VVS maps are generated using DIVA

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1 Introduction During the last years, the importance of geo data has grown in many areas. Also, for transport authorities and transport operators the association between stop and link data and geo data is becoming more and more important. Through the consequent further development of DIVA Geography (DIVAGeo), mdv has been able to integrate GIS topics into timetable scheduling. The use of geo-coded information made it possible to turn the IJP system into a real inter- and multimodal journey planning system. GIS data is not only used for the optimal calculation of door-to-door journey planning results but also offers dynamically created customised maps for footpath and transfer points to the customer. Classic car route planners also offer GIS-based maps, but they often break the basic rules of cartography. In contrast, the IJP PDF-maps were of high quality from the beginning, and the quality of the maps consistently increased with progressive development. For example, names at the map border are never cut off and texts are not overwritten. Street names are not written beside or simply horizontally on the street but are aligned accurately with the course of the street. This is also accomplished at street crossings, which makes it possible to display long street names in a readable font size. The customer satisfaction with the IJP maps is apparent through the customer s increasing usage of the maps. Herr Volker Torlach The Transport Authority of Stuttgart (VVS) has been working with GIS for several years. Within the research project MOBILIST the whole authority network was georeferenced by Mr. Volker Torlach. Since then, door-to-door journey planners and IJP maps have been offered for the authority district at Currently, about 150,000 IJP maps per month are downloaded by the customers. Map symbols are explained in a legend, and verbal route descriptions for footpath maps are available underneath the maps. The acquisition with DIVAGeo of additional area POI s as landmarks increases the value of the maps enormously. The atlas module was implemented at the same time as the PDF maps in the IJP system. Through DIVA Geo, the atlas module offers the possibility to display the course of several DIVA lines based on geographic maps for planning purposes. Until now, large format network maps (known as network route maps at VVS) were painted manually on a topographic map. Little space remained for additional information on these maps, which were mostly overloaded with irrelevant information. For each of the four VVS area districts an A0 map existed. Stuttgart had a special format (A0 high mdv news I/

2 and nearly as wide). At the same time, the stop index for these maps was being created as a PostScript file using DIVA. Due to the acceptance of GIS-based IJP maps and the knowledge of the atlas program's possibilities, the idea of also creating static, map-based customer information, like network route maps and cut-outs of these for display at the stops, with DIVA was born. In the second half of 2003, VVS commissioned mdv to make it possible to automatically create the various print products in DIVA. This will be used for the first time with the 2004/2005 timetable change. For large format network route maps, an area-based description is unsuitable. Here location names are usually positioned more outside the location. Therefore, another GIS layer with one point object per location was created from the location area layer. VVS positioned the point objects with DIVAGeo. This new feature results in a valuable improvement for public transport cartography that was already achieved previously by the timetable booklet: the manual creation of high-value information media is displaced by a nearly automatic procedure. With the integration of these products in the journey planner, not only a high economisation potential but also the possibility to provide real-time information is gained. The exact commission from VVS was to enable the creation of transport route maps, route option maps, and normal formatted network route map cut-outs (called city map cut-outs by VVS) with DIVAGeo in best possible quality. In addition to the large format network route maps, a smaller map in A2 format was to be created, to be used an enclosure in the timetable booklet. An important goal for VVS was to have a city map cut-out for every stop in the VVS region. So far, due to the lack of appropriate map material, either nothing had been hung out at the stop poles or parts in A0 format were cut out from large-format network route maps and the relevant stop was highlighted with fluorescent labels. - Readable street names It is essential for orientation that as many street names as possible are readable on the DIN A0 format network route maps. Therefore, VVS found an optimal configuration, which enables the program to label a sufficient amount of streets through a time-consuming testing of many combinations. Previously, VVS used route option maps only for internal purposes. These maps show the geographic course of a DIVA route. A first overview shows the complete route option in an adequate scale. The following pages, which are linked among each other, show cut-outs in a smaller scale with more detailed information. By clicking the link in the margin, the relevant following page is shown. Normally it is difficult to recognise complex route options on a network route map. However, with a route option map, the customer can easily get an overview of the route. Implementaion - Additional layer Location names are important orientation items in large maps. The available NAVTEQ Geo data is not satisfactory for this purpose. Therefore, mdv offered the possibility to create a GIS layer with an encasing area per location by using the stop coordinates. This area can be used in IJP maps and city map cut-outs in order to adequately and consistently map the locations to the location names in DIVA. - Covering of lines with stop names When the links run horizontally, there is a high probability that they overlap with the stop names. The ability to recognize such a situation and prevent the output of stop names was implemented. mdv news I/

3 - Route description (type, frequency, ) Contrary to IJP maps, where a displayed link is used by a certain route, all routes using a link in a network route map have to be named. Furthermore, guidelines have to be taken into account, for example how to display a series of routes (i.e. S1 S6). The frequency of descriptions is very important. Too many descriptions confuse the user; too little makes reading the map more difficult. - Additional names at stops It was already possible to assign additional names to the stop index of the network route map. It is now also possible to assign additional names for the optimal description of the stops on the maps. Some stop names include a long city addition in order to make the stop name unique. This addition may be omitted in the map because a city description is already available. - Indication of direction Lines which extend over the map border should contain an arrow and indication of direction. - Grid and stop index Network route maps will be covered with a grid. All stops will be listed in a stop index at the right side of the map with the according grid indication. The stop index of the map of Stuttgart is listed by stop name. The stop index of district maps however is listed by location name. - Masthead and legend - Overlapping The means of transport shown in the map have different weightings of importance. Track-based transport means are usually weighted higher and appear less frequently than bus lines. Therefore, the more important routes should stand out more by displaying them thicker on the map than bus lines, which there are also more of. If there are several different transports means parallel or on top of each other, overlappings occur in the map. The program identifies these overlappings and separates them through a displacement algorithm. These geographic inaccuracies have to be taken into account in order to show all desired information. The same problem exists when the stop symbols overlap. For example, the stop Feuerbach is served by commuter trains, regional trains, city trains and busses, and the stopping points are close to each other. In a small-scale transport route map, the symbols for the several transport means would overlap one another. Therefore, the symbols are separated automatically to create a clear display. The masthead and legend are map specific and are delivered by VVS as bitmap data and integrated in the PDF file. - Map server All map products (network route maps, route option maps, city map cut-outs, etc.) are produced by a program called DIVA Map Server. The program reads in the GIS data and takes the DIVA data, such as stops or links, from the Common Data Server. The requests for the program come in XML format via the http-interface of the map server. All request programs (i.e. DIVAGeo, the IJP system, and MapRequester see below) use the same request format. The produced PDF result file is sent back as an http-reply to the request program. mdv news I/

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5 In the Inrlit file it is possible to define which DIVA routes of a project should be displayed in network route maps or city map cut-outs. After starting the map server, all stops of the (sub-)network are taken from the Common Data Server. Then, all active routes are read and the program gets all the links. With these links an optimal node-edge network for the network map is built. This is a complex process which takes between 1 and 3 minutes, depending on the size of the network. Afterwards all information is available in Map Server and the creation of the actual maps is very fast. A complete DIN A0 network route map is calculated in about 30 seconds, where most of the time is needed for the complex display of the street names. A DIN A4 city map cut-out needs only 1 second. Therefore, it is possible to generate about 4000 city map cut-outs from the VVS stops in a bit more than one hour. - DIVAGeo The creation and administration of the several map products is integrated in DIVAGeo. City map cut-outs and network route maps can be created with the mouse. Afterwards, the cut-out can be increased, downsized or moved. Also, it is planned to implement the ability to set the scale to a particular value. The creation of the specific maps can be activated in the tabular list view as well as in the map window. The map can be transferred automatically to a printer or a plotter. The 14 network route map cut-outs for the large format products were manually defined by VVS accouting to important transport areas. A standard scale of 1:25,000 was used. In one single run, the city map cut-outs for the about 4000 stops were calculated and imported automatically in DIVA Geo. The scale was automatically set in more rural regions to 1:10,000 and in better served regions to 1:5,000. For every city map cut-out data record the number of print-outs can be defined. Therefore, the correct number of print-outs for stops with many stop areas or showcases can be printed at the push of a button. - MapRequester For the flexible and fast creation of numerous maps, an assistant has been developed to create, for example, all city map cut-outs of one city or all route option maps of one operating branch with few mouse clicks and without being dependent upon DIVA Geo. Project realization The VVS commission was realized successfully on both sides. The A0 and A2 network route maps have been delivered to the printing plant in time, and a large amount of maps have been printed. The first city map cut-outs have been printed by VVS on a colour laser printer and afterwards laminated by an authorised company. A few weeks before the timetable change, the sale of the new timetable booklets with attached network route maps (Format A2) started. While the stop timetables were being changed at the stops, the city map cut-outs were also hung. Parallel to the print media, map products were integrated in the VVS journey planner. In addition to statically linked A0 formatted network route maps, route option maps and city map cut-outs can now be requested and dynamically created via a separate request mask. The request statistics show that these products are being used a lot by the customer. The number of downloaded maps now exceeds the number of downloaded dynamic booklet pages. Further Work For the next timetable change, VVS has planned, in addition to further improvements and detail modifications of the previously named products, to also automatically create with DIVA the last manually created map the transport authority area map. This network overall view requires new forms of route presentation because other aspects have to be accentuated. We are looking forward to this challenge. Furthermore, special city map cut-outs shall be created for POI s and be available in the IJP. Parallel to this, within the Regional Innovation Program of Baden-Württemberg, VVS is recording more geo data (like footpaths or important points), which improves both the journey planner and the print products. Your contact person: Stefan Engelhardt engelhardt@s.mentzdv.de Tel.: +49 (0) mdv news I/