LRTA Links: Government Sites

Official sites of government transportation ministries, departments, agencies, or similar entities at the regional, national, or multi-national level. Also includes quasi-governmental (or semi-privatized) entities and sites maintained by government entities covering particular transit topics, resources, or policies.

Note: For agencies which act primarily as system operators, see the System Sites section.

• Brazil
  • Ministério dos Transportes - Brazilian Ministry of Transport presents history, descriptions and data for every railway in Brazil. There are links to pages for each system, including metros, suburban railways, the Campos do Jordão tramway and the Corcovado rack line in Rio de Janeiro. Enlargeable maps, train sounds and some photos. Index page has some English content, but most of the text is in Portuguese.
• European Commission
  • European Local Transport Information Service (ELTIS) - A European Commission site dedicated to sharing best practice information on transport issues, principally public transport. In German, French and English.
• France
  • Le Ministère de l'Equipement - French Ministry of Transport site with news and other developments related to rail and urban transport policy and development throughout France. There is plenty statistical information (with charts on everything from trends in transportation pricing to traffic growth on the Paris subway), reference materials on all relevant laws and regulations, as well an extensive library of publications and investigational reports (such as the investigation of accident on the Paris subway in August 2000). Also somewhat buried away are project summary pages for many of the light rail projects being developed (select "Plan du site" and then "Projets de tramways en province"). In French.
• Germany
  • Münchner Verkehrs- und Tarifverbund (MVV) - Extensive Munich Transport and Tariff Association site with complete ticket and fare information (with sales locations, including at the airport) and unified travel planner (for all modes and operators) for the greater Munich region... and even directions for reporting problems with ticket machines or ticket inspectors! There are maps for the different systems (some overlap with the MVG site), tariff zones (similar to those on MVG site), and the local areas around stations. There is also a overview of their consulting services for other transport operators (with references). The German side of the site also has news (including an email newsletter to which you can subscribe), press releases, their conTakt magazine, frequently asked questions, job opportunities, an online shop, educational resources, electronic greeting cards, desktop background maps, plus much more on their consulting activities (including success stories and conceptual planning examples, some related to expansion of the Munich metro and suburban rail systems). In German or English (less extensive). (Some features require Acrobat.)
• Mexico
  • Banco de Información Económica - Government data for Mexico's transport systems, including metro, light rail and trolleybuses, during the last five years. A clever setup produces charts-on-command. Choose the system, then the vehicle, then check the boxes on the left for the data that you want. Then click "Consultar". In Spanish.
• Switzerland
  • Tarifverbund Nordwestschweiz (TNW) - Site covering fare and ticket information for the BLT, BVB, and other transit providers in Basel and northwest Switzerland (since 1987 as the country's first integral tariff group). There's also a detailed zone map and profiles of all the participating transit providers. In German.
• United Kingdom
  • Centro - The West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive (Centro) site detailing on all public transport services in the area. The Metro section has a schematic map of Line One plus basic information on the trams and stations. There's also coverage of the future extensions to Birmingham City Centre and to Brierley Hill (both planned for service in Winter 2005) with project overviews, timetables, background information, and detailed route maps. A photo gallery is also hidden away (with no apparent link so click here). There are also details on train, bus and taxi services, ticket and fare information (but currently no timetables), news, Centro's strategic and financial plans and publications, as well as a section on the West Midlands Passenger Transport Authority (WMPTA). (Some features require Flash.)
    Service Advisory: Clicking Metro may produce an error in some browsers but this direct link might work such a case.
  • Department for Transport (DfT) - Primary national focal point for all transport-related issues (for all transport modes). Of particular interest are the sections on Local Transport, Railways, Integrated Transport, and Transport Statistics. Most tranport-related documents formerly produced by Department for Transport, Local Government and Regions (DTLR) or the Department of Transport, Environment & the Regions (DETR) are now found here.
    • Guidance on the Methodology for Multi-Modal Studies - Complete text of both volumes which detail how the Government's twenty (in-progress or planned) regional Multi-Modal Studies (as opposed to Road-Based Studies) are to investigate problems on or with all modes of transport and to seek solutions to those problems.
    • Transport 2010: The 10 Year Plan - All 10 chapters and 4 annexes of the Plan (also available in downloadable form - requires Acrobat) plus news releases, webcasts (requires RealPlayer), background and daughter documents, regional factsheets (which list possible light rail projects), and more.
