5. Public Transport (Private Sector Initiative)
O Citymapper is a good example of the potential of open data to foster the generation of new business. It is a free smartphone application created by a former Google employee in 2011 in London with the objective of improving the experience of millions of people in the city who depend on public transportation every day.
The developers of Citymapper took advantage of data about buses, trains, and subways published in real time by the Transport for London to formulate an algorithm that always shows the best travel time from one point to another, when the next ride will be, and how many calories you spent walking. The information is updated in real time and show traffic conditions, weather, and technical problems of vehicles.
The plan worked and the company expanded its services to other cities. From 2011 to 2015, it reached seven countries and 13 cities: London, New York, Paris, Berlin, Washington DC, Madrid, Boston, Barcelona, San Francisco, Chicago, Milan, Rome, and Mexico City. The application can be connected to any city that offers real-time data on public transport services.
