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The National Public Transport Access Node (NaPTAN)
database
In computing, a database is an organized collection of data stored and accessed electronically. Small databases can be stored on a file system, while large databases are hosted on computer clusters or cloud storage. The design of databases sp ...
is a
UK nationwide system for uniquely identifying all the points of access to
public transport
Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...
in the UK. The dataset is closely associated with the National Public Transport Gazetteer.
Every UK railway station, coach terminus, airport, ferry terminal, bus stop,
taxi rank
A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice ...
or other place where public transport can be joined or left is allocated a unique NaPTAN identifier. The relationship of the stop to a City, Town, Village or other locality can be indicated through an association with elements of the National Public Transport Gazetteer.
There is a
CEN standardisation initiative,
Identification of Fixed Objects In Public Transport IFOPT (''Identification of Fixed Objects in Public Transport'') is a CEN Technical Specification that provides a Reference Data Model for describing the main fixed objects required for public access to Public transport, that is to say Transportat ...
('IFOPT'), to develop NaPTAN concepts into a European standard for stop identification as an extension to
Transmodel Transmodel (formally ''CEN TC278, Reference Data Model For Public Transport, EN12896'') is the CEN European Reference Data Model for Public Transport Information; it provides a conceptual model of common public transport concepts and data structur ...
, the European standard for Public Transport information.
Purpose of NaPTAN
The ability to identify and locate stops in relation to topography, both consistently and economically, is fundamental to modern computer based systems that provide passenger information and manage public transport networks. Stop data is needed by
journey planner
A journey planner, trip planner, or route planner is a specialized search engine used to find an optimal means of travelling between two or more given locations, sometimes using more than one transport mode. Searches may be optimized on differen ...
s, scheduling systems,
real-time systems
Real-time computing (RTC) is the computer science term for Computer hardware, hardware and computer software, software systems subject to a "real-time constraint", for example from Event (synchronization primitive), event to Event (computing), ...
, for transport planning, performance monitoring, and for many other purposes. Digitalising a nation's public transport stops is an essential step in creating a national information infrastructure.
In the UK NaPTAN enabled the creation of the
Transport Direct Portal, a UK nationwide system for multi-modal journey planning. NaPTAN also underpins
TransXChange
TransXChange is a UK national XML based data standard for the interchange of bus route and timetable information between bus operators, the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency, local authorities and passenger transport executives, and others in ...
, the UK standard for bus schedules, which is used for the
Electronic Registration of Bus Services.
NaPTAN Components
NaPTAN comprises several distinct elements
* A data model, based on Transmodel.
* A data exchange format, specified as an XML schema (see http://www.naptan.org.uk/schema/schemas.htm)
* A central data store used to aggregate and distribute stop data from different UK regions.
* A process for different stakeholders to contribute, validate and share data.
* A website to access the data www.beta-naptan.dft.gov.uk
* A simple API that can be used to download the data (https://naptan.api.dft.gov.uk/swagger/index.html)
NaPTAN identifiers are designed to be used within the UK's
Digital National Framework
Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits.
Technology and computing Hardware
*Digital electronics, electronic circuits which operate using digital signals
**Digital camera, which captures and stores digital i ...
a system of unique persistent reference for shareable information resources of all types managed by the
Ordnance Survey
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NaPTAN includes on a related standard - the UK National Public Transport Gazetteer.
The NaPTAN Database
The National Public Transport Access Node dataset has information on all UK public transport stops. Stops are submitted by
PTEs to a central authority which consolidates the stops and distributes them back to users. There are currently 380,000 active stop points.
NaPTAN is maintained by the Department of Transport.
The NaPTAN XML Schema
NaPTAN data is described by a NaPTAN XML Schema. This can be used to describe NaPTAN data when exchanging it between systems as XML documents. It is versioned so that different generations of data can be managed. See http://www.dft.gov.uk/naptan/schema/2.4/NaPTAN.xsd
NaPTAN Conceptual Model
The NPTG & NaPTAN data conform to a family of consistent, interlocking data models. The models are described in the NPTG & NaPTAN Schema Guide in UML notation.
NaPTAN Stops
NaPTAN Stop Numbering
NaPTAN identifiers are a systematic way of identifying of all UK points of access to public transport or "Stop points").
* Every UK rail station, bus and coach terminus, airport, ferry terminal, individual bus stop, tram stop, and taxi rank is allocated a unique NaPTAN Identifier.
