Data Terminology Catalogue

The structure for providing StopPointRef data in TransXChange.

This allows for the inclusion of the data elements from NaPTAN. 

StopPointRef minimum requirements are StopPointRef and CommonName.

The definition of a service, as stated in the introduction to this section, is that it is a collection of lines that together make up a coherent set of vehicle journeys.

For example a service consisting of line 1 and line 1A, highlighting one use case of two lines operated by the same operator.

However, there is a second class of service, which is one that is operated by multiple operators.

For example, many services are operated as commercial services by operators Monday to Saturday, from early morning through to early evening, with local authorities then contracting a second operator to run evening trips, or trips on Sundays. Another example is a quality partnership, such as is found in Oxford, with two operators alternating trips on the same line to provide a high frequency service to passengers. In both these cases, the two operators’ individual services together make up the overall service that the passenger sees. 

In order to ensure, as far as possible, that the linkage between the different operators’ services is maintained, use should be made within TXC-PTI of the facilities to identify the alternate operators and the alternate services.

This is also a suitable mechanism for a single operator to use where there is a split registration with different sections in separate documents based on registrations, and where the operator wishes to indicate that they are linked. 
Within Service, this linkage can be shown using the AssociatedOperators element, which identifies the operator(s) that are linked, and ToBeMarketedWith, which identifies the service(s) that should be linked.

When used in SIRI this is the Direction of vehicle current heading in degrees. This is normally generated by the vehicles GNSS (GPS) system.

In NaPTAN the Bearing is the direction of the traffic along the road where the bus stop is located. This can be used to determine which direction a vehicle is travelling, for example to avoid a bus journey matching with a bus stop on the opposite side of the road.

BLOCK specifies information about the BLOCK (running board, vehicle working) of a journey. A block enables VEHICLE JOURNEY instances to be assigned to a group of journeys that will be carried out by the same vehicle during the course of an operational day. 

The work of a vehicle from the time it leaves a PARKING POINT after parking (where the vehicle will stay unattended for a long time) until its next return to park at a PARKING POINT. Any subsequent departure from a PARKING POINT after parking marks the start of a new BLOCK

a flag that denotes whether the service is operated commercially (notContracted) or whether it is wholly or partially contracted (contracted, partContracted)

While this is of limited use to the public, contracting authorities are keen to demonstrate their role in providing socially necessary services.

Found in the header of XML documents such as TransXChange this is the date and time at which the data was first created and shall not be changed in any future version of the same element.

A DeadRun describes a vehicle positioning run that does not appear in the public timetable.

This is important information for real time passenger information systems for producing cross journey predictions.

Whether the DepartureTime is to be shown as the same day (0 or omit,) the next day (+1) or the Previous day. (-1) This allows Journeys that start or end after midnight to be included in a particular day timetable.

Layover points specify places, normally not public bus stops, where buses will wait between trips. They also specify for how long the bus will remain at that location.

Layover points can use 999 non-public stops where the public cannot board or alight the service. This may be because of a driver change or rest break for longer journeys. 

A LINE is a collection of VEHICLE JOURNEYs (trips) that share some high degree of commonality of ROUTE and timings, and which are all known by the same LINE NAME. 

Examples are “1”, “1B”, “100”, “calverton connection”, etc. 

In the UK this is generally known as a bus route, or bus service, though the definition of LINE does not include the times. 

LINE NAME is the public facing name of a LINE.

populated with the date and time of the current data.

It it typically omitted for the original (version 0) issue of the data but shall be present in all subsequent versions of the same data.

Unique national identifier of operator which comes from the National Operator Code database maintained by traveline.

Its main purpose is to provide a single controlled list of (public service vehicle) operators and their public names.

https://www.travelinedata.org.uk/traveline-open-data/transport-operations/about-2/ 

in BODS it is important to use the correct NOC code for the Service. It is not unusual for an operator to have more than one NOC to reflect different trading names used under the same O-licence.

For example: 
Arriva in the South East have an O-Licence as Arriva Kent & Surrey Ltd and have three NOC: 
• AKSS Arriva Kent and Surrey 
• ASCN Arriva Southern Counties 
• GLNK Arriva Southern Counties (GLNK) 
Most operators will have a single NOC, for example: 
• HULS for Henry Hulley & Sons Ltd using the public name Hulleys of Baslow. 
• STEP for Stephenson's Of Easingwold Ltd using the public name Stephensons of Easingwold .

The consistent use of an operators NationalOperatorCode enables data consumers to link different data sets together, for example location data for real time information, or fares for ticketing solutions, more easily than would otherwise be possible. 

Inclusive period within which the SERVICE runs

As a minimum, an OperatingPeriod requires a StartDate.

