What is Reddit's opinion of Optymod'Lyon?

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Very interesting perspective. In France, the city of Lyon has been foreseeing this issue. The way they address it is a tad complicated, but very interesting:

• they fund an infrastructure to capture more precise data on traffic: traffic cameras and detectors, remote controlled traffic lights offer a much clearer picture on traffic conditions than sampling individual cars, when rightly done.
• they fund an open data portal http://data.grandlyon.com to deliver that information for free. But there's a catch: using this data binds you to allow the GrandLyon to fully audit your systems.
• the GrandLyon allows private businesses to develop added value services on top of this data portal, such as the Optymod Lyon application: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=fr.cityway.android_v3.optymod&hl=en

This has started last summer, so far, the sales figures show the application is profitable. The hopes are to generate a 2% modal report from cars to public transportation.

in France, Lyon has been carrying this program for a while.

partnership that created it: http://optimodlyon.fr resulting apps: http://www.onlymoov.com , https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=fr.cityway.android_v3.optymod&hl=en and http://smartdeliveries.fr

For having worked on the project, I can tell for sure that google sucks at correct routing while Here (ex Navteq) is quite OK.

The difficulty is in getting the UI right.

There are quite a few interesting ideas behind this kind of project.

The first one is about the open data licence: While public data is free, it comes with a duty: usage is subject to audit rights, and data cannot be used to effects that counter the public policy. E.g. you cannot create an app that will redirect transit from congested areas by going through residential ways.

Next the public-private partnership: the city provides initial funding and warrants the availability and integrity of the data. Private initiatives develop added value services, and are in charge of developing profitable business models so that the city does not incur recurring costs.

Finally, the ultimate goal of the apps is that they allow implementing public transit policies more easily. The onlymoov application, for instance, provides public transit alternatives to all car trips, and those are often faster and less expensive. The target is to induce 1-2% modal transfer, which would translate with a huge reduction in congestion at very little investment expenses.