TDEI

TDEI⚓︎

The Transportation Data Exchange Initiative (TDEI) is focused on developing a shared, standardized framework for transportation data, enabling seamless integration across mobility systems. This project aims to provide mobility benefits for travelers and service providers by collecting and providing infrastructure to sustainably support open data about sidewalks, transit paths, and on-demand transit services. Through supporting the collection, maintenance, and exchange of detailed data on pedestrian pathways, transit networks, and on-demand services, TDEI lays the groundwork for more effective transportation planning and innovation.

Reliable data is essential for decision-making. TDEI addresses gaps in transportation data through a three-pronged approach:

Enhance data standards to include information relevant to all travelers and transit stakeholders.
Provide tools and data infrastructure reducing barriers for data stewards to collect, vet, maintain and use traveler-centric transportation data at scale.
Demonstrate our work through pilot data collections with private and public partners, and demonstration projects that make use of our data.

With the support of the Transportation Data Exchange Initiative (TDEI), the OpenSidewalks project and its suite of tools—including AccessMap—provide detailed insights into sidewalk connectivity and pedestrian networks. These resources equip individuals, civic organizations, and government agencies with the data needed to support informed mobility planning and decision-making.

TDEI is a project sponsored by the ITS4US Deployment Program, focused on improving frameworks for transportation services and infrastructure. By developing open-source data collection tools, digital infrastructure, and governance models, TDEI enables seamless public-private data exchange and interoperability.

User Registration and Access⚓︎

All TDEI users register through the same process via the TDEI Portal and receive an API key and access credentials. Users are differentiated by their assigned roles and permissions.

API keys are used to retrieve data from TDEI. Access credentials are used to log into the portal, retrieve or regenerate API keys, and upload data.

Refer to the TDEI Portal Account Registration Guide for instructions on registering for a TDEI account.

Roles⚓︎

Data Consumer⚓︎

A data consumer is a user who will read data from the TDEI. Any person can register with the TDEI to be a data consumer.

Point of Contact⚓︎

Each Project Group must have a designated Point of Contact (PoC). They have the authority to approve access for data producers for that Project Group. The purpose of the PoC is to ensure that staff from the related agency, company, or group with the proper authority are approving access for data producers.

Data Producer⚓︎

A data producer is a user who will contribute data to the TDEI.

Flex Data Producer

The flex-data-generator role allows a user to create GTFS-Flex data.

Pathways Data Producer

The pathways-data-generator role allows a user to create GTFS-Pathways data.

OpenSidewalks Data Producer

The osw-data-generator role allows a user to upload OpenSidewalks data.

Architecture⚓︎

A multi‑tenant data sharing and exchange platform that supports the full lifecycle of transportation datasets, from collection and updates to publication and consumption.

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flowchart LR
    subgraph tools ["Data Generation"]
        ASR([AVIV ScoutRoute])
        RAP([Rapid])
        PRO([Prophet])
        IOS([iOSPointMapper])
    end

    subgraph tdei ["TDEI Core"]
        SVC["Ingestion & Validation
        Schema & Metadata
        Versioning & Lineage
        Quality Checks
        Access Control
        Publishing & Catalog
        APIs & SDKs"]
        TEN["Tenants:
        OS‑CONNECT
        Multnomah, OR
        Columbia, OR
        Montgomery, MD
        Baltimore, MD"]
    end

    subgraph apps ["Data Consumption"]
        AM([AccessMap])
        WS([Walksheds])
        AUD([Audiom])
        CVL([Conveyal])
    end

    ASR --> SVC
    RAP --> SVC
    PRO --> SVC
    IOS --> SVC
    SVC -.-> AM
    SVC -.-> WS
    SVC -.-> AUD
    SVC -.-> CVL

    click ASR "aviv-scoutroute/"
    click RAP "rapid/"
    click AM "accessmap/"
    click WS "walksheds/"
    click AUD "https://www.audiom.net/"
    click CVL "https://conveyal.com/"

    classDef tool fill:#90caf9,stroke:#1565c0,color:#000000
    classDef core fill:#ffe082,stroke:#f9a825,color:#000000
    classDef tenant fill:#ffcc80,stroke:#ef6c00,color:#000000
    classDef app fill:#a5d6a7,stroke:#2e7d32,color:#000000

    class ASR,RAP,PRO,IOS tool
    class SVC core
    class TEN tenant
    class AM,WS,AUD,CVL app