https://blog.podaris.com/ Recent content on Podaris: Blog Hugo -- gohugo.io en-us Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/block-viewer/ Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/block-viewer/ There is a long-standing division of labour when providing public transport that has, for the most part, served everyone reasonably well. Planners concern themselves with networks, frequencies, catchments, and accessibility. Schedulers and operators take those plans and translate them into workable vehicle rosters, duties, and depot runs, using their own specialist tools. The danger of this siloed approach is that operational realities limit a planner's vision. Uncomfortable discoveries often surface far too late in the process. https://blog.podaris.com/dft-connectivity-metric/ Sun, 01 Feb 2026 00:12:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/dft-connectivity-metric/ For decades, planners have sought better ways to measure how connected people are - not just to transport, but to opportunity. Whether we’re thinking about jobs, schools, healthcare, or the local shops, connectivity shapes daily life. It’s what determines whether a 20-minute neighbourhood is feasible, or whether a new housing site truly supports sustainable travel. At the end of 2025, the Department for Transport (DfT) launched its first national Transport Connectivity Metric, a data-driven attempt to measure “how easily people can get where they want to go” across England and Wales. https://blog.podaris.com/australian-transport-scorecard/sydney/ Wed, 14 Jan 2026 09:00:45 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/australian-transport-scorecard/sydney/ For part eight of our Australian Transport Scorecard series, we turn to Australia's largest and most complex transport network: Sydney. With buses, heavy rail, metro, light rail, and ferries all in operation, Sydney presents both the opportunities and challenges of truly multi-modal transport planning. Missed earlier cities? Check out our previous analyses of other australian cities here. Why Sydney? The Sydney Greater Capital City Statistical Area sprawls across more than 12,000 sq. https://blog.podaris.com/2025-christmas-gifts-transport-planners/ Wed, 17 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/2025-christmas-gifts-transport-planners/ Christmas is nearly upon us, and you know what that means: frantic last-minute shopping for the transport planner in your life who has everything except a functional bus network in their local area. This year has been… eventful. The transport planner you're shopping for has weathered yet another round of funding cuts, sat through approximately 847 stakeholder meetings that could have been emails, and watched with quiet despair as yet another “revolutionary” transport scheme was quietly shelved. https://blog.podaris.com/australian-transport-scorecard/melbourne/ Sun, 14 Dec 2025 09:00:45 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/australian-transport-scorecard/melbourne/ Melbourne presents a different challenge to Brisbane. Where Brisbane struggles with sheer scale, Melbourne grapples with scale and complexity. It's Australia's second-largest city by population (4.58 million), but its 2,950 sq km metropolitan area makes it significantly denser than its northern counterpart. Add to this Australia's largest tram network, an extensive rail system, and a vast bus network serving rapidly expanding outer suburbs, and you have a genuinely multi-modal transport ecosystem. https://blog.podaris.com/australian-transport-scorecard/brisbane/ Fri, 14 Nov 2025 09:00:45 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/australian-transport-scorecard/brisbane/ Brisbane is big. Really big. At 2,140 sq. km, it's nearly 50% larger than Perth and substantially bigger than Adelaide, yet somehow manages to be Australia's third-largest city rather than its first. That geographical sprawl, combined with 2.29 million people and the Brisbane River carving the whole thing in two, makes it perhaps the most interesting test case in our Australian Transport Scorecard series. The question isn't whether Brisbane has public transport (it does: bus, rail, ferry). https://blog.podaris.com/ptal-dft-connectivity-comparison/ Sun, 02 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/ptal-dft-connectivity-comparison/ When the Department for Transport launched its national Connectivity Metric in September 2025, it promised to transform how Britain plans transport infrastructure and approves development. But what happens when a new national standard contradicts a local metric that's already embedded in billions of pounds worth of planning decisions? In Croydon town centre, a single address tells the story. On paper, its PTAL (Public Transport Access Level) score is 6b – the highest possible rating under Transport for London's established framework. https://blog.podaris.com/australian-transport-scorecard/perth/ Tue, 28 Oct 2025 03:00:45 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/australian-transport-scorecard/perth/ Perth breaks new ground in our series, it's our first city with ferries as part of the public transport mix. Spanning 1,750 sq. km with 2.04 million people, Perth's challenge isn't just multi-modal integration - it's serving a sprawling metropolitan area where distance matters as much as frequency. Unlike the compact cities we've analysed so far, Perth tests a different question: can multi-modal networks deliver strong accessibility across low-density geographies? With buses feeding suburban rail lines and ferries connecting communities across the Swan River, Perth's transport strategy is all about smart integration at scale. https://blog.podaris.com/australian-transport-scorecard/adelaide/ Tue, 21 Oct 2025 09:00:45 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/australian-transport-scorecard/adelaide/ Adelaide changes the game. Unlike Darwin, Hobart, and Canberra, Adelaide is the first truely multi-modal city in this analysis series, and the results tell a compelling story about why integrated transport networks matter. Missed previous cities? Checkout out: Darwin's analysis Hobarts's analysis Canberra's analysis Introducing Adelaide The Adelaide Greater Capital City Statistical Area covers around 850 sq. km, home to 1.24 million people and 484,000 households. With three public transport modes layered across the city, Adelaide provides a useful case for testing accessibility at scale—and for showing how Podaris can quickly model and analyse multi-modal systems. https://blog.podaris.com/australian-transport-scorecard/canberra/ Tue, 14 Oct 2025 09:00:45 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/australian-transport-scorecard/canberra/ For part three of our Australian Transport Scorecard series, we move to the Nation’s Capital. Canberra is the first city in our analysis to feature both bus and light rail, offering a different perspective compared with Darwin and Hobart’s bus-majority networks. Missed previous cities? Checkout out Darwin's analysis and Hobarts's analysis Introducing Canberra The Canberra Greater Capital City Statistical Area (ACT portion) covers around 500 sq. km, with 453,000 people and 168,000 households. https://blog.podaris.com/australian-transport-scorecard/hobart/ Thu, 18 Sep 2025 09:00:45 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/australian-transport-scorecard/hobart/ For part two of our Australian Transport Scorecard series, we’ve headed south to Tasmania. Hobart, with its compact footprint and growing population, provides a fascinating case for testing how Podaris can highlight the strengths and gaps in a city’s transport network. Missed part one? Checkout out Darwin's analysis Introducing Hobart The Hobart Greater Capital City Statistical Area covers around 240 sq. km, home to 197,000 people and 77,000 households. Like Darwin, Hobart relies on a majority bus public transport system (there is a ferry across the Derwent), but the urban geography is more complex—bounded by water and mountains, which can shape service coverage and accessibility. https://blog.podaris.com/australian-transport-scorecard/darwin/ Wed, 10 Sep 2025 09:00:45 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/australian-transport-scorecard/darwin/ Kicking off our Australian Transport Scorecard series, we’re heading to the Top End. Darwin, while Australia’s smallest capital city by population, provides an excellent example of how Podaris can be used to rapidly understand and analyse public transport networks of all sizes. Why Darwin? The Darwin Greater Capital City Statistical Area covers around 240 sq. km, home to 122,000 people and 42,000 households. With a majority-bus public transport system and a dispersed urban footprint, it’s a useful case for exploring accessibility and coverage in a compact but growing city. https://blog.podaris.com/northumberland-line-ridership-the-power-of-access/ Wed, 06 Aug 2025 13:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/northumberland-line-ridership-the-power-of-access/ The Northumberland Line's remarkable ridership success