* For large interchanges & termini, NaPTAN points identify the entrances from the public thoroughfare – one identifier is distinguished as the main entrance. Platforms may also be individually identified
* Every local authority has been allocated a unique prefix for their stop numbering, this ensures that stop numbers cannot be duplicated, in addition there are national number prefixes - 900 for coach stops, 910 for railway stations, 920 for airports, 930 for ferry terminals and 940 for metro and tram stops, the national stop numbers are created centrally and not by local authorities.
* In England stop details are provided by 87 local authorities and are prefixed with numbers ranging between 010 and 490.
* In Wales stop details are provided by 22 local authorities and are prefixed with numbers ranging between 511 and 582.
*In Scotland stop details are provided by 32 local authorities and are prefixed with numbers ranging between 601 and 690.
NaPTAN Stop Descriptors
NaPTAN stop points have a number of text descriptor elements associated with them: not just a name, but also additional labels and distinguishing identifiers that will help users to recognise them. These elements can be combined in different ways to provide presentations of names useful for many different contexts, for example on maps, stop finders, timetables etc., and on mobile devices
* Stop Points may have a Common Name, Short name, Landmark, Street, Asset code, etc.
* Stop Points may also have alternative names, for example for aliases for different national languages.
* Stop Names may have a qualifier to distinguish them from other stops within the same group of stops. For example, Bus Station (Stand 1) from Bus Station (Stand 2).
The Purpose of these descriptors is to create an iterative level of detail i.e. ''Country - County - Locality - Street - Name - Identifier''. All of this information should be included but it is up to the user of the data to decide how much data is relevant for the task in hand.
Stop Locations
Every NaPTAN point includes
geospatial coordinates specified in
Ordnance Survey National Grid
The Ordnance Survey National Grid reference system (OSGB) (also known as British National Grid (BNG)) is a system of geographic grid references used in Great Britain, distinct from latitude and longitude.
The Ordnance Survey (OS) devised the ...
format, and as
WGS84
The World Geodetic System (WGS) is a standard used in cartography, geodesy, and satellite navigation including GPS. The current version, WGS 84, defines an Earth-centered, Earth-fixed coordinate system and a geodetic datum, and also describ ...
latitude and longitude pairs where these are provided by local authorities. This allows NaPTAN points to be projected on maps and to be associated with other information layers such as the
Integrated Transport Network
The Integrated Transport Network (ITN) is a dataset containing details of Great Britain's transport network. Produced by Ordnance Survey – the national mapping agency of Great Britain – it forms part of the OS MasterMap suite of products.
...
of the Ordnance Survey.
National Public Transport Gazetteer
The National Public Transport Gazetteer is closely associated with the NaPTAN dataset and contains details of every City, Town, Village, suburb in Great Britain (i.e., UK but not including Northern Ireland). This dataset is based on usage of names, rather than legal definitions and so includes local informal names for places as well as their official names.
See also
*
National Public Transport Gazetteer
The National Public Transport Gazetteer (NPTG)
provides a topographic database of towns and settlements in the UK; it provides a common frame of reference for the National Public Transport Access Nodes (NaPTAN) schema and other UK Public Trans ...
*
TransXChange
TransXChange is a UK national XML based data standard for the interchange of bus route and timetable information between bus operators, the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency, local authorities and passenger transport executives, and others in ...
*
IFOPT IFOPT (''Identification of Fixed Objects in Public Transport'') is a CEN Technical Specification that provides a Reference Data Model for describing the main fixed objects required for public access to Public transport, that is to say Transportat ...
*
Journey Planner
A journey planner, trip planner, or route planner is a specialized search engine used to find an optimal means of travelling between two or more given locations, sometimes using more than one transport mode. Searches may be optimized on differen ...
*
Integrated Transport Network
The Integrated Transport Network (ITN) is a dataset containing details of Great Britain's transport network. Produced by Ordnance Survey – the national mapping agency of Great Britain – it forms part of the OS MasterMap suite of products.
...
References
* ''NPTG and NaPTAN Schema Guide''. Release 2.4 v0.57 issued 2012 Department for Transport (http://naptan.dft.gov.uk/naptan/schema/2.4/doc/NaPTANSchemaGuide-2.4-v0.57.pdf)
External links
* {{Official website, www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-public-transport-access-node-schema
OpenStreetMap wiki page related to the import of NaPTAN data into OSM
Geographical databases in the United Kingdom
Public transport in the United Kingdom
Travel technology