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Paper short abstract:

Taking the case of real-time passenger information, this papers analyses how protocols and standards are being reconciled and negotiated with various transport operators in Dublin, arguing that the integration of smart mobility technology is dependent upon successfully grafting code onto the city.

Paper long abstract:

The interplay between code and the city is particularly discernible in the case of smart transport systems and the movement of people and goods within the city region. In the case of public transport, a key technology for driving patronage is the use of Real-Time Passenger Information (RTPI), communicating to potential passengers about the relative waiting times for transport options and generally facilitating a more informed and efficient commuting experience for citizens. RTPI was rolled out in Dublin at beginning of this decade, and ever since, has become steadily integrated into a complex web of smart technologies, changing how people live and work in the city.

The greatest surface characteristic of RTPI is that of digital signage on stops indicating the estimated time of arrival of coming services, yet it also interacts with a broad range of technologies including travel smart cards, an ecosystem of travel apps, traffic control rooms, and automated traffic signalling favouring buses and trams over other vehicles. It is this data assemblage which is explored here, following how code travels in terms of how protocols and standards are being reconciled and negotiated with various operators, and how data is reutilised for further purposes such as traffic monitoring and data modelling. It is argued that analysing code-city interaction as a data assemblage shows how the 'flattening' of data anomalies and incompatibilities in the interests of a 'smart' and integrated system of systems is dependent upon successfully grafting rapidly evolving technologies onto a shifting target.