Open API for distributed journey planning

OJP initiative was born to answer the esigence to exchange accurate and timely information about public transport (PT) services and  to implement systems able to provide Multi-modal information for longer-distance journeys.

Several systems have been developed to answer to this requirement, based on different architecture, but he nature of the enquiries sent between the systems, and the content of the responses sent in return, were essentially the same. This suggested that it would be possible to define a single Open Journey Planning API to support all distributed journey planning systems.

OJP allows a system to engineer just one interface that it can make available rather than having to engineer separate APIs for each bipartite exchange arrangement that may be required with other systems.

The establishment of Open APIs has been enabled by increasingly standardised in Public Transport by following the principles set out in the “Public Transport Reference Data Model” (Transmodel) EN standard, and its related implementation Standards and specifications.

The ITS Directive Delegated Regulation for provision of EU-wide multimodal travel information services is the legal framework for travel data access and distributed journey planning in Europe. This initiative will provide the necessary requirements to make EU-wide multimodal travel information services accurate and available across borders. One of the key requirements concerns linking travel information services for distributed journey planning. Upon request, travel information service providers shall provide to another information service provider ‘routing results’ based on static and, where possible, dynamic information. The ‘routing results’ shall be based on:

  1. the enquirers start and end points of a journey along with the specific time and date of departure or arrival, or both;
  2. possible travel options along with the specific time and date of departure or arrival, or both, including any possible connections;
  3. the handover point between travel information services;
  4. in case of disturbances, alternative possible travel options along with the specific time and date of departure or arrival, or both, and any connections, where available.

The Delegated Regulation recommends that the CEN OPEN API standard for distributed journey planning is used by local, regional and national travel information service providers.