Officials from Google, the Regional Transportation Authority of Chicago, TriMet and other related concerns are joining forces on a Transit Forum to present, debate and plan new potential open source transit projects at the second-annual Government Open Source Conference (GOSCON ’06), set for Oct. 12-13 in Portland, Ore.

Open source software is already having an impact on transit systems around the country, as developers and engineers seek to make systems more user friendly and efficient. Transit Forum attendees will learn how maps, trip planning accessories and scheduling are being enhanced through software that is constantly being evaluated and enhanced by the programming community globally.

“Google is happy to release code and otherwise support the open source developer community through a variety of programs,” Stephanie Hannon, product manager for Google Transit and a scheduled Forum Transit presenter at GOSCON. “Open data formats foster innovation, more choices of partners and lower costs. A product like Google Transit becomes possible through these open standards.”

“As an industry, transit agencies and vendors must address the increasing need for accessible transit data and work together towards open solutions and common goals,” said Fred Hason, General Manager of TriMet, Portland, Oregon's transit authority. “The release of Google Transit made it clear that there is a big demand for this type of data. GOSCON is our opportunity to learn directly from the Open Source community and move this effort forward.”

In addition to Hannon and Purcell, Transit Forum presenters include:

• Gerry Tumbali of the Regional Transportation Authority of Chicago;
• Bibiana Kamler McHugh of TriMet
• Paula Okunieff of Consensus Systems Technologies Corp.

Conference registration offers an opportunity for all attendees to sit in on these transit-focused sessions, and for transit attendees to also attend keynote and GIS sessions.

"What's very exciting to me about the addition of the Transit Forum to our conference this year is the way the transit agencies are encouraging their traditional vendors and suppliers of services to participate here at their national meeting" said GOSCON Director Deborah Bryant. "We'll have a sharp increase in attendance from the companies who want to work side by side with government agencies as they develop these new projects.”