Press Release by Transport for London: “Research by Deloitte shows that the release of open data by TfL is generating annual economic benefits and savings of up to £130m a year…
TfL has worked with a wide range of professional and amateur developers, ranging from start-ups to global innovators, to deliver new products in the form that customers want. This has led to more than 600 apps now being powered specifically using TfL’s open data feeds, used by 42 per cent of Londoners.
The report found that TfL’s data provides the following benefits:
- Saved time for passengers. TfL’s open data allows customers to plan journeys more accurately using apps with real-time information and advice on how to adjust their routes. This provides greater certainty on when the next bus/Tube will arrive and saves time – estimated at between £70m and £90m per year.
- Better information to plan journeys, travel more easily and take more journeys. Customers can use apps to better plan journeys, enabling them to use TfL services more regularly and access other services. Conservatively, the value of these journeys is estimated at up to £20m per year.
- Creating commercial opportunities for third party developers. A wide range of companies now use TfL’s open data commercially to help generate revenue, many of whom are based in London. Having free and up-to-date access to this data increases the ‘Gross Value Add’ (analogous to GDP) that these companies contribute to the London economy, both directly and across the supply chain and wider economy, of between £12m and £15m per year.
- Leveraging value and savings from partnerships with major customer facing technology platform owners. TfL receives back significant data on areas it does not itself collect data (e.g. crowdsourced traffic data). This allows TfL to get an even better understanding of journeys in London and improve its operations….(More).