demonstrates the need for measuring connectivity, not just speed The transport planning profession is starting to notice a pattern. The Northumberland Line, which reopened in December after 60 years of closure, carried 250,000 passengers in its first three months - 400% above the annual forecast of 200,000. This extraordinary success isn't just good news for the North East; it's raising important questions about how we measure transport value. https://blog.podaris.com/bakerloop-accessibility/ Fri, 21 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/bakerloop-accessibility/ The BL1 route, also known as the Bakerloop, is a proposed express bus service that would run between Waterloo, Elephant & Castle, and Lewisham town centre. It is part of Transport for London’s (TfL) Superloop expansion, a network of express bus routes aimed at improving connectivity, particularly in outer London. TfL has launched a public consultation on the BL1 route, which runs until 14 March 2025. If approved, the BL1 service is expected to launch in autumn 2025. https://blog.podaris.com/bus-services-bill-2024/ Thu, 19 Dec 2024 01:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/bus-services-bill-2024/ On December 17th, the House of Lords introduced the Bus Services Bill. In England, the Bus Services Bill is legislation designed to improve bus services, focusing on issues like funding, accessibility, and coordination between local governments and bus operators. This follows the government’s recent £1 billion investment in helping to end the postcode lottery, (keeping fares down, protecting rural routes, and delivering reliable services). A key takeaway from the new bill is the removal of the ban on local authorities establishing their own bus companies. https://blog.podaris.com/2024-christmas-gifts-transport-planners/ Mon, 02 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/2024-christmas-gifts-transport-planners/ Ho, ho, ho!🎅🏼 It's Christmas! Well, almost - and once again time for families everywhere to gather around their televisions to sob over Love Actually or play highly competitive games of charades. Since our festive musings were a hit over the past few years (2023, 2022), we thought, why not once again lend a helping hand to the friends, family, and long-suffering loved ones of Transport Planners with their Christmas shopping! https://blog.podaris.com/public-transport-network-classification/ Tue, 27 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/public-transport-network-classification/ In the world of transport planning, the ability to effectively classify and visualize routes and services within public transport networks is crucial for understanding service patterns, analyzing coverage, and making informed decisions. Podaris offers powerful tools that make this process intuitive and efficient. In this blog post, we'll explore how Podaris can be used to classify bus networks, offering advantages over traditional methods and competing solutions. The Power of Route Attributes At the heart of Podaris’ network classification capabilities lies its flexible route attribute system. https://blog.podaris.com/transport-manifesto-2024/ Sun, 17 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/transport-manifesto-2024/ In the run up to the next UK General Election, a number of UK transport organisations have recently taken the initative of publishing their manifestos - each their own effort to shape transport policy towards better outcomes for society and the country. Across the board, key targets like sustainablity, equitable access and a commitment to net zero are called out as being at the heart of progressive policy. We take a look at three manifestos and break down the key talking points for transport professionals. https://blog.podaris.com/bus-connectivity-assessments/ Wed, 07 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/bus-connectivity-assessments/ Last month we discussed the requirement for Local Authorities and operators within the England (and outside of London) to update their Bus Service Improvement Plans (BSIPs). We took a look at the latest Government guidance, released early 2024, and outlined what is required and what has changed since 2021. A new requirement mentioned in the document, applicable to all Local Transport Authorities (LTAs) and coming this spring, is the Bus Connectivity Assessment (BCA). https://blog.podaris.com/nottinghams-waterside-bridge/ Mon, 05 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/nottinghams-waterside-bridge/ By late 2025, Nottingham's new ‘Waterside Bridge’, the first in 60 years to span the Trent, will be open to pedestrians and cyclists. The city council submitted their planning applications this month for the bridge that will link the expanding Waterside regeneration area, Colwick Park on the north bank, and the Lady Bay/West Bridgford area to the south. This comes after the council successfully secured funding from the Government's Transforming Cities Fund in 2020 and subsequently brought the project to public consultation. https://blog.podaris.com/bsip-bus-service-improvement-plans-2024/ Sun, 21 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/bsip-bus-service-improvement-plans-2024/ Within England, the National Bus Strategy, first published in 2021, remains the primary statement on the Government's ongoing vision for bus services outside of London. Described as “the most ambitious shake-up of the bus sector in a generation”, it seeks to reform the planning of bus services, grow patronage, and move beyond the purely commercial imperatives that had guided planning in the past. At the heart of the strategy is a focus on collaboration, with Local Transport Authorities(LTAs), bus operators and local stakeholders expected to work together to produce Bus Service Improvement Plans (BSIPs), key documents outlining their vision for bus services that are attractive, convenient, good value and popular. https://blog.podaris.com/difference-isochrones/ Fri, 19 Jan 2024 08:30:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/difference-isochrones/ In late 2023, we launched the latest evolution of the Podaris platform, Podaris:Insight. Developed in response to the needs of our enterprise customers, Insight gives planners access to cutting edge accessibility analysis tools through a simplified interface designed to reduce the technical barriers to their implementation. Insight bundles a wide variety of analysis types, from the common (travel time and access based isochrones) to the cutting edge (such as the recently devised Mobility Energy Productivity metric). https://blog.podaris.com/2023-christmas-gifts/ Thu, 30 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/2023-christmas-gifts/ It's Christmas! Well, almost - and once again time for families everywhere to gather around their television sets and weep openly at this year's seasonal Marks & Spencer advert (although the John Lewis ad is superior - derivative but superior). Anyway, last year we invited you to spare a thought for the transport planner in your lives and ask, “what would put a smile on their face this holiday season?” https://blog.podaris.com/evaluating-accessibility-with-mep/ Thu, 30 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/evaluating-accessibility-with-mep/ Following the launch of our rapid accessibility analysis toolkit Podaris:Insight, we recently published an article demystifying the Public Transport Accessibility Metric method (PTAL), a metric that has become a critical tool in evaluating public transport services globally and measures the accessibility of an area based on its public transport services. More specifically, PTAL evaluates the proximity to transport stops, the frequency, and reliability of services. While PTAL can give us a good general understanding of access to public transport within a region, it is limited in a number of respects, particularly in that it does not take into account where services actually go. https://blog.podaris.com/2023-transport-events/ Thu, 30 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/2023-transport-events/ This year has seen us attend a host of events both here in the UK and in South America, proving that post-pandemic, the appetite for in-person conferences is once again strong. Podaris’ Head of Business Development and International Partnerships Rajinder Sharma recounts his experiences of three events hosted in the UK this October and November. Local Transport Summit, Sheffield - 18th/19th October The Local Transport Summit describes itself as a 24-hour residential discussion in a relaxed environment which brings together senior people involved in UK local transport from a range of perspectives including political leaders and decision-makers, transport authorities, and transport providers, advisors, researchers and activists. https://blog.podaris.com/accessibility-analysis-webinar-recap-copy/ Thu, 30 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/accessibility-analysis-webinar-recap-copy/ A huge thanks to all of you who signed up for our recent transport accessibility analysis webinar and