Open Standards – or the Lack of Them – in Transit Technology

Public transit agencies rely on an ever-growing ecosystem of technology to keep systems running efficiently – from vehicle tracking and operator scheduling to fare collection and customer communications. Yet one of the biggest challenges facing transit IT leaders isn’t just technical complexity. It’s the lack of open standards that would allow these systems to work seamlessly together.

This blog explores why open standards matter, what happens when they’re missing, and how transit agencies can help push the industry toward a more connected, future-ready approach.

 

What Are Open Standards and Why Do They Matter?

Open standards are publicly available technical specifications that ensure systems can share data and work together, no matter who built them.

In transit, this means that information like schedules, vehicle locations, or fare payments can flow between systems without needing costly custom integrations. Other industries like finance and telecom have thrived on open standards, reducing costs and enabling rapid innovation. Unfortunately, transit has been slower to catch up.

 

The Current State: Fragmented and Siloed

Most medium to large transit agencies rely on a patchwork of proprietary systems that rarely “talk” to each other without expensive customization. For example:

• CAD/AVL solutions may use different data formats from Customer Information Systems.
• Scheduling and run-cutting tools are rarely integrated with timekeeping or payroll platforms.
• On-demand transit often operates on entirely separate infrastructure from fixed-route services.
• Fare payment systems may use proprietary APIs that block integration with third-party mobile apps.

Even where data standards like GTFS (General Transit Feed Specification) or SIRI exist, adoption is inconsistent, and extensions or vendor-specific modifications dilute their utility.

 

Vendor Lock-in: The Hidden Cost of Proprietary Systems

When agencies rely on proprietary systems, they can become locked into long-term vendor contracts – sometimes making it difficult to access their own data. The cost isn’t just financial; it limits strategic flexibility, such as:

• Transition to cloud-based platforms
• Implement analytics across systems
• Share data openly with regional partners or 3rd party apps
• Experiment with AI and machine learning

Without open APIs or data models, innovation can only move as fast as the slowest vendor.

 

Promising Open Standards in Transit – But Gaps Remain

A few open standards have made meaningful impact:

 

Yet even these standards often fall short because of partial adoption and vendor-specific customizations that undermine interoperability.

 

What Transit Really Needs: An Interoperability Framework

Transit agencies need more than file formats – they need a modern interoperability framework, which includes:

• Standardized APIs for CAD/AVL, fare payment, and operator management
• Common data schemas across planning, operations, and reporting
• Clear versioning and documentation so vendors and agencies can build with confidence
• Certification programs to ensure vendor compliance
• Open-source reference implementations to accelerate adoption

Without this, agencies continue to face high costs and operational inefficiencies.

 

Where the Gaps Still Exist

Even with GTFS and newer initiatives like TIDES or TODS, significant gaps remain in how core transit systems exchange data internally. There’s still no comprehensive standard for how information should flow between the systems that keep transit running.

Here are five critical integration points where open standards are urgently needed:

While initiatives like TIDES (Transit Integrated Data Exchange Specification) are working to fill these gaps, they remain incomplete and vary across transit environments.

What’s needed is a more holistic and agency-facing standard suite that:

• Enables roundtrip data flow from planning to execution and back to planning
• Supports multivendor onboard configurations
• Incorporates real-time and historical insights into schedule adjustments
• Establishes feedback-driven planning based on actual vehicle and passenger performance

Until these capabilities are formalized, agencies will continue to miss out on opportunities to optimize service based on data they already collect—but can’t yet easily use.

 

IT Leaders Have a Key Role to Play

Transit IT leaders can act as change agents by:

• Demanding open APIs and standards in all RFPs
• Collaborating with peer agencies to create unified specifications
• Supporting open data initiatives and industry bodies like MobilityData
• Documenting integration pain points to build the case for open solutions
• Participating in pilots that test open interfaces across vendors

 

How strada 360 Can Help

At strada 360, we specialize in helping transit agencies:

• Assess the interoperability of their current systems
• Define an open architecture roadmap
• Build middleware or integration layers where needed
• Advocate for open standards during procurement
• Transition to cloud-ready and modular infrastructure

We believe that the future of transit technology is open, composable, and user-centered—and we’re here to help you get there.

 

Conclusion

Transit agencies deserve systems that work together seamlessly – not in silos or behind proprietary walls. The lack of open standards isn’t just a technical inconvenience; it’s a barrier to innovation, efficiency, and better service for riders.

The journey toward open interoperability will take time, but the sooner agencies demand it, the faster the industry can move toward a more integrated, sustainable future.

“Open standards are the foundation for the connected transit systems of tomorrow. The time to start building them is now.” Hanh Troung, Chief Technology Office, strada 360