Durham County Council

The Challenge - Create new mapping publicity that is sustainable, with easily updateable content and adaptable to future enhancements.

Durham County Council have published a variety of public transport maps of different styles for many years. In recent years, however, the frequency with which maps could be produced has been reduced as resources have been increasingly required to contribute to a wider range of outputs.

The need for a comprehensive network overview and a single source of timetables remained however and in autumn 2007 the Council's Passenger Transport unit were challenged to radically review their mapping publicity and to look for a sustainable solution with content that could be easily updated and enhanced over time. Pindar provided the ideal solution with a layered interactive map.

The Solution - Cartography and Interactive mapping

In partnership with the County Council, work began in spring 2008 on creating an interactive website linked through the Council's own passenger transport web pages. Pindar produced brand new county and town maps, in addition to compiling a complete bus timetable database. The system went fully live in early 2009.

The primary functionality of the interactive map is to allow the user to navigate around and search for bus service and timetable information. Mapping is viewable at different levels, from a county overview down to a series of plans for the City of Durham and 10 other major towns.

DCC Level 2 NewThe user can easily find the information they require through visual identifi cation of routes, colour coded by operator, and through a search facility for bus service  numbers and place names. A link maintained by Pindar is continually updated from a bus timetable and operator database. At local / city centre level, more detail is available through a series of clickable ' hot spots' leading to information on school and college locations. These educational sites can also be found through the search facility.

Changes can be made quickly and easily to the products mapping and timetable data which means that the content is up to date and accurate. More informative links can be added to the website at any time via 'hot spots' such as the County's public service sites, council offices, libraries and other key locations such as hospitals, health centres, schools and colleges. Pindar updates all the content from bus service registrations on behalf of the Council, therefore freeing up the Council's own resources.

DCC Level 3 - NewThe cartographic data produced for the interactive maps has also been used to produce a new printed map, which for the first time includes a series of town plans, thus providing consistency of information across the county and helping
the Council achieve its accessibility targets.

Since going live, there has been growing use of the website, and the feedback from both users and operators has been very encouraging.

The Benefits - Consistency, one source, currency of information, innovative

The major benefits to Durham County Council have been:

  • For the first time all bus timetable information and mapping information is  available from one source online.
  • All maps / town plans are consistent in content and style.
  • Interactive mapping and timetables are kept up to date on a continual basis.
  • It is offering a modern and innovative way of providing public transport information
  • It meets the Council's accessibility objectives.
  • The product can be enhanced with new informative features when required.

Using the base data already created and with the information continuously updated, Durham County Council has recently taken the next step and re-purposed the mapping, producing travel plan leaflets for 18 hospital and over 20 schools and colleges.

"Pindar have helped the Council deliver a high quality and innovative map. It is a key part of the suite of public transport information products the Council delivers across a variety of media and has been well received by both the public and transport industry colleagues".

Stuart Woods,
Team Leader - Information & Rail
Passenger Transport
Durham County Council

DURHAM COUNTY COUNCIL
County Durham has nearly 500,000 people living in 219,000 households. The county covers an area of 223,260 Hectares with large centres of population including the City of Durham, Chester-le-Street, Newton Aycliffe, Consett and Peterlee.

Durham County Council is a 'unitary' council, providing the majority of local authority services in County Durham and working with a range of partners to provide services in the best possible way.

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Pindar have helped the Council deliver a high quality and innovative map. It is a key part of the suite of public transport information products the Council delivers across a variety of media and has been well received by both the public and transport industry colleagues.

Stuart Woods, Team Leader - Information & Rail, Passenger Transport, Durham County Council

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