introduction to Podaris:Insight this November. We were delighted to see so many of you tuning in and engaging with us through a wide range of thought-provoking questions. It's clear that accessibility analysis and transport equity are at the forefront of many planner's minds these days, although navigating and implementing the many analysis types has typically been a complex and laborious process. https://blog.podaris.com/ptal-accessibility-analysis/ Thu, 09 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/ptal-accessibility-analysis/ What is PTAL and why is it important for transport planners? Developed in 1992 by a West London borough, the Public Transport Accessibility Level (PTAL) method is a measure of how well-served different areas are by public transport. Now the standard method for calculating public transport accessibility in London, it has seen adoption around the world, from India to Australia, as well as derivatives such as Transport for Greater Manchester's Greater Manchester Accessibility Level (GMAL). https://blog.podaris.com/podaris-insight-accessibility-analysis/ Wed, 01 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/podaris-insight-accessibility-analysis/ When we launched Podaris:Plan in 2016, our aim was to transform the way planners plan, with an easy-to-use cloud-based application to enable planning more accessible, equitable and sustainable transport futures. Since then, we've seen Podaris used around the world to plan everything from city scale transport networks to multi-billion dollar campus expansions. We've worked closely with local authorities, consultancies, transport operators and development planners to understand how they plan, and what outputs are most important to them. https://blog.podaris.com/mobility-camp-2023/ Mon, 02 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/mobility-camp-2023/ Mobility Camp, now in its sixth year, is an annual unconference that brings together transport planners, modellers, engineers, technologists, social activists, academics and others to discuss and develop solutions to the challenges facing the transportation sector. As an unconference, there are no pre-planned sessions. Instead, attendees are invited to suggest and vote on the topics that they are most interested in discussing, with the aim of engendering a truly collaborative approach to problem-solving. https://blog.podaris.com/understanding-gtfs-federal/ Mon, 25 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/understanding-gtfs-federal/ In the 16 years since its origins as one Google employee's side project, GTFS, or General Transit Feed Specification has become the standard data format for public transportation schedules and their accompanying geographic information. The specification is represented as a collection of text files, with information such as stops, routes, trips and spatial entities in the form of shapes. Typical applications include journey planning, accessibility analysis and analysis of service provision. https://blog.podaris.com/sp-and-b-brazil/ Fri, 08 Sep 2023 01:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/sp-and-b-brazil/ As well as being a commercial and industrial centre of Brazil, and the world's 4th most populous city, São Paulo is also a major transportation hub. It does however contend with significant transportation issues, such as traffic congestion, inefficient public transit, and environmental impacts. As Podaris welcomes Brazilian transport consultancy Vertran as a customer and joins businesses in the region as part of the SP+B collaborative problem solving workshop, we dig into the current state of mobility in the region. https://blog.podaris.com/world-car-free-day/ Mon, 04 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/world-car-free-day/ In this article we're going to a look at World Car Free Day, its history, its relevance to planners today and how some are choosing to celebrate in 2023. Then we'll take a deeper dive into the true impact of car use, with particular attention to the UK (certainly a nation of car lovers but a surprisingly active population nontheless), and how Podaris customer Translink has been planning a less car dominated, more sustainable Belfast. https://blog.podaris.com/average-week-gtfs-data/ Mon, 14 Aug 2023 18:54:45 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/average-week-gtfs-data/ A GTFS feed is a standardised format used by public transportation agencies to provide schedule, route, and geographic data, enabling developers to create applications that offer transit information and services to the public. If you're a transport planner, they can often be the bane of your existence… As a transport planner, when working with a General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) feed, understanding what constitutes an ‘average week’ is useful for gaining insights into the typical service patterns and usage trends. https://blog.podaris.com/superloop-accessibility/ Mon, 07 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/superloop-accessibility/ Recently, Transport for London (TfL) has been making public its proposals for new express bus routes as part of its Superloop network. Superloop aims to be a network of express routes that will circle London and connect outer London town centres, hospitals, schools and transport hubs. The new routes are designed to promote sustainable journeys, give people more transport options between key locations and improve journey times. Details of the routes have been shared at haveyoursay. https://blog.podaris.com/what-makes-a-good-accessibility-metric/ Fri, 28 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/what-makes-a-good-accessibility-metric/ In our last blog post we looked at the social impact of transport accessibility and the consequences of poorly planned services on the individual, businesses, communities and the state. In this article, we'll explore some of the reasons behind the current popularity of accessibility analysis and what makes a good metric. Why has accessibility analysis become so popular? While no one factor accounts for the current popularity of accessibility analysis, it's clear that technological developments have largely facilitated its adoption by planners. https://blog.podaris.com/tpm-conference-2023/ Sat, 01 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/tpm-conference-2023/ This year's Transport Practitioners’ Meeting, held at the University of Greenwich was the 21st in its history and brought together a wide range of transport professionals for two days of presentations, networking and debates. We arrived on the Wednesday morning, having travelled sustainably using the step-free Elizabeth Line and DLR with our stand (ominous Dalek-like thing, below-right) to a packed conference with a box of signature Podaris doughnuts in tow. With around 100 talks and 8 conferences, spread over a 2 day period, there was a huge variety of content on offer, with discussions themed around topics such as liveable neighbourhood places, methods and methodologies for transport modelling, and sustainability planning. https://blog.podaris.com/understanding-transport-accessibility/ Fri, 30 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/understanding-transport-accessibility/ Understanding how transport decisions create or reinforce social isolation and exclusion is essential when planning equitable infrastructure services. It has long been established that transport accessibility can have a significant impact on a person's ability to access education, healthcare, employment, and other essential services. Limited transport accessibility can also present significant barriers to social and economic mobility. Furthermore, dependence on private vehicles and the reduction in walking has been shown to exacerbate health issues such as obesity. https://blog.podaris.com/uk-bus-in-2023-price-cap/ Wed, 31 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/uk-bus-in-2023-price-cap/ Those keeping a close eye on the state of bus travel in the UK will be aware that the end of June was set to mark the cessation of the Bus Recovery Grant (BRG) and the £2 fare cap for journeys outside of London. The BRG was set up in September 2021 to provide financial support to commercial bus operators in England as a strategy for recovery from the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and as part of the government's commitment to “levelling up” transport across the UK by making bus travel more affordable and accessible. https://blog.podaris.com/ai-assisted-transport-planning/ Tue, 30 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/ai-assisted-transport-planning/ The past few months have seen spectacular advances in the field of artificial intelligence, with an abundance of new tools emerging on an almost daily basis to assist in the generation of everything from video to usable code. While the newness of these tools means that most of us are still engaging with them as an amusing novelty, developers are now starting to leverage their power to create productivity boosting integrations with existing