Legal frameworks for open data in rail: the innovation enabler we can’t forget (Guest blog by Stephenson Harwood)
The adoption of technology-driven innovation in the rail sector offers the promise of increased efficiencies for operators, greater customer satisfaction, lower emissions, as well as broader benefits to the British economy. Key to enabling this innovation is the increased sharing of data across the rail network – to do this, appropriate legal frameworks need to be put in place to encourage the sharing of data, and the investment and incentives necessary to create, capture and integrate it.
Open by default
The Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail suggests an "open by default" approach to data through the deployment of common frameworks and standards across the sector. The Plan calls for the establishment of a new Rail Data Service within Great British Railways, tasked with "removing barriers to data sharing" and setting "performance targets to open up data".
Although not specifically stated in the Williams-Shapps Plan, an open approach to data normally involves the licencing of data on a royalty-free, non-exclusive basis so that other participants can use and manipulate the data for a variety of purposes. An example of this approach can be seen in the Network Rail Data Feeds which are licenced on the Open Government Licence, which allows data to be shared freely and with relatively few conditions.
Incentivising investment
A key challenge for the open by default approach to data and data sharing is encouraging rail businesses to invest in systems which enable them to capture, store and disseminate high-quality data for use across the rail and wider transportation ecosystem. Further, even if data were provided on an open basis, issues such as poor data quality and difficulties associated with the integration of diverse systems used for data capture and storage can undermine the extent to which that data can be used effectively by multiple participants. It is possible that datasets could also reveal sensitive commercial information that rail business might wish to protect or only provide on the condition that they will receive some revenue from any resultant use.
Regulatory intervention can be used to mitigate these issues. For example, open data requirements could be included in TOC licencing arrangements. Regulators might also consider the creation of a tiered system, or an "earn back" or other contractual incentives which reflect the benefits of open data across the rail network. These can be built into the legal framework on which data is shared.
The benefits
The benefits of open data in the rail context can already be seen as enhancing the customer experience. For example, Mobility as a Service applications are already reducing journey times, enabling single ticket journeys across different operators, and streamlining the customer experience. Open access to high quality data will enable new tech innovators to facilitate the ultimate 'end-to-end' journey across multiple transport modes.
Once more widely adopted, open data frameworks will enable rail business to implement sophisticated AI solutions with more confidence and accuracy.
Concluding thoughts
Data sharing will power technology-driven innovation in the rail sector and its broad dissemination and use across the rail network is a key enabler to creating a customer focussed rail network of the kind envisaged by the Williams-Shapps Plan. Unlocking this innovation cannot simply be achieved through unilateral licencing models.
New open data frameworks are required to encourage industry wide data collection and collaborative sharing, with commitments on data quality, incentives to reward investment, and common standards. A clear and robust legal framework will encourage businesses – within the industry, and big tech - to invest in rail innovation.
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