Government further promotes open data with city dashboards to facilitate the public (with photos)

     The Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO) announced today (December 31) that four city dashboards are now available on the Public Sector Information (PSI) Portal (data.gov.hk) to facilitate the public to visualise real-time and dynamic city data of Hong Kong.
      
     By making use of open data released by the Government, the dashboards present data on environment and weather, transport and traffic, public facilities and services, and a city overview on interactive charts and online maps. These include the latest weather conditions of a particular district, the estimated travelling time of major routes, the arrival time of the next bus or train, information on public facilities and a population overview. Users are also provided with flexibility to filter information on dashboards or adjust the combination of presented data on online maps to suit their needs.
      
     A spokesman for the OGCIO said, "The new dashboards were developed with design-thinking methodology so that they are more user-friendly. The open data processed and aligned during the development of the dashboards are also opened up as new datasets or Application Programming Interfaces to facilitate further use by the industry. The dashboards will also help stimulate data providers and the public to brainstorm more ideas on open data and new innovative applications for smart city development."
      
     The Government has been promoting the opening of government data. The first annual open data plans were published by government bureaux and departments (B/Ds) in December 2018. By the end of 2019, the number of datasets on the PSI Portal had reached some 4 000 datasets. Among the 700-plus new datasets released are the datasets of real-time estimated arrival times of New World First Bus, Citybus, New Lantao Bus and the MTR, which are long-awaited by the industry and popular among the public.
      
     The B/Ds have just published their second annual open data plans on their respective websites. Over 220 new datasets are scheduled for release in 2020, including weather data from the Hong Kong Observatory and the 1:50 000 topographic map from the Lands Department. A full list of the plans is available on the PSI Portal. The public can also provide comments for B/Ds' consideration.