software. https://blog.podaris.com/journey-planning/ Mon, 01 May 2023 01:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/journey-planning/ Early stage transport planning can involve many facets, from approximating route distance and travel time, to exploring the potential impact of service alterations on mode shift and accessibility. For the consumer, the most pressing question is often, “how can I actually get from A to B?” Podaris’ Journey Planner allows you to generate a comprehensive, multimodal overview of journeys to and from designated locations. Because the journey planner updates with each revision to your network, it allows you to gain an at-a-glance understanding of how journeys are actually made, and the potential real-world impacts of route alterations such as timetable amendments and diversions. https://blog.podaris.com/bus-open-data-service/ Mon, 01 May 2023 01:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/bus-open-data-service/ We've spoken a lot about the UK bus industry over the last few years - from overarching strategies to improve patronage and promote sustainability such as the National Bus Strategy and associated Bus Service Improvement Plans, to specific schemes such as the £2 bus fare cap, now extended until June. We've also discussed how software such as Podaris can leverage data to help planners make more informed decisions and evaluate their transport services more rapidly and accurately than by traditional means. https://blog.podaris.com/transforming-cities/ Mon, 03 Apr 2023 01:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/transforming-cities/ This March, Rajinder Sharma, Partnerships and Business Development Manager attended UK based Landor LINKS Live events in Coventry and Leicester. The first, ‘Re-imagining Transport’ was a conference hosted by Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) at the University of Warwick. The two day event showcased how TfWM is improving accessibility, reducing traffic and electrifying transport through its new Local Transport Plan (LTP). TfWM shared their views and hope to find new collaborators for its innovation journey with an emphasis on the six ‘Big Moves’, comprised of: https://blog.podaris.com/school-streets/ Mon, 03 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/school-streets/ “School streets” initiatives date back as far as the late 1980s, to Bolzana, Italy. The concept is simple but the benefits are significant - traffic outside of schools is restricted during pick up and drop off times, opening the streets for walking and cycling. It took the UK 26 years to introduce its own first school scheme in Scotland in 2015. England followed suit two years later with its first scheme in Camden, London. https://blog.podaris.com/towards-net-zero/ Mon, 03 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/towards-net-zero/ Back in October 2021, the UK’s Net Zero Strategy set out a comprehensive economy-wide plan for how British businesses and consumers should be supported in making the transition to clean energy and green technology – lowering Britain’s reliance on fossil fuels by investing in sustainable clean energy in the UK. Since then, the UK High Court ruled that the strategy was not sufficiently detailed and therefore unlawful, and ordered the government to provide more information on how emission cuts could be delivered by April 2023. https://blog.podaris.com/tfl-superloop/ Tue, 28 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/tfl-superloop/ There's exciting news for Londoners today with the announcement of the forthcoming “Superloop” bus network, designed to “connect town centres, railway stations, hospitals & transport hubs” in the capital. The £6m orbital network is set to revolutionise transport across Outer London, adding more than 4 million kilometers to their outer network. The new network will include express buses with fewer stops and faster journey times, bringing passengers a more efficient travel experience. https://blog.podaris.com/nationalexpressstrikes/ Tue, 21 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/nationalexpressstrikes/ National Express currently runs 1,600 buses in Birmingham and the West Midlands, carrying 600,000 passengers a day. Yesterday, more than 3,000 National Express bus drivers in the region began an indefinite strike over pay, leading to around 93% of the network being affected. While the advice is currently not to travel using local services unless absolutely necessary, a spokesperson for National Express West Midlands has said that “limited service, primarily serving the region’s major hospitals” is operating. https://blog.podaris.com/international-womens-day-2023/ Wed, 08 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/international-womens-day-2023/ Today, March 8th is International Women's Day, and this year's theme is gender equity. Alongside the yearly points of focus that include celebrating women's achievements, lobbying for accelerated gender parity and education/raising awareness of women's equality, this year has a particular emphasis on “why equal opportunities aren't enough” and “why equal isn't always fair.” In this piece, we're highlighting some of the initiatives and resources that exist to combat inequality in transport planning and address some of the specific issues facing women as transport users. https://blog.podaris.com/podaris-qgis-isochrones/ Tue, 28 Feb 2023 00:02:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/podaris-qgis-isochrones/ Podaris is a powerful and flexible platform that allows for analysis and visualisation of geospatial data in moments. It’s intended not only to fill a gap identified in the transport planning market, but also to be compatible with other analysis tools, extending its capabilities. One such piece of software that pairs very well with Podaris is QGIS. Recently, one of our customers needed to perform accessibility analysis on a particular region, taking into account a period over time. https://blog.podaris.com/sentiment-analysis-and-transport-planning/ Mon, 27 Feb 2023 00:02:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/sentiment-analysis-and-transport-planning/ Think about the last time you took a bus, a train, a tram… What sort of emotions did it inspire in you? For some of us, travel can be an opportunity to unlatch from our daily routines and enter something like a serene fugue state while being ferried from point to point. For others, it's a chaotic and cacophonous experience, typified by frantic fumbling through pockets for dog-eared tickets and panicked dashing for departing trains. https://blog.podaris.com/the-benefits-of-interoperability-in-transport-planning/ Mon, 27 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/the-benefits-of-interoperability-in-transport-planning/ Despite a preference by some for the tactile charm of paper maps and reassuringly mundane spreadsheet software, the tools available to transport planners have come a long way in recent years. And yet while the advantages over these older, more time-consuming, and difficult-to-scale processes are many, newer, digital systems are not without their potential pitfalls. Perhaps the most complicating of all possible issues that might arise out of systems built to exist in a wider software ecosystem is the failure to effectively interoperate. https://blog.podaris.com/multimodal-planning-manchester-bee/ Sun, 05 Feb 2023 01:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/multimodal-planning-manchester-bee/ We rounded up last year by discussing the current state of bus travel in the UK (and specifically outside of London) - a mixed picture of limping COVID recovery and service cuts, offset by bold national schemes such as the £2 journey cap. We discussed the threat, particularly to rural areas, of crippling transport poverty, and the concern that its effects will be felt in every aspect of social life, from employment to mental wellbeing. https://blog.podaris.com/is-artificial-intelligence-the-future-of-transport-planning/ Sat, 04 Feb 2023 01:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/is-artificial-intelligence-the-future-of-transport-planning/ Podaris · Is AI The Future of Transport Planning 2022 was the year that Artificial Intelligence (AI) truly hit the zeitgeist, with a new generation of chatbots and image generation tools causing widespread awe and consternation. In this article, we will examine the significance of these advances, and ask whether these innovations will have a meaningful role to play in the future of transport planning and urban design. Here at Podaris, we have been following AI developments since our inception. https://blog.podaris.com/london-ltn-low-traffic-neighbourhoods/ Fri, 20 Jan 2023 01:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/london-ltn-low-traffic-neighbourhoods/ The University of Westminster's Active Travel Academy and climate charity Possible have released their initial findings into the effects of “Low Traffic Neighbourhoods” (LTNs) this week, demonstrating a decrease in motor traffic in LTN areas, with little discernible