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Statewide Travel Options
Why Travel Options?
Travel Options will paint a picture of public and private transportation groups in Washington State and display them via the Internet. Any provider serving the public is invited to participate, for example: bus, train, taxi, airport shuttle, community van, ferry, air taxi, rideshare/vanpool or car rental/car share/FlexCar.
What will Travel Options look like?
Travelers will search from where they are to where they want to go and Travel Options will display all available transportation providers, their phone numbers, websites, and, as data is available, their routes and schedules. In addition, connecting services will be identified, allowing travelers to make trips in Washington and to communities that supply information for neighboring Idaho, Oregon and lower British Columbia (e.g. to Whistler, Vancouver, BC).
How will Travel Options differ from Trip Planners?
"Trip Planners" give a traveler the exact trip times and connections. An example Trip Planner is offered by King County Metro, Sound Transit, Community Transit, Pierce Transit, Everett Transit, and Tri-Met and help travelers navigate the door-to-door in the Puget Sound. Please visit the King County Metro Transit Trip planner website to try it. Not all transit systems have Trip Planners. To meet that need, Travel Options, will eventually offer itineraries, however the initial phases will simply display schedule and provider information and help a traveler build their trip options. Travel Options will support trip itineraries, in the near term, in partnership with forthcoming Google Transit, further described below.
How will Travel Options differ from Sound Transit's Find-A-Ride?
Find-A-Ride is provided by Sound Transit to offer tailored transportation choices for persons with needing mobility support (walker, scooter, wheelchair, etc.) in the Central Puget Sound. Find-A-Ride includes information on how to pay for a trip and package delivery services which are functions beyond what Travel Options will display. Travelers may wish to explore the Find-A-Ride website.
What are the benefits of Travel Options?
- Helps travelers to plan a trip, especially one that uses multiple transportation groups and crosses boundaries of cities, counties or even states!
- Responds to the dynamic nature of changing schedules, routes, and transportation groups
- Improves access and mobility for travelers who do not own cars and/or cannot drive
- Provides a complete picture of all transportation groups available, and will identify gaps in service which will help shape future state investments to fill those gaps, and
- With rising gas prices, helps tourists and local residents consider places to go without relying on their private vehicle.
How will the project be rolled out?
Washington Department of Transportation is funding the design and implementation of the system with state funds and federal grants. The Agency Council for Coordinated Transportation sponsors Travel Options.
There are phases A through D of the project:
Phase A: Connecting Cities
Phase B: Local Transit Routes & Schedules
Phase C: Commuter Support
Phase D: Itineraries
How will the Transportation Groups' schedules be updated and accurate?
Transportation groups will update and maintain their own schedules, routes and service details through the Internet after signing a data sharing agreement.
Oregon and Washington Bi-State Update
Early in 2006, the Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT)/ACCT staff determined it needed to focus this project using different technology solutions than what Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) chose to support. ODOT will rollout their system in early 2007, at their www.tripcheck.com website.
ACCT staff has always been committed to a Travel Options solution that is Geographic Information System (GIS) or map-driven. By using a map to define the service areas and GIS technology to associate service areas with the transportation providers, travelers will get their most accurate choices. Transportation groups will define their service area and be able to modify those service boundaries as they change.
 What is the Google Transit itinerary builder?
Google Transit is a new initiative to offer transit trip itineraries within the Google web experience. In fall 2005, Google began exploring their ability to use Google Maps and their routing expertise to displaying transit schedule and stop information for any transit system. Their first success was with the data experts and innovative team at TriMet serving the metropolitan Portland, area. TriMet was able to quickly create the information Google needed to build transit itineraries, which can be found at Google's Transit Lab website: Google Transit.
Since early 2006, WSDOT has been working with Google to build the schedules needed for city-to-city itineraries. The City-to-City connections will include these transportation groups, for example: Amtrak, Greyhound, Washington State Ferries, Northwestern Trailways, Wheatland Express, People for People, County Connector (connecting Whatcom, Skagit & Island Counties), airporters, and more. Data generated for the Travel Options project will be made available to Google for their itinerary building tool, and not require any additional data transformations by the participating transportation group.
Next Steps?
Soon we will begin working with the transportation groups to discuss and sign Data Sharing agreements.
How to learn more?
For more information contact:
Steve Abernathy at (360) 705-7929 or AbernaS@wsdot.wa.gov
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