Solita and Mobility Data Space:  Partnership for data-driven Smart City solutions 

An interface for different data sources

The projects implemented in Estonia and Belgium use the Solita solution to show current footfall, car park occupancy data and weather and air quality information. Obtaining data from different sources often means using multiple interfaces, resulting in complex IT requirements. But the process can be simplified if all the data can be obtained via a single interface like the Mobility Data Space. Funded by the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport, the MDS is a data marketplace for the secure and sovereign trading of mobility-related data. In addition to providing the technical platform, the MDS also hosts a community where participants can share ideas, find partners, and develop innovative solutions. The MDS now has almost 200 participating organisations, including Solita.

Data space offers participants multiple benefits

“The MDS offers us multiple benefits,” says Solita’s Sales Director Martin Zanker, who supports the DACH region out of the Munich office. “One advantage is that, with several data providers active in the marketplace, if we wish to obtain data sets from different MDS participants, we and/or our customers can do so through a single interface, the EDC Connector. That saves us time and money.” Since the MDS is a marketplace for mobility-related data, data providers are not restricted to offering pure mobility data. They can also provide data on the number of people in the vicinity of mobile phone masts, local weather, various measurements, local public transport timetables or car park occupancy. While there is a charge for certain data, some data is free – for example, the car park occupancy data that Solita obtains via the MDS from MobiData BW®. MobiData BW® is the cross-modal open data platform of the state of Baden-Württemberg that uses the MDS as an additional service platform to provide data.

Direct data exchange and trading between MDS participants

The MDS participants decide among themselves who can use their data and what the terms and conditions are, while the data flow between the participants is also peer-to-peer (see illustration). Furthermore, the MDS incorporates the ‘Mobilithek’, a mobility library where mobility providers, infrastructure operators and transport authorities can upload timetables and traffic information. MDS participants can use the same interface to access data from the Mobility Data Space and the Mobilithek.

Mobility Data Space community drives innovation

Another benefit of the MDS is its community, which offers access to a wide range of events and consulting activities. It allows interested parties to come together in working groups and engage in networking and helps to match up data providers and data users. “Because the MDS is also of interest to local authorities, it is both a showcase for our solution and a means of finding new data sources to expand our offer,” says Martin Zanker. For example, real-time local public transport data such as the movements of buses or trams could be added to the interface, or it could display real-time information about congestion in the vicinity of roadworks.

Heidelberg illustrates the benefits of Solita’s solution

Zanker urges local authorities to find out more about how Solita’s solution can help them provide dynamic public information. “We use the example of Heidelberg to illustrate how local authorities can add value for the public without going to a lot of effort.”