Web conference notes, 2023.10.26 (MDS Working Group)

MDS Working Group

Zoom Registration Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAscOmhpjIuHNakPx6CNbACpjUjw1Gsucr4

One tap mobile: +19294362866,,84170989462#,,,,*612987# US (New York) - though we encourage Zoom

Agenda

Vianova road safety survey (10 mins)
MDS 2.0.1 Patch Release (5 mins)
MDS for Passenger Services
- OMF Blog Post and publishing digital MDS Policy
- How LADOT and Blue Systems is progressing on MDS for taxis
- How SFMTA is implementing MDS for commuter shuttles
- Share what you are doing with MDS for Passenger Services (taxis, shuttles, ride hail, TNCs, robotaxis, etc)

WGSC Meeting Organizers

OMF Summit
Take and share Road Safety Survey from Vianova
Review and comment on MDS 2.0.1 Patch Release in next two weeks
1. Extra thought to pull request #882 which clarifies which vehicles to include in the /vehicles endpoint
Read the OMF Blog Post on MDS for Passenger Services

Vianova

Increase in traffic deaths
Historic crashes is the best data for metrics and vision zero teams
Risk Aware data product, hard breaking, speeding, MDS data and other data points, crashes, road and weather conditions
Custom analysis for each jurisdiction, or a standard safety metric?
Survey: city members survey, how you track and use data now
Link to Survey

LADOT

Regulatory authority for taxis needed to be reevaluated
Wanted to monderize and keep up with private companies like Uber/Lyft
Updated regs like driver permitting process, simplified and released processes
Increase in fare transparency and up front pricing in permits
MDS started at LADOT with people like Hunter Owens
Requires MDS, and it’s the backbone of the taxi program
Want to automate our processes
Investigations used to take up to a week or two to get trip info and charge details
Complaint resolution took forever
Move from Lacuna and Blue Systems, in 48 hours was able to switch (data standard helped!)
Recently working with Uber and Lyft with taxi companies, getting data from them
Used to miss valuable info, a gap on that data
Integration. Devs had been working with taxi companies for a while, prior to MDS 2.0
Now all aligned with MDS 2.0
For sidewalk robots or dockless companies, waiting for 2.0 so they wouldn’t have to reingenieer later
MDS is the future

SFMTA

Participated in development process for MDS 2.0
Brooks works on taxi program and help on commuter shuttle program
Update on both of those using MDS now
Taxis. Management team has delayed temporarily for a year and hall, mid 2025
Running a major pilot program with most of the industry for taxis, up front fare and integration with third party entities like Uber to integrate their services into taxi industry as well.
Didn’t want to risk disrupting the pilot, so postponed for later
Just as committed to MDS migration after pilot ends
Commuter shuttle program. Not just small shuttles like in agenda
Provided by private companies or schools, like silicone valley tech companies
Go through city and execute pickups across city, since 2016 they are now regulated
Allow them to use some transit stops, in exchange for fees and regulations
Like only loading passengers in those zones instead of travel lanes
Stay of residential, so track paths and routes of vehicles
Transmit data that allows enforcement of rules
Telemetry API to send data in real time, passenger counts, etc
Use the data to detect when vehicles are violating something, like restricted street routes
Automated ETL system to auto issue fines based on MDS data, with appeal process.
Updating the ETL system and rearchitected, and evaluating this shuttle spec to MDS 2.0
Difference, focus on fixed stops and routes and schedules (fixed stops in MDS)

Discussion

Arielle from Waymo - how is each city using MDS for this mode?
LADOT example - where is pickup and drop off at hotels, and some didn’t have this available for taxi parking, so talked to companies and reconciled intention and reality. Where to put resources like PUDO for taxis.
SFMTA - how does bringing Uber and Lyft impact paratransit taxi services? Questions on fares and upfront pricing compare to what the taxi rate fares would have been

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