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Mapping out bus routes in Anchorage

Posted by ExecutableFiles on 3 September 2021 in English.

I’ve noticed that Anchorage has several bus routes, yet only one has actually been somewhat put on the map (route 102). I’ve looked into what setting up a bus route would look like and after setting up another one halfway (route 10), I’ve figured out what needs to be done in order to complete a large project like this.

First off, Openstreetmap is not very good with creating a bus line easily, as tagging needs to be in a specific order according to the Wiki page on bus routes (the issue is currently being looked at as of now), so I think the method of mapping bus routes will be most efficient when done this way:

  1. Each bus platform/stop must be mapped and placed into a relation before any route is mapped with ways. If the ways are set up first it can be quite a pain to move the bus stops to the top afterwards. I made this mistake when setting up bus route 10 and it was not fun.
  2. After that is done, the bus routes can finally be placed down. It doesn’t matter as much if every stop in Anchorage has been mapped so long as all the bus stops on that specific line is mapped out.

This is a pretty large project that’s going to take a bit of effort, so any outside help is greatly appreciated. Also, if you’re knowledgeable in creating bus routes and you see any errors in this method or my mapping, please feel free to correct me or the issue.

Location: South Addition, Anchorage, Alaska, United States

Discussion

Comment from Endres Pelka on 4 September 2021 at 07:44

A good advice: don’t do the dual mapping of “stop_position” and “platform”. It quickly get chaotic and difficult to edit when routes change. Just map the platform as a node – the point of interest for the passenger :)

See my old article, from mapping the transit in a smaller town: https://www.openstreetmap.org/user/Jedrzej%20Pelka/diary/392801

Comment from alan_gr on 4 September 2021 at 08:46

It don’t find it that difficult to move stops above ways, at least in JOSM. Generally I prefer to add the ways to the relation first, as adding the stops feels easier when the ways are already outlined on the map. But it shouldn’t really matter which way you do it. Perhaps look at using JOSM if your current tool is difficult to work with?

I agree with the previous comment about concentrating on platforms rather than stop positions.

Comment from ticki_52 on 5 September 2021 at 14:00

Good morning ExecutableFiles, I (69 yo, from Backnang Germany) found it interesting to have a closer look into public tranport structures in Anchorage. It is amazing to see that OSM works similar no matter where you are. Just to give you an impression what bus route mapping with OSM is about I tagged the Anchorage Huffman line (91) like I would have done it in Germany. I mostly use the JOSM editor for tagging the route and setting die stop_positions and platforms. Using the iD-Editor I do some minor adjustments. If you look at the OSM-information of line 10 and 91 you will see that there is a lot of differences.

If you need further imformation just come back and send via email to email@chap.de (just to make sure that I get aware of your message…. ;-)

Have a nice day (now it is tea time with us…)

ticki_52

Comment from ticki_52 on 5 September 2021 at 17:45

Just added the first part of bus route 10…. What do you think about this? regards ticki_52

Comment from ExecutableFiles on 5 September 2021 at 21:27

I do plan on mapping only the bus stops just for ease of mapping. I’m also looking to give JOSM a try as many people say its better to work with.

Comment from ticki_52 on 5 September 2021 at 23:31

“Ease of mapping”? What do you mean with this? To speak frankly: There is no ease in mapping OSM bus routes if you stick to the OSM standards. That’s the main reason why there are so few passionate bus route mappers. What I could see in Anchorage so far is (imho) no mapping of bus ROUTES; it is merely a mapping of icons for green lamp posts in a row where buses use to stop from time to time. Who needs such an information? If you are interested in mapping bus ROUTES you should look up information on the OSM help side under “public tramsport” on 1. stop positions and 2. platforms and what OSM demands from a bus route mapping that works on navigation devices and thus makes sense to the customers.

Coming back to your comment of Sept, 3rd in which you wrote of a “pretty large project”. If you intend to map only platforms (not bus stops!). The issue with this plan is the question “why should anyone do an incomplete mapping?” People living in Anchorage know the bus lines they use and where the stops are. People visiting Anchorage (“tourists”) would rent a car or take a cab to get from A to B. If they had a reliable navigation system for bus routes, tourists would use the bus more often,

Don’t get me wrong. It is not my intention to talk your project down. Perhaps I didn’t understand what the real purpose of your project is. Anyway I think that I will finish line 10 sticking to OSM standard next week and maybe add more lines.

Comment from ToniE on 6 September 2021 at 15:26

Just added the City of Anchorage, Alaska to PTNA (Public Transport Network Analysis).

https://ptna.openstreetmap.de/results/US/index.php

At the moment, this is only a list of what can be found in OSM.

This can be improved later on to specify what is expected in OSM, what exists on the ground. As an example see the template:

https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Public_transport_in_Adelaide/Analysis/Adelaide_Metro_Routes

Comment from ToniE on 6 September 2021 at 19:23

Public Transport in OSM is in fact not easy to map.

The older (legacy) version, also called PTv1 (public_transport:version=1), allows mapping a bus route with a single relation - same technique as with hiking, cycling, skiing, mtb, … routes - but adding bus stops/platforms. As such, PTv1 routes are OK for “painting a red line on a map”, but not really more than that.

The newer one, called PTv2, is more complex and complicated - yes. But it allows data consumers other than map-painters making use of structured data. PTNA focuses on PTv2 relations. PTv2 has a lot of ‘optional’ and ‘recommended’ but only few ‘madatory’ features/tags. To be honest: map as many optional/recommended features/tags as possible.

Regarding PTNA and adding a new ‘network’ or other areas: the easiest way for you is to “give me ring” via mail with some details. It’s then more or less a matter of copy&paste (for me).

The alternative is to do it on your own in GitHub:

1.) for the new ‘network’ to be analyzed: https://github.com/osm-ToniE/ptna-networks

2.) for the web page: https://github.com/osm-ToniE/ptna-www

But there are only 1 or 2 mappers (< 10 ‘network’) doing it this way.

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