For BODS where the last date of operation of the services is known (for example, because the service is terminating in the near future, there is an impending change, or because the service being described only operates for a limited period), then an EndDate shall also be provided. If the service is expected to run “until further notice” then the EndDate shall be omitted. 

In TXC-PTI, the use of an EndDate in the far distant future to represent an effective “until further notice” operation shall not be permitted. An EndDate shall only describe the actual end date of a service. 

Between these (inclusive) start and end dates, the default operation is described by the OperatingProfile. In standard TXC documents, this is predominantly used in one of two ways: 
a) To describe the overall operation of the service, e.g. “Mondays to Sundays” for a seven-day service, even though different timetables may operate Mondays to Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays; or 
b) To describe the majority of trips e.g. “Mondays to Fridays” even though there are also trips which run on Saturdays and on Sundays. 

OrganisationCode is mandated by the schema. There is a recommendation in the schema that this should be the reference number of the school, as allocated by the administrations in the devolved governments, however this is not required by TXC-PTI. Firstly, a textual code can be more meaningful (e.g. COWA = College of West Anglia), a set of dates could cover multiple organisations.

This is used to state explicitly whether a service is available to the public (true) or whether it is a closed service (false). This allows school services, etc. which are closed to nevertheless be entered into data, and hence allow trips to school to be planned for students.

Note that a service may be open to the public but have restricted boarding / alighting.  For example, the last stop on a public service may be within school grounds first thing in the morning, and only students would be allowed to use it. This restriction is derived from NaPTAN, where a stop may be flagged as private, and users need to reflect both the nature of the service and the nature of the stops when presenting information to the public.

a sequence number that shall be 0 for the first issue of the data and that shall increase for each subsequent version of the data.

A ROUTE is an ordered list of located POINTs defining one single path through the road network (or a variation of a service), a LINE may consist of one or more ROUTEs. 

A SERVICE is a collection of LINEs that together make up a coherent set of vehicle journeys usually running over geographically similar routes although this isn’t a requirement. For example, consider a service “1/1A”, where line “1” operates “A to B direct” and line “1A” operates “A to B via C”, and together they make up the complete service between A and B.

This is a particular UK concept and is normally used in relation to the LINEs contained in an OTC registration.

In BODS a SERVICE is uniquely identified by the SERVICECODE element uniquely identifies the service. For registered services this shall be the registration reference as given when the service is registered with OTC.

The ServiceCode element uniquely identifies the service in a TransXChange file.

BODS advice:

For registered services within TXC-PTI this shall be the registration reference as given when the service is registered with OTC. This takes the form of the “O-licence” number, a forward slash, and a sequential number; for example, PF0000459/134 is the registration reference for Stagecoach service 3 in Bedford. Using the registration reference for the ServiceCode in this way facilitates traceability and permits other operations such as completeness checks to be carried out.  
While a forward slash is not a reserved character in XML, to avoid confusion and to aid readability the ServiceCode in TXC-PTI shall replace the forward slash in the registration reference with a colon.

<Service> 
  <ServiceCode>PF0000459:134</ServiceCode> 
  ... 
</Service>

Additional examples for ServiceCode: 
PF0007157/12 is the registration reference for Kinchbus service 11 and 12 in Leicestershire the service code would be: 
<Service> 
  <ServiceCode>PF0007157:12</ServiceCode> 
  ... 
</Service> 

PC2021320/8 is the registration reference for Go North West service 92 and 93 in Manchester, the ServiceCode would be: 
<Service> 
  <ServiceCode>PC2021320:8</ServiceCode> 
  ... 
</Service> 

SERVICED ORGANISATION is a mechanism for holding the dates when organisations, such as schools, are open and closed.

This gives one place where a common set of dates can be defined, and these can then be applied to individual vehicle journeys by a straightforward reference to the serviced organisation code.

A SERVICEDORGANISATION also contains a code by which the organisation can be referred, and a description.

The NaPTAN reference (Atcocode) of the NaPTAN stop which is used within TransXChange.

This element contains sub-elements which provide details about the equipment available for passenger information (PASSENGERINFOEQUIPMENT), the information regarding the accessibility of the vehicle itself, such as whether low floor or fitted with a ramp (ACCESSVEHICLEEQUIPMENT), and further information on wheelchair spaces, including how many and whether they need pre-booking and how (WHEELCHAIRVEHICLEEQUIPMENT)

Unique reference for the vehicle that is consistent across time.

This could be the Vehicle Registration Mark (VRM), or number plate, but does not have to be as long as it uniquely (within a NOC for BODS purposes) identifies a vehicle and the reference remains consistent in time.