About the Transport Data Strategy

Our vision is to unlock the value of data for our customers, communities and people to enable safe and connected journeys and continue to build successful places

Unlocking the value of data for Transport

The role of data has changed from supporting business processes to driving decision making and planning.

Right now, data helps power more than 469 million public transport trips every year and keeps 8.2 million people moving across NSW.

Data will unlock and drive the future of mobility by:

  • improving services and access to transport

  • informing the design of successful places

  • ensuring our future planning meets the needs of our customers

By collaborating and connecting datasets to create meaningful insights, we all benefit. For instance, during the COVID pandemic, data insights provided our customers with safer travel options by working with partners and transport operators.

We use data every day to improve outcomes for our customers

Our vast network generates a large amount of data, and this continues to grow daily. We capture data from sensors, partners, our customers and emerging technologies. We respect our rich and diverse data, and our customer’s privacy, by establishing effective data management practices which ensure data is responsibly stored, shared and used.

Key statistics

  • Every day more than 16 million journeys take place on roads in the Greater Sydney area.  

  • Each week 1.25 million NSW residents ride a bicycle.  

  • Each year more than 469 million public transport trips are taken 

  • There are 75 million point-to-point passenger journeys yearly 

  • 500+ million tonnes of freight move around the state each year.  

  • Yearly, over 140 vessels carry out water safety compliance operations.

Transport uses meaningful data insights to make informed customer-centric decisions.

Our network generates data captured from sensors, partners and emerging technologies. We provide essential information to our customers via apps, helping them make decisions about their journeys on the go.

Using real-time data, our operations centres plan for safe and effective Transport services across NSW and make important decisions every day to keep our customers and community safe. We use data to inform future plans for infrastructure and our network, and design smarter, more accessible places for our communities.

Our rich data sets help us to analyse past events, inform current events, and prepare for the future to deliver better customer outcomes.


Transport for NSW data snapshot

Customer travel patterns

We use data to understand customer travel patterns and optimise network design. Our 10,432 fleet vehicles carry passengers between:

  • 292 train stations
  • 27,556 bus stops
  • 48 wharves
  • 48 light rail
  • 13 metro stations

Traffic flow

We manage traffic flow, reduce congestion and keep our customers moving by collecting data:

  • from more than 9,000 traffic counters and sensors.
  • across almost 700,000 kilometres of state, regional and local roads.

Community forecasts

We can forecast the services that communities and industry need now and in the future. Population projections, combined with road and public transport usage inform our planning.

Freight

Transport for NSW enables the freight industry to move goods with an economic worth nearly $66 billion per year.

Environmental impact

To date, more than 205 structures have been installed to support our wildlife.

Transport uses data from ecological studies prior to building infrastructure to minimise habitat disturbance and inform the installation of structures which provide safe passage and movement through the landscape.

Safety

NSW road crash data is analysed by our safety analytics system. Identifying potential road safety improvements reduces deaths on our roads. User apps Each month, over 1.3 million customers plan and make decisions about their journeys by using Transport-endorsed apps. Accessing near real-time data is at their fingertips.

Infrastructure

Trip data from 7.4 million active transport customers informs our urban designers, placemakers and planners when building new infrastructure.

Transport is at the forefront of advances in data use

Transport for NSW is leading globally by developing the capability to put data at the heart of delivery. We are the first Transport agency in the world to commit to quantum computing and our Quantum Centre of Excellence will process vast amounts of data to solve complex problems. 

We have commenced the use of Artificial Intelligence and other cutting-edge data technologies to adopt best practices which will accelerate our ability to build sustainable, reusable approaches to achieving better outcomes for customers, communities, our people, and partners. 

The Transport Data Strategy builds on our strong foundations

Customer behaviour has significantly changed. The ways we connect, interact, transact, and socialise have created new customer and community expectations of government services. Data is more important than ever.

The Transport Data Strategy unlocks the value of our data to produce high-quality insights and a greater understanding of our neighbourhoods, towns, cities, and regions.

Improving the way we work with data will transform services and infrastructure for our regional and metropolitan customers.

The Data Strategy will provide transparency on how we use and manage our data and lead to a consistent approach in:

  • achieving Transport’s priority outcomes
  • moving towards a more customer-centric view
  • applying principles and standards for working with data
  • protecting the privacy of our customers’ data, ensuring ethical use
  • managing data throughout its life cycle
  • implementing projects and plans that support Transport’s data roadmap.

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