MySociety.org Travel Time Maps
From IdeasInTransit
MySociety produce travel-time maps illustrating the time taken to travel in a particular way to a specified destination.
Contents |
Product
Travel-time maps depict using a colour spectrum and isochrones (concentric circles of constant time) the time taken to reach a point A from any variable point B. An example being the time taken to reach a particular town centre by bus from any point in the surrounding area. Maps can be created for any mode of transport or travel under particular time restrictions and other variables, as well as being able to compare journey times between different types of transport.
The ideas and software behind the travel time maps have been used to produce Mapumental, a mapping project that helps users locate where to live based on public transport journey times, house prices and 'scenicness'.
History
The project is funded by the Department for Transport, who provided access to Ordnance Survey maps and to the National Public Transport Access Node database.
Future developments
Proposed future developments for this project include creating maps based around the cost of journeys and the cost of housing in relation to journey time. Other plans include improving map readability and the travel model used to calculate journey times. A long term possibility is the construction of a real-time web service for the product but this may not be feasible due to current development costs.
Development limitations
Due to the fact that much of the data used to construct these maps is held under costly licenses without assistance from government departments little of the work can be done cheaply.
