Get-There.com (working title):
Urban Traveller Information Portal

Rationale

There is a substantial and growing Internet presence for both information and e-commerce services related to transportation. This trend is keeping apace with the increasingly important role transportation is playing in our expanding cities and evolving economies. However, this mass of information has as yet not been organized in an elegant way to provide the Canadian public with quick and easy access to traveller information and online services that will encourage uptake of sustainable transportation options.

The InfoMobility Network builds on the convergence of the e-revolution with the factors that influence our travel choices. We know that convenience is one of the key factors in our transportation decisions. Access to information regarding feasible, available, and affordable options is another. With convenience and access driving the Internet boom, the sustainable transportation sector is working to harness the power of connectivity to increase the uptake of new mobility products and services.

Audience

• Canadian public (commuters, primarily intra and some inter-city travellers)
• Urban Tourists

Project Objectives

• To increase the use of sustainable transportation by providing and improving access to practical information on the full range of sustainable transportation options, services, information, tools, and resources
• To increase the use of sustainable transportation by reducing the barriers to combining the best available modes and services into the most sustainable, convenient, pleasant and affordable door to door trip
• To stimulate development of new and innovative sustainable transportation options and services by promoting the seamless door-to-door trip

Project Description

This initiative will quickly provide urban residents and tourists with the full range of transportation services and information that make up the door to door trip within and between major Canadian cities. It will include:

• transit fares and schedules (local and regional)
• car pooling/ride share match-ups *
• car sharing options
• bicycle facilities and services
• taxi services
• car rentals
• train, air-related, and marine options
• links to highway information
• routing and mapping information (routes and timing, costs, CO2 calculations, weather and geography, route features, and more)*
• interactive journey planning *
• online ticket purchasing and accounting using credit cards and emerging options such as IMS smart cards*
• home delivery services *
• video conferencing *
• urban green tourism options and services *
• additional information and services relevant to the door-to-door trip and urban services *
• links to the industry information portal and other information sources on sustainable transportation, urban ecology, and urban green tourism (benefits, issues, and options)
   
• (* = still to be developed based on experience elsewhere, and innovations in Canada)

Some of these initiatives and agencies have web sites or are developing them. However currently, a person looking to quickly and conveniently combine the best options to create the fastest, most affordable, most sustainable door to door trip will have to piece together their options from a whole host of information sources.

Get-There.com site architecture

Get-There.com (working title) will provide a Canada-wide one-stop Internet portal for practical urban transportation information and services. This interactive portal will provide access to a comprehensive network of urban transportation information sites in Canada, facilitating and promoting multi-modal transportation and simplifying access to the vast network of transportation information sites that currently exist. It will provide three primary access links to online traveller information:

• interactive maps
• links to major urban transportation information sites (eventually leading to interactive journey planning)
• an advanced search engine and menu choices according to the users' priorities (time, cost, CO2 emissions, route features)