to communities based on a “Groupon” model if enough people sign up from a given location.
3- At lunchtime “Seth” opens up the transit planner and searches for restaurants/coffee shops matching the inbound/outbound schedule he chooses from the local circulator bus route.
4- A monitor at the coffee shop lets him know how much time he has left to finish his coffee.
5- With most of his office workload finished by then end of the day Seth decides to take his work home with him. The vanpool offers a direct ride to the workplace, but will not be flexible enough to account for changes in plans and will not be suited for writing on his laptop. 6-A train will be departing at 4:30PM and will allow him to do the last 30 minutes of work on the ride home.
7-But the station is almost 15 miles from his house, so he picks up an electric bike from the Bikeshare and arrives home within a half-hour.
8-That evening he can either choose to ride the ebike back to the station in the morning or find another rider in his neighborhood to give the bike to. The Bikeshare dashboard will provide him with the weather conditions for the following day and can even recommend what kind of clothing to wear.
Sunday, September 9, 12The Modified Transit Display, Folding EBIKE, Microtracker, and Mesh Networking projects are all open for input and welcome collaboration! You can find an open wiki at humblehackers.wikispaces.com. Be sure to follow CarFree Maine on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Flickr and many others! You can find this presentation and up-to-date Maine transit news on our website www.carfreemaine.org. Thank You Very Much!
