My idea of a possible Big Data project for HSL, can be used for any other transportation case.

1. Goal: attracting more customers
and improving the user experience of the existing ones

2. I am not using public transport because my daily
route requires 2 connections
The bus can arrive either before or later and I have no
information about it
Buses are so crowded that I can’t fit into it and have
to wait for another one

3. Bad routes
Not on time
People avoid using public transport
in case it is inconvenient:

4. Problem #1: routes
improvement processes

5. Current routes improvement
Decisions are based on customers’
opinions:
Before starting the route network planning,
HSL collected input data. For example, HSL
conducted a map-based travel survey to
study residents’ travel patterns.
A blog was opened …, where people have
been able to follow the planning process
and comment on it.

6. What if all customers’ travelling
patterns were captured automatically?
What if decisions were based on how
customers act, not what they say?

7. Problem #2: lack of information
available to customers

8. Currently no information for the
customers:
Bus coming late/early
How full the bus is

9. What if customers could get the
relevant information about the bus
every time they plan their trip?

10. Solution: a big data driven
system

11. HSL decision-
making
Customer
decision-making
High-quality information (predictions and real-time)
Data-driven service
improvements
Data-driven customer
actions
Better user experience,
acquisition of new customers

12. Gathering data into a DB (arrival time, number of
passengers etc.)
Case: HSL decision-making
Data mining: identifying patterns, bottle-necks,
inefficient resource utilization
Information visualization, gathering new insights
Data-driven service improvements

13. Getting the relevant data to support decision
making (more criteria)
Case: customer decision-making
Planning the trip accordingly
Better user experience, predictable risks/
sacrifices

14. HSL goals
Increasing the use of
public transport: We
direct the increase in
traffic to public transport,
walking and cycling
Clear services: We
provide our customers
with up-to-date
information before and
during their journeys
Fewer emissions: We
increase the share of low-
emission public transport
Effective finances: We
make public transport
more cost-effective

15. The time is now!
Hardware sensors are
being installed to buses
Hardware + software
enablers
Various big data is already
available, more to come
Big data
This gap is not filled yet
HSL has its own services
(like Reittiopas) – great base
to build on top of it
HSL services