Well this is exciting. We now have another way for developers to create apps with our data!

Our latest open application programming interfaces (API) is called the Regional Traffic Data System (RTDS) API. Basically, this API provides near real-time data on average speeds and travel times on highways and major roadways in Metro Vancouver.

As shown above, this data is used in our Real-Time Traffic Map to depict varying levels of congestion. The RTDS system data translates to coloured lines showing the speed of traffic which is then overlaid on a Google Map.

I’ll certainly be using this map to help me chose the best route to take when I hit the road on a bus or car. But the potential of this data is farther reaching than this map. It’s not hard to see how developers could make an app that shows congestion on bridges across Metro Vancouver and suggests alternative routes or some other multitude of applications that haven’t been dreamed up yet.

This latest API joins our previous open APIs like our Real-Time Transit Information (RTTI) and our Google Transit Feed Specification (GTFS). Our open data is released in the spirit of sharing information with the public to make apps that our customers want. It gives our users the tools to create even more amazing apps (also see these two app posts here and here) built with our shared and free data.

Are you interested in playing with this new data? If so, you’ll want to check out our developer resources page for a complete list of our developer tools.

I’m really looking forward to seeing what creative developers come up with! Oh, and do share with me what you’re doing on with our API. I’d love to feature your work on the blog!