Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
For two and a half years now, Moscow has been implementing the international analytical project UrbanTransportData (the project’s web platform is available on the Internet at: http://urbantransportdata.ru/), which brings together leading global cities to work with open transportation data. The project aims to make urban transportation systems more convenient, predictable, and efficient for residents and visitors of megacities. The initiative and developer is the Moscow Transport Complex, which developed both the methodology and the digital service in-house, without the involvement of external contractors.
Not just about data, but also about people.
The UrbanTransportData project is based on the idea that quality transport policy is impossible without reliable, comparable, and regularly updated analytics. The project is aimed at transport agency managers and staff, experts and researchers, as well as students and urban transport enthusiasts from around the world.
The project team emphasizes that the goal of UrbanTransportData is not simply to collect statistics, but to help cities understand which solutions are truly effective and which require adjustment. To this end, they are creating convenient tools for comparing cities, identifying trends, and documenting innovations that have already proven effective in practice.
Three pillars of UrbanTransportData
The project is built around three key components: a data aggregation system, a news portal, and a research knowledge base. The first two are already fully available on the project's web platform.
As part of data aggregation, systematic collection and comparison of indicators related to urban transport, from infrastructure indicators to passenger flow, is carried out.
The news portal covers the latest changes in the transport systems of participating cities, new projects, and technological solutions, providing an up-to-date picture of the industry.
The knowledge and research base will include thematic reviews and results of joint work, as well as professional Q
32 participating cities.
The UrbanTransportData project already connects 32 cities across Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, including recognized regional leaders in urban transportation development such as Moscow, Beijing, and São Paulo. The project's broad geographic reach also includes African capitals, European cities, and other Latin American metropolises.
This diversity of participants allows us to compare not only megacities with millions of residents but also rapidly growing capitals of developing countries, identifying common problems and unique solutions. This approach offers participants the opportunity to share their own experiences and learn new approaches from cities with different layouts, climates, levels of car ownership, and socioeconomic situations.
Emphasis on methodology.
One of UrbanTransportData's distinctive features is its attention to methodological rigor. The project's team of analysts meticulously defines how key indicators should be calculated to ensure accurate comparisons of data from different cities. The data is collected across 50 indicators, covering several areas.
A separate section of the work focuses on standardizing approaches. For example, for the metro, it clarifies whether single-track or double-track kilometers, operational or maintenance tracks, and one or multiple operators are considered. When analyzing passenger traffic, it's important to determine whether all validations or only unique passengers are included, whether only entrances or also exits are recorded, and whether weekends are taken into account. This level of detail allows us to move beyond superficial comparisons and toward truly comparable data that can be used in strategic planning.
Well-thought-out planning.
The UrbanTransportData project is already in its infancy, creating a network of cities committed to building transport policies based on data rather than intuition. The project could potentially become a key international platform for determining how public transport and urban mobility will develop in the coming decades.