Saturday was my first time at TransportationCamp, the so-called “unconference” that brings together transportation and data enthusiasts in a one-day event to explore the intersection of urban transportation and technology. OpenPlans organized the event. A couple of hundred participants converged at the School Without Walls on an icy morning, and the first order of business was to stand up, introduce ourselves, and offer three key words. Some choice examples:
- Encourage mode shift
- High quality data
- Better public participation
- Data geeks rock
- Positive user experience
- Mobility as equity
- Cheap fast now
Perhaps the best three-word chain started with the grad student who said “Looking for work,” followed by someone from OpenPlans saying “We’ve got jobs” and someone from Google adding “So do we.”
Next, participants were invited to develop session proposals for the day ahead, writing them on large sticky notes, and conference staffers organized them into a grid to fill the day’s four hour-long time slots. Topics included multiple variations on the themes of open data, social media, livability, and technology.
For my first session, I chose the intriguingly titled Transportation Haikus, Pick-Up Lines, and Other Ways To Engage People on Twitter. The session was intended to encourage transportation organizations to use Twitter to connect with citizens by finding “kitchy and fun” converation starters. Topics may be sentimental (“What’s your first transit memory?”) or maybe they’re silly (“Is that a #hotcar or is it just you?”), but the goal is the same — to connect on a personal level. As for transportation haiku, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (DC) tweeted this short poem to let riders know about its new Farragut Crossing connection: “Today’s noon event / Leaders, mascots, and conga / Celebrate Farragut Crossing.”
After lunch I attended a session that focused on Access Advisr, a website designed to make it easy for people with disabilities to share information about the accessibility of transportation facilities and nearby services. Neil Taylor of Integrated Transport Planning spoke about the project, still in development, which will use crowdsourcing to provide peer-to-peer recommendations and ratings. Think Yelp for accessibility.
Here are a few other perspectives on the day, from Alex Howard and Brian Ferris. And, finally, a shoutout to some of The Transit Wire’s friends, subscribers, followers, sources, and occasional subjects who were at the event. In the Twitterverse, they include @transitmom, @ridetransitgirl, @vebah, @tranlib, @ggwash, @transportgooru, @tracktwentynine, @carfreemaine, @andrewbnash, and @bwferris among others.
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