Hong Kong tram operator gets right on track, sharing real-time data on Citymapper app
Hong Kong Tramways is teaming up with popular transport app Citymapper, sharing free real-time operational data in a bid to lure more passengers to the city’s oldest transport service.
It’s one of a series of upgrades the tram operator is planning to roll out this year.
Next month, it will launch a new schedule that will reduce passenger waiting times by four per cent on weekdays, seven per cent on Saturdays, and 10 per cent on Sundays, according to managing director Emmanuel Vivant.
Once the new schedule is in place, the operator is looking to develop internal software – in collaboration with Chinese University – to dispatch trams to match the schedule as punctually as possible. “The plan is using the same resources but in an efficient way,” Vivant said.
The link-up with Citymapper comes as the tram operator tries to win back passengers amid stiff competition from rail operator MTR on overlapping routes.
Citymapper, which landed in Hong Kong last August, combines information from major public transport operators to help users get to their destinations as fast as possible with best routes, push-up alerts and real-time updates.
The tram data is gathered from 600 tags buried along the tracks since 2012 to build its real-time positioning system, which will also be upgraded in May.
Live tram data could help the application’s users “get a better idea of their total journey time, including waiting time for trams, updated every minute,” said Gene Soo, general manager of Citymapper Hong Kong. Information on other public transport modes is based on their schedules.
Soo said overlaps in the city’s transport system, particularly on the ground, makes data on public transport highly valuable to passengers. But so far other public transport providers in the city have been reluctant to open their data to outside developers.
Citybus and New World First Bus, the city’s two major bus operators, told the Post they had no plans to open up operation data because of its commercial value. Besides, they plan to upgrade their own applications that provide real-time information on bus departures and arrivals.
A Transport Department spokeswoman said it was having talks with franchised bus operators about upgrading their real-time services by hyperlinking them to the government’s app Hong Kong etransport.
MTR said its mobile applications already provide real-time updates on train services, but it would be open to discussions should any party make an approach to obtain its live data.
So will sharing data with apps such as Citymapper drive away users from operators’ own apps? Soo said: “Then what’s the point of the users using the app? Is it [intended for] looking at the app or driving passenger numbers ?”