impact on adjacent “boundary roads”. In fact, the study observed a less than 1% increase on the daily mean average of traffic through these LTN-adjacent roads. For LTN areas themselves, there was a mean reduction of 46. https://blog.podaris.com/uk-bus-service-cuts/ Wed, 30 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/uk-bus-service-cuts/ The road to post-pandemic recovery has been challenging for Local Authorities and operators delivering bus services across the UK. Back in March 2021, the UK Government's Bus Back Better strategy outlined the situation in the following terms: “Bus use has held up more strongly than rail in the pandemic, but as with the railways it has accelerated the challenges to an operating model that was already in trouble. Few services could now survive without emergency state support. https://blog.podaris.com/christmas-gifts-for-transport-planners/ Tue, 29 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/christmas-gifts-for-transport-planners/ Christmas is approaching and now that the threat of COVID-19 has been entirely eradicated and the savings passed on by energy firms swollen with profit have left us all flush with cold hard cash, what better way to celebrate than by squeezing ourselves into shopping centres and seeing out the year in a delirous blitz of spending? This year, we kindly ask that you spare a thought for the humble transport planner in your life, who will certainly have been made to feel at least partly responsible for all the public transport problems in their country during the last 12 months. https://blog.podaris.com/price-caps-and-fare-strategy/ Sun, 16 Oct 2022 01:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/price-caps-and-fare-strategy/ The effects of the UK's cost of living crisis are as numerous as its causes. While factors such as the pandemic, chip shortages and the supply chain crisis have had serious implications worldwide, the rising cost of living in the UK has become a daily feature of the news cycle. According to the Office for National Statistics, 77% of people over the age of 16 polled in Great Britain between April and May this year reported feeling “very or somewhat worried about the rising cost of living”. https://blog.podaris.com/2022-transport-events/ Sat, 15 Oct 2022 01:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/2022-transport-events/ The last few months have seen the welcome return of numerous transport events up and down the UK, as falling COVID numbers have encouraged transport professionals to leave their desks to meet, network and share their knowledge and experiences in person. We've attended several throughout the summer and autumn, so we thought we'd recap a few here. Over the last couple of years at Podaris, there's been much focus on buses, as we've supported local authorities in the UK to produce Bus Service Improvement Plans and Bus Network Reviews faster and more efficiently. https://blog.podaris.com/demand-modelling-with-podaris/ Sun, 21 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/demand-modelling-with-podaris/ In our last blog post, we looked back on our recent, in-person workshop at the Transport Practitioners Meeting in London, where we discussed the planning and analysis of equitable bus services. The 2022 TPM meeting was one of a number of conferences that we had the opportunity to attend over the last few months, with UK transport events now back in full swing after a long period of pandemic related interruption. https://blog.podaris.com/transport-practioners-meeting-workshop/ Tue, 26 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/transport-practioners-meeting-workshop/ Over the past few months, we've been fortunate enough to finally step out from behind our screens and attend a number of the recent transport events hosted around the UK. While online events and webinars have necessarily filled a gap during the wax and wane of COVID, physical events represent a unique opportunity to meet, greet, educate and inform. In June, we attended the 2022 PTRC Transport Practitioner's Meeting at the UK's University of Greenwich. https://blog.podaris.com/commonwealth-games-birmingham-2022/ Mon, 04 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/commonwealth-games-birmingham-2022/ The 2022 Commonwealth Games are almost upon us. From 28th July to August 8th, Birmingham will host the multi-sport event, with over 70 participating commonwealth countries and over 5000 participants. Beyond supporting the games itself, the Games Transport Plan aims to create a legacy for Birmingham and the region that will serve to boost its economy, improve transportation in the area and assist in COVID recovery. The detailed coordination and planning underpinning the game's transport strategy has its origins back at least as far as 2018, when Transport for West Midlands staff traveled to the 2018 Gold Coast Games to better understand how transport planners in Australia had met the unique challenges associated with hosting nearly 300 events. https://blog.podaris.com/small-scheme-appraisal-toolkit/ Thu, 30 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/small-scheme-appraisal-toolkit/ In the UK, the Levelling Up Fund is a £4.8 billion initiative, created to improve the quality of everyday life. Running until 2024/25, the fund is designed to support infrastructure improvements that will drive prosperity and narrow the economic disparity between different regions of the country. In the recently-opened second round of funding, the government is requesting proposals for a wide range of high-impact transport investment schemes, focusing on small to medium-sized initiatives. https://blog.podaris.com/tps-quiz-analysis/ Mon, 13 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/tps-quiz-analysis/ This week, across England, Scotland and Ireland, the Transport Planning Society hosts its TPS International Quiz. We decided to use Podaris to explore accessibility to its ten locations, using census data to perform isochrone analysis and find out how many people can travel to each location within 30 minutes, by bike. The first step is to plot the locations. Podaris allows us to jump to the lat/long coordinates of each location and create a point to mark them on a dataset layer. https://blog.podaris.com/true-collaborative-transport-planning/ Mon, 06 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/true-collaborative-transport-planning/ The way we collaborate has changed - in part necessitated by the conditions imposed on us during the pandemic, and in part by the more gradual development of tools and technologies that facilitate radical new ways of exchanging ideas and information. It's clear that many workers already understand and feel the negative impact of poor collaboration within their current workplaces, with 97% of executives and employees blaming a lack of alignment within a team as a reason for constant project failures (McKinsey & Co. https://blog.podaris.com/national-bus-review/ Sun, 22 May 2022 01:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/national-bus-review/ From the 4th of October, all pandemic-related revenue funding in England will cease. How Local Transport Authorities and operators plan to avoid what the Department of Transport (DfT) describe as a potential ‘cliff-edge’ at that time will be detailed in network reviews to be submitted this summer. In this post, we take a look at sustainability and the future of bus travel in post-pandemic England. The effects of the pandemic on local bus passenger journeys in England, as detailed in the DfT's November ‘21 ‘Annual bus statistics’ release, make for stark, if unsurprising reading. https://blog.podaris.com/easy-gtfs/ Mon, 25 Apr 2022 01:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/easy-gtfs/ As Podaris has evolved, one of the most consistent pieces of feedback from our users has been how indispensable the platform has become for editing GTFS feeds. While GTFS was originally conceived as a means of preparing transit information for passengers, it has become widely used in planning, and as a result of its ubiquity (and the optional nature of some of the specification), planners and analysts are typically exposed to a wide range of feeds – from the good, to the bad, and the downright ugly. https://blog.podaris.com/accelerate-transport-planning/ Fri, 11 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/accelerate-transport-planning/ Tools for planning and analysing multimodal transport networks have typically either been of the low-tech pen/paper/spreadsheet variety, or have involved complex GIS applications with a steep learning curve and a fundamental lack of collaborative capabilities. For less technical stakeholders and collaborators, the arcane nature of such GIS tools often precludes any meaningful involvement in the planning process. As a combined platform for planning, analysis and engagement, Podaris brings together a wide variety of tools for building and appraising transport schemes in one easy-to-use place. https://blog.podaris.com/2022-newyear/ Mon, 10 Jan 2022 00:01:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/2022-newyear/ In our 2020 year in review, we asked, ‘Will 2021 be the year that everything goes back to normal? Does “normal” even exist anymore? Or has the pandemic set some things irrevocably in motion?'