Big Data Boston

MassDOT Visualizing Transportation Hackathon

December 13, 2013 · 6:00 PM
Hack/Reduce

Informing the Future of Massachusetts Transportation through Data Analysis and Visualization.

Introduction
At the MassDOT Visualizing Transportation Hackathon, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), in partnership with the Mass Big Data Initiative, will release a series of related data sets on travel in Massachusetts and will open a challenge to the public to collaborate around analyzing this data and visualizing resulting insights to help inform the future of transportation in the Commonwealth. We invite participants to explore a collection of transportation data with a specific focus on travel behavior, road-rail comparisons, and the energy, environmental, and social impacts of transportation mode-choice.

Background
Each day in Massachusetts, travelers throughout the state make individual decisions on how to reach their destinations. Together, the public’s transportation “mode choice” translates into significant outcomes which impact residents across the Commonwealth in many ways, including through traffic congestion, travel costs, and carbon emissions. To better understand traffic flows throughout the state, MassDOT installed pilot network of roadway sensors to provide real-time traffic management (RTTM) information on three major roadways- 93, I-90, and Rt. 3. Each of these roadway “corridors” is paralleled by at least one light rail line. Participants are encouraged to show compelling insights from the available data, with a special priority around presenting the differences between driving vs. riding the train through specific corridors. The event is designed to encourage participants to choose their own most compelling “lens“ through which to analyze the data, which may include: travel cost, emissions, time delays, etc.

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