City of LA, Xerox introduce multi-modal transportation app for commuters
27 January 2016
The City of Los Angeles is introducing the Go LA app, powered by Xerox, a solution that integrates all the available methods of getting around the second largest metro area in the United States. Unlike other efforts to improve the daily commute, the Go LA app captures the full range of transportation options and computes the shortest, cheapest, and most sustainable way to get to your destination.
The app aggregates and calculates the time, cost, carbon footprint, and health benefits from walking, biking, driving your own car, parking, taking public transit, as well as the emerging private transportation options—such as Lyft, Zipcar, FlitWays and Uber—giving users a variety of ways to reach their destination. Discovering user needs for combining public and private transportation options, Xerox researchers designed and delivered this smart city solution.
| Fewer people using public transport in LA despite increasing investment |
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| The Los Angeles Times reported that transit ridership has declined across Southern California despite billions in investment. |
| The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the reg largest carrier, lost more than 10% of its boardings from 2006 to 2015. The decline appears to be accelerating. |
| Although LA Metro has invested $9-billion investment in new light rail and subway lines, the system now sas fewer boardings than it did three decades ago, when buses were the only option. |
| LA Metro plans to spend more than $12 billion over the next 10 years for two new rail lines and three extensions—the largest capital investment of any transit agency in the country. |
| Los Angeles’ Mobility Plan 2035 calls for hundreds of miles of bike and bus-only lanes to be added to city streets over the next two decades. |
There are individual apps for public transit, car sharing and other transportation options but the Go LA app captures the array of options in a hyper-local way, mixing and matching both public and private transportation options. Beyond the seamless travel experience for citizens, Go LA will help the city glean important information they can use to advance their transportation systems.
—David Cummins, senior vice president, Mobility Solutions, Xerox
The app takes an individual’s destination and desired arrival time, and calculates the different routes available, categorized by “sooner,” “cheaper,” and “greener.”
Details provided include length of trip, price, number of calories burned, and how much carbon dioxide is released into the air, allowing users to choose the best option to meet their needs. As the app learns more about its user’s individual travel preferences, it will eventually recommend and highlight personalized commuting options. Customers can also save trips they take often, like from home to work, in their “My Rides” area of the app.
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The destination and preferred travel mode data is anonymously shared with the city to deliver insights on how people travel around the region. This information is useful as cities look to redesign and update the travel systems while optimizing capital spend.
Our city has many centers. People are commuting in all directions at all times by many modes. Xerox’s work could help us learn where to improve infrastructure for people who walk, roll, bike, take transit, and drive—it’s invaluable insight to help make Los Angeles more livable and enjoyable.
—Seleta Reynolds, general manager, Los Angeles Department of Transportation
Xerox is working with its partners to integrate booking and payments into the app so users can coordinate their entire trip with a single click of a button. Future versions of the app will also include ridesharing so that users can carpool with people traveling in the same direction, as well as destination parking information.
After enough data is collected, users will also be able to create a profile where they can set goals related to their personal fitness, financials and time, and track them within the app.
The Go LA app is now available for iOS and Android systems in the Apple and Google Play stores at www.golaapp.com. A customized version of this app will be rolled out by the City of Denver in February 2016.
This is another 'Go' app. Not for trying at traffic light stops.
It comes from Alphabet Inc, and gives us an insight into their subsidiary's (Google) approach.
http://www.deepmind.com/alpha-go.html
Posted by: Arnold | 27 January 2016 at 03:56 PM