. As 2021 closes, many of the same uncertainties remain. Many of us have had to adjust to new ways of working, to tentatively reconnect with the world as we knew it, and to define for ourselves ‘the new normal’. https://blog.podaris.com/national-bus-strategy-in-review/ Mon, 10 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/national-bus-strategy-in-review/ Over the past few months, we've talked a lot about the National Bus Strategy (NBS) for England, the UK's government's ambitious plan for reforming bus services. We've discussed how increasing connectivity with other modes, developing innovative fare strategies, and creating more equitable networks lie at the heart of the NBS. Valuable as these improvements may be, not everyone is convinced that the NBS will be deliverable. Bus industry expert Julian Peddle says that he thinks it will “end in tears”, citing a number of significant challenges, including: https://blog.podaris.com/national-bus-strategy-inclusivity/ Mon, 20 Sep 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/national-bus-strategy-inclusivity/ By the end of October 2021, each Local Transport Authority in the UK will have to submit their first Bus Service Improvement Plan to the Department for Transport, detailing how they intend to work with local operators to achieve the goals of the recently formalised National Bus Strategy (NBS). For many people, buses provide the only practical, frequently used method of transport, other than walking. For the over 70s, ethnic minority groups, and people on lower incomes, bus use remains particularly common. https://blog.podaris.com/fare-modelling-for-the-national-bus-strategy/ Tue, 31 Aug 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/fare-modelling-for-the-national-bus-strategy/ In the introduction to the UK's National Bus Strategy (NBS), the prime minister outlined his vision for “simple, cheap flat fares that you can pay with a contactless card, with daily and weekly price capping across operators, rail and tram too”. Prior to COVID-19, the vast majority of local bus services in England had been run, and fares set by private sector bus operators. In the previous article in our NBS series, we have discussed bus planning in a multimodal context, and the requirement for joined-up fare strategies that allow passengers to make journeys that incorporate multiple modes on a single ticket. https://blog.podaris.com/national-bus-strategy-multimodal/ Tue, 27 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/national-bus-strategy-multimodal/ In our first post on the UK's National Bus Strategy (NBS) this June, we outlined how the UK government proposes to reform the planning and delivery of bus services in England. In July, we spoke in more detail about how planners can put that into effect to meet its goals. In this article, we're going to look at the importance of creating bus services that integrate effectively with other transport modes, and discuss how to reflect these proposals in your Bus Service Improvement Plans (BSIPs). https://blog.podaris.com/network-design-national-bus-strategy/ Tue, 06 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/network-design-national-bus-strategy/ This July, the DfT announced £226.5 million in recovery funding to maintain and improve bus services and support the aims of the UK's National Bus Strategy. In this article, we examine the importance of effective service planning and network design in fulfilling the NBS, and show how planners can design and explore routes in a fraction of the time taken by traditional methods. The Podaris platform is a powerful yet easy-to-use multi-modal sandbox for the rapid development of transport scenarios. https://blog.podaris.com/trustable-transit-during-covid-19/ Tue, 06 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/trustable-transit-during-covid-19/ As the UK's vaccine programme continues to make strides, with over 60% of adults now fully vaccinated, public transport operators are beginning to welcome cautious travellers back to bus and rail. However, there is still a cloud of fear preventing a return to public transport. Tube and buses are still operating at only half of the normal levels in London, contrasting with private vehicle usage, which returned to pre-pandemic peaks in late May 2021. https://blog.podaris.com/national-bus-strategy/ Wed, 09 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/national-bus-strategy/ Across England, Local Transport Authorities (LTAs) and operators are expected to move quickly and collaboratively to meet the fast-paced timelines set out by the Department for Transport in the National Bus Strategy. Not meeting the timelines risks significant shortfalls in funding, which would severely impact bus service provisions. However, while fiscal pressures drive the imperative for implementing the Strategy, the opportunity to gain a greater say over local bus services is welcomed by authorities. https://blog.podaris.com/stakeholder-engagement-enhancements/ Tue, 01 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/stakeholder-engagement-enhancements/ As the only truly collaborative platform for transport planning1, Podaris unites technical and non-technical stakeholders in a single digital model, greatly facilitating cooperation across disciplines, and closing the feedback loop between planners and those with a vested interested in project outputs. During the past year, we've revealed a huge number of improvements and enhancements to Podaris:Plan – our application for high-level planning and analysis – including demographic modelling for travel-time and catchment analysis, and the ability to plan scheduled services with unprecedented ease. https://blog.podaris.com/podaris-15-minute-city/ Sun, 28 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/podaris-15-minute-city/ Recently, the idea of the “15-minute city” or “20-minute city” — an aspirational vision of the city in which most of the needs of its inhabitants can be met within a 15 or 20-minute walk, cycle or public transport trip from any location — has captured the imagination of planners and policymakers around the world, from Paris to Melbourne, and beyond. Inevitably, cities around the world are defining those needs by their own criteria. https://blog.podaris.com/how-much-does-a-bus-route-cost/ Tue, 02 Mar 2021 01:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/how-much-does-a-bus-route-cost/ The ongoing pandemic has decimated public transport agencies across the world. Some agencies have experienced 80%-90% reductions in ridership and farebox revenue, while also incurring increased costs in the form of sudden network redesigns, staffing shortages, and funding shortfalls. These challenges have highlighted the need for agile ways to plan responsive alterations to public transport services. The Podaris platform has always excelled at this, empowering transport planners to collaboratively create high-level multi-modal transport scenarios, generating meaningful and reliable outputs in a fraction of the time taken by traditional methods. https://blog.podaris.com/quality-bus-2021/ Sat, 27 Feb 2021 00:00:57 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/quality-bus-2021/ Rajinder Sharma, Podaris Partnerships and Business Development Manager, recently attended the “Quality Bus 2021 - Buses: Building Back Better” seminar, hosted by Landor LINKS. This seminar brought together local authorties, transport operators, and other key stakeholders, to discuss recovery from the pandemic in the context of the bus sector. Prior to Covid, the Bus Services Act had aimed to create a well-functioning bus network, improving connectivity and tackling socio-economic exclusion. Obviously the pandemic has created significant long-term uncertainty for both ridership and budget forecasts. https://blog.podaris.com/podaris-joins-transport-planning-society/ Tue, 23 Feb 2021 00:00:58 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/podaris-joins-transport-planning-society/ We are delighted to announce that we have joined the Transport Planning Society (TPS) as Stakeholder members. The TPS is a UK based society concerned specifically with the planning, design, construction, maintenance and operation of land-based transport systems and infrastructure. It offers routes to qualifications such as Chartered Transport Planning Professional. The TPS is dedicated to providing support and networking to members with a calendar of technical seminars and conferences, plus social events. https://blog.podaris.com/2021-newyear/ Wed, 20 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/2021-newyear/ In this issue: 2020 in Review The Road Ahead… Cambridgeshire Autonomous Metro (CAM) We hope you're all having a healthy and happy start to the new year! For all of us, 2020 was a year like no other. Everywhere in the world, the transport sector was turned upside-down, as agencies scrambled to replan their services amid severe disruptions to ridership and workforces. Here at Podaris, our goal has always been to facilitate more agile and effective transport planning via our remote collaboration platform – just what the industry needs, we’d like to think, in this time of crisis. https://blog.podaris.com/cambridgeshire-autonomous-metro-cam/ Tue, 19 Jan 2021 01:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/cambridgeshire-autonomous-metro-cam/ Podaris joins a Mott MacDonald led consortium that has been appointed by Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority to develop bold, innovative, conceptual designs to help inform and potentially transform the delivery of the Cambridgeshire Autonomous Metro (CAM). Appointed alongside two other suppliers, Podaris and the Mott MacDonald consortium have been challenged to propose technologies, innovations, designs, operational systems and commercial ideas which could provide an in-the-round solution to the delivery of the CAM. https://blog.podaris.com/future-of-town-hall-planning/ Mon, 28 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/future-of-town-hall-planning/ Described as “unlike anything seen in peacetime”, the Covid-19 outbreak has turned the world of transport upside down, creating severe challenges for local authorities and transport bodies across the globe. The pandemic is one of the biggest tests local authorities have ever faced. Now more than ever, they need the trust and support of their local stakeholder groups as they struggle to cope with the “new reality”. But have they already failed? https://blog.podaris.com/rapid-cycle-infrastructure-planning-analysis/ Fri, 31 Jul 2020 00:12:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/rapid-cycle-infrastructure-planning-analysis/ Out With The Whip, In With The LCWIP Since the beginning of the pandemic, traditional transport services have been radically altered in response to plummeting ridership and farebox revenue, staff shortages, and the ongoing need to provide services for key workers and transport-dependent populations. Local authorities, municipalities, and agencies from cities and towns across the world are needing to respond to changes in travel needs and behaviours faster than ever. https://blog.podaris.com/pandemic-planning/ Fri, 22 May 2020 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/pandemic-planning/ Few people would have imagined the state of the world in 2020. As of this writing, over 300,000 lives have been lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide. Tens of millions of jobs have disappeared. Hundreds of millions of people are suddenly working remotely. Billions are confined to their homes. A disruption of this magnitude is going to leave a mark on civilisation. While everyone is understandably focused upon its immediate effects, the COVID-19 pandemic will have social and economic consequences that are felt for generations to come. https://blog.podaris.com/march-2020/ Fri, 20 Mar 2020 09:00:00 +0100 https://blog.podaris.com/march-2020/ The world is currently experiencing its largest remote work experiment, as companies adopt work-from-home policies in light of COVID-19. While corporate VPNs and file-based SharePoint workflows struggle to adapt to the new ways of working, there has never been a better time for using a real-time collaborative planning tool like Podaris. To help support transport planners across the world during this difficult period, we are offering the first month of our “Professional” plan for free. https://blog.podaris.com/route-planning-walkthrough/ Tue, 17 Mar 2020 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/route-planning-walkthrough/ Last month, we introduced you to powerful new capabilities for creating scheduled services. Podaris follows a high-level approach to schedule planning, ideally suited for optioneering and feasibility studies. This allows you to rapidly iterate through multiple scenarios, without the need for laborious data-entry or complex setups. In this blog post, we’re going to explore how it can help you create services for traditional transit routes (eg., routes that follow a predefined stopping pattern, with a service level dictated by a timetable). https://blog.podaris.com/scheduled-services-announcement/ Mon, 03 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/scheduled-services-announcement/ Today marks the release of our exciting new features for planning and managing scheduled services within Podaris. No transport project is an island, and the most accurate and effective transport projects involve the perspectives of many different scenarios and mode options. Occasionally that may be comparing a PRT system to a new bus route, or even analysing the effects of increasing the frequency of a metro line versus an LRT extension. https://blog.podaris.com/2020-newyear/ Thu, 09 Jan 2020 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/2020-newyear/ Happy 2020! As we move forward into the new year, let’s take a moment to look back at what Podaris has done over the past year – and what you’ll be seeing from us in 2020. 2019 was a milestone year in our product development. We launched a number of major new features, including: Data layers – a way of incorporating GIS functionality into Podaris. This opens up new kinds of demographic analysis, visualisation, and more. https://blog.podaris.com/podcar-city-2019/ Mon, 25 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/podcar-city-2019/ Earlier this month Podaris attended the 2019 Podcar City conference in San Jose, California, as both a sponsor and an exhibitor. Prior to the event, Podaris founder and CEO, Nathan Koren, set out why he thinks we are at the precipice of a Podcar resurgence. At the conference, we learned of exciting new projects and innovative vendors which seemed to confirm that hypothesis! Kicking off the event was a session on the perspective of a city, moderated by transportation legend Rod Diridon Sr. https://blog.podaris.com/prt/ Mon, 04 Nov 2019 12:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/prt/ Podaris will be exhibiting at the 13th annual “Podcar City” conference, in San Jose, California. Come visit our booth on November 5th and 6th, and meet our CTO, Devon Barrett. So, what is a “Podcar”, and why does it sound suspiciously like “Podaris”? Glad you asked! As it turns out, Podaris owes its origins to Podcars! Before explaining that history, however, let’s understand something about the history of Podcars themselves. https://blog.podaris.com/october-2019/ Mon, 07 Oct 2019 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/october-2019/ Events this week It's been a while since our last newsletter as we've been busy putting the finishing touches on some incredible new features that we think will change the way you use Podaris. And if you've really missed us, you'll be pleased to know that you have two opportunities to come and meet us this week, at two events, in London and Wolverhampton, aimed at technology investors and the rail industry. https://blog.podaris.com/isochrone-queries/ Wed, 21 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/isochrone-queries/ This week we’re going to lift the veil a bit and show some of the advanced capabilities that we’re working on bringing to Podaris. One feature that we’re particularly excited about is “advanced isochrones”. This combines our longstanding isochrone calculations with new datasets functionality, making Podaris more powerful than ever before for demographic analysis. First, let’s start with an existing transport system – in this case, the Santa Clara VTA light rail system: https://blog.podaris.com/dataset-announcement/ Tue, 30 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/dataset-announcement/ Datasets in Podaris:Plan We've recently spoken about how you can use Tilesets to show raster data in Podaris:Plan. Today we're excited to announce datasets - a way to work with custom vector data. Each dataset is its own layer in Podaris:Plan, meaning that you can easily switch between layers for buildings, demographic statistics, or anything you choose. Extensive styling options give you full control over each layer's look, allowing you to craft the perfect presentation of your datasets for use in Podaris:Engage. https://blog.podaris.com/multilines/ Thu, 25 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/multilines/ At Podaris, we're always looking for ways to make it easier to model complex transport systems. One common request has been the ability to make “dual carriageways”, with tracks going in either direction. Good news: our parametric “multi-line” drawing capabilities are now ready to use! Just select the “two way” option in the drawing tool, and start drawing like normal. Appropriate offsets will be automatically calculated based on the type of infrastructure you're modelling, and will automatically update whenever you move control points in the center line. https://blog.podaris.com/announcing-podaris-georef/ Mon, 15 Jul 2019 09:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/announcing-podaris-georef/ An all new Georeferencer Podaris:Georef gives you new ways to use a way to import custom map imagery, and use them in both your Podaris Projects and other tools, such as 3rd-party GIS platforms. Making map-projected imagery accessible across multiple platforms is particularly useful for: Plans for new developments Historic or custom maps Higher-resolution aerial imagery Raster-based demographic datasets Preparing your imagery for use is as simple as aligning a few corresponding points on both your image and the map. https://blog.podaris.com/intelligent-mobility/ Tue, 09 Jul 2019 09:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/intelligent-mobility/ We are pleased to announce that Podaris has recently been invited to join Wayra’s Intelligent Mobility Accelerator. The Intelligent Mobility programme is a joint venture between Wayra UK, the Connected Places Catapult, Telefonica, Ferrovial, Hyundai, and Stagecoach. The programme assists the UK’s most promising startups in the mobility sector, connecting them with new partners and pilot projects around the world. Podaris CEO Nathan Koren had this to say about the programme: https://blog.podaris.com/govtechprize/ Thu, 10 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/govtechprize/ We are delighted to announce Podaris as the winner of the World Government Summit's London GovHackSeries challenge. This annual award recognises startups that provide innovative technology-based solutions to common global challenges. The competition aims to promote the efforts of governments, individuals and private entities across eight major cities to develop creative, future-ready solutions to the most pressing societal concerns. We're very pleased to see Podaris recognised as a leading platform for inspiring and implementing novel approaches to designing infrastructure by a competition that celebrates societally impactful technologies. https://blog.podaris.com/building-our-podcast/ Tue, 03 Jul 2018 09:00:00 +0100 https://blog.podaris.com/building-our-podcast/ Last month, Podaris founder Nathan Koren sat down with Bert Broadhead from “Building Our Future” – a podcast series focused on “meeting the people who change the way we design, construct and interact with the built environment”. During the podcast Nathan discusses the vision for Podaris, and his thoughts on the future of transport and cities. Stream or download below! .episode .podcast_name, .episode .episode_name, .episode .meta p, .episode .description { color : #000000 ! https://blog.podaris.com/2-7-0-copy-rotate/ Thu, 28 Jun 2018 09:00:00 +0100 https://blog.podaris.com/2-7-0-copy-rotate/ For the past few months we've been silently hard at work on performance improvements, new features, and documentation updates. We can now start sharing some of these capabilities with you! New Tools We are pleased to announced three new tools for Podaris:Plan, aimed at reducing the burden of repetitive actions for users working on large networks. Copy and Paste As the networks you start planning become larger, being able to produce consistent geometry such as station layouts is important. https://blog.podaris.com/going-geospatial/ Wed, 15 Nov 2017 08:30:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/going-geospatial/ Today we are pleased to announce a Podaris plugin for QGIS, and a new “pin isochrone to view” feature. Together, these allow you to combine the collaborative agility of Podaris with the analytical capabilities of desktop GIS software. First, some background terminology: Isochrones are a great way to visualize spatial connectivity from a given location, and are one of the most-used tools in Podaris. Podaris’ physics-based modelling features ensure that the travel-time calculations are highly accurate. https://blog.podaris.com/1-10-0-audio-video-chat/ Mon, 02 Oct 2017 12:30:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/1-10-0-audio-video-chat/ Today we're pleased to announce the release of Podaris Podaris 1.10, with powerful new features for voice and video chat between collaborators, and enhanced functionality for text chat and location-based comments. One of our primary aims with Podaris is to facilitate better collaboration between the many different experts and stakeholders involved in transport planning. One way we do this is via real-time synchronisation of parametric data models – but “data” is not the same as “knowledge”. https://blog.podaris.com/1-9-0-advanced-modelling/ Wed, 26 Jul 2017 16:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/1-9-0-advanced-modelling/ With Podaris 1.9, we are pleased to introduce a new and significantly improved parametric modelling system. Podaris focuses on early-stage transport planning studies, and parametric modelling is at the heart of what we do. Previously, early-stage studies had to rely on high-level “rules of thumb” – such as average line speed or cost per kilometer – as the basis of their cost/benefit calculations. We now offer a better way. The problem with rules of thumb “Rule of thumb” have been necessary because there is no time or budget to do detailed engineering, especially during the early stages of project planning, when many different scenarios need to be evaluated. https://blog.podaris.com/1-7-0-revision-history-and-workflow/ Thu, 16 Feb 2017 16:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/1-7-0-revision-history-and-workflow/ Podaris 1.7 is a major release that will dramatically improves your productivity in Podaris. It went live today, so you can check it out now. In recent months, we've seen many of our users spending increasing amounts of time with Podaris – often several hours per day. It's clearly becoming a critical part of their professional practices.So we thought it was worth ensuring that Podaris work as quickly and efficiently as possible – for everyone from novices to power-users. https://blog.podaris.com/1-6-0-new-maps/ Fri, 02 Dec 2016 15:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/1-6-0-new-maps/ We're thrilled to announce the launch of Podaris 1.6! This is our biggest release yet, representing months of hard work from our team. Your choice of mapping providers The biggest enhancement is that we now support multiple mapping providers. We still provide Google Maps, with its excellent global coverage. But choice is good – so now you can also use maps and satellite imagery from Bing, HERE, and OpenStreetMap. Our users in China will be happy to know that they can use Baidu maps, and users in the UK will soon have access to excellent Ordnance Survey maps as well. https://blog.podaris.com/1-5-0-custom_overlays/ Tue, 06 Sep 2016 13:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/1-5-0-custom_overlays/ It’s been a very busy summer for Podaris! The size of our development team has more than doubled, and we're to deliver the first substantial fruit of this effort: custom overlays. Have you ever wanted to use your own images as the background map for Podaris? Now you can, using the custom overlay feature. You can bring any image into The Podaris Georeferencer, and it will be scaled, rotated, and map-projected to align with the base map. https://blog.podaris.com/new-partnerships/ Tue, 31 May 2016 13:00:00 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/new-partnerships/ Podaris Joins the Geovation Hub We're pleased to announce that Podaris has joined the Geovation Hub programme. This has given us a wonderful new workspace at the Urban Innovation Centre, in the heart of London's Clerkenwell district. It also brings us into a close working relationship with the Geovation backers – Ordnance Survey (the UK's mapping agency) and the Future Cities Catapult. The Geovation programme provides funding and resources which will greatly accelerate our pace of development over the next several months. https://blog.podaris.com/1-3-8-new-ui/ Thu, 31 Mar 2016 18:54:45 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/1-3-8-new-ui/ A beautiful new user interface In the months since we first released app.Podaris.com, we have worked closely with our customers to learn how they use the platform – what is intuitive and what takes more work to understand. These observations have led us to create an entirely new user interface for Podaris, which we believe will be highly intuitive even for beginners. Try it out and tell us what you think! https://blog.podaris.com/first-post/ Mon, 29 Feb 2016 18:54:45 +0000 https://blog.podaris.com/first-post/ We are constantly improving Podaris in response to your feedback. With version 1.3.6, we've introduced a number of small enhancements which our users have requested. ​Now you can see the total track length of your project, by looking at the “Overview” panel. This is sensitive to which layers you have visible, so you can easily find the route lengths for different scenarios. We've improved station rendering considerably. Stations now render in the same colour as their layer, and stations on curves now render directly on the guideway (rather than their associated control point), improving the legibility of the map.