Wellington City Council has launched a new online dashboard that aims to make it easier to understand how people move around the capital.
The Pōneke Travel Insights dashboard brings together data from the city’s network of transport sensors to provide an easy-to-use tool to find out about walking, biking and vehicle movement across Pōneke.
The launch is part of a trial for finding new ways to make the Council’s open data more transparent and user-friendly. While transport data has been publicly available for some time, it has often required specialist skills and technical knowledge to interpret. The Council says Pōneke Travel Insights makes that information easier to access and understand, opening it up to a much wider audience.
Designed to be simple and intuitive, Pōneke Travel insights lets users explore travel activity by location, transport mode and time period to:
- Identify trends in how people move around the city;
- Understand peak travel times and daily patterns;
- See how events influence transport activity;
- Provide evidence for planning and urban design decisions;
- Support conversations about future transport improvements.
Data & Innovation Manager, Julia McMaster says the dashboard is about making useful information more accessible while also helping the Council understand how people want to use public data.
“We collect a significant amount of information about how our city operates, and we’re always looking for better ways to make that information available and useful. This dashboard makes transport data easier to explore and understand, whether you’re a resident interested in your neighbourhood, a community group, a business, or someone involved in planning and transport discussions,” said Ms McMaster.
The Council is also interested in learning what information people find most valuable, how they want to access it, and what helps them better understand what’s happening in the city, she said.
“Those insights will help inform the Council’s broader approach to open data, as we test new ways of presenting information and understand how data can better support conversations about Wellington’s future.”
Council says that as the dashboard evolves, there’s potential to add new functionality, features and insights.
The Council is encouraging people to explore the dashboard and share feedback to help shape future improvements.