    • Railways - Portion of the DfT site for the Rail Group (established by the Railways Act of 2005) whose aim is "to secure the railway the country wants at a price it can afford." There's coverage of rail policies, Regulartory Impact Statements, finances, passenger services, safety and technical data, ongoing research, plus current projects as well as current and completed consultation studies. (Some features require Acrobat.)
      Added 13 March 2006
  • GMPTE - Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (GMPTE) site which serves as the official public transport site for Greater Manchester. Plenty of travel news and information covering all modes (with a specific section on Metrolink even though they are not the operator - see System Sites - UK - Manchester) as well as a journey planner, service maps, and an interesting trends and statistics section. The Future Developments and Library sections contain, among other things, extensive details on the Metrolink extension plans as well as the current edition of their Metrolink Newsletter.
    • Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority - Site within the GMPTE site which covers the operations of the Authority. Policy documents, budget and expenditure information, and sections on the Local Transport Groups, as well as the Authority Members and the District Councils which appoint the members.
  • Merseytravel - Merseyside Passenger Transport Authority and Executive site with complete travel information (timetables, maps, ticket and fare information, journey planner) for the rail, ferry, tunnel, and bus systems serving Liverpool and the rest of the County of Merseyside. There's also environmental, educational, and safety information; a special section on their Best Value performance plan; and overviews of their responsibilities (for transit funding, planning, and operation), history, and future goals (as newsletters and reports). Of even wider interest is a special section on the Passenger Transport Executive Group (PTEG) which explains how all the PTE's across the UK work toward increasing the attractiveness, convenience and effectiveness of local public transport services. (Some features require Acrobat.)
  • NEXUS - Formerly the Tyne and Wear PTE, parent organization of the Metro. Gives a broader perspective on transport options (train, ferry, bus, and metro) provided by NEXUS as well as future projects and plans. Includes a journey planner as well as news items not available on the Metro site.
  • Office of Deputy Prime Minister - Local Government Finance - The Local Government Finance Directorate (formerly Local and Regional Government Group) website covering, among other things, local government reorganization issues. Of particular interest is the September 2000 Green Paper on Modernising Local Government Finance which many hope will make it easier for local authorities to finance large projects such as light rail systems.
  • SRA - Strategic Rail Authority - Official site for the Authority (created after passage of the Transport Act 2000) which has overall strategic responsibility for Britain's railways (both passenger and freight). The site provides background about the Authority (including executives and guidance), overviews of the passenger and freight industries, press releases, fact and figure reports (including the On Track and National Rail Trends reports), question and answer section, plus an extensive document library (including the SRA's Strategic Plan and numerous consultation documents). Of particular interest in the document library are the Island Line Replacement Review, the London East/West Study, and the Greater Manchester Strategic Rail Study. (Some features require Acrobat.)
    Service Advisory: Site ceased to be updated (from 22 August 2005) as the Authority ceased operation and many of its passed to the Department for Transport Rail Group.
    Service Advisory added 13 March 2006
  • South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive - A comprehensive site including timetables, concessionary fares, news, SYPTE activities, Education, and a youth page.
  • SPT - Passenger Transport Authority and Executive for Strathclyde (SPT) site with basic travel information (tickets, limited timetables and maps, operator contacts, travel centre locations) for the metro (which they operate - see System Sites - UK - Glasgow) and rail services of Greater Glasgow as well as the ferries and bus services throughout Stradclyde (the largest operational area of any PTA and the only one in Scotland). Other sections of the site provide press releases anf publications (including their Interchange newsletter, annual reports, and strategy documents) as well as background on the Authority and the Executive, their members, and their meetings.
  • Transport for London - Reporting to the Mayor, TfL is the executive arm of the Greater London Authority (GLA) with responsibility for delivering the Mayor's integrated transport strategy as well as overall responsibility for the Docklands Light Railway, Croydon Tramlink, the bus and river services, the travel information centre, the transport museum, street traffic management, and other transport related services (including, in the future, the Underground). Besides providing access to all the sites for these different services, the site itself contains news and press releases, board meeting information (schedule, agenda, minutes), a library of reports (including annual reports, environmental performance reports, plus an interesting international fare comparison report), a special section on their concerns regarding the PPP (Public Private Partnership) proposals for the Underground, and another on the Prestige project to use Smartcards for ticketing by 2003. There are also sections covering job opportunities, fare and ticket information, service status, passenger help, and journey planning (with interactive maps). (Some features require Acrobat.)
    Service Advisory: May not display properly in all browsers.
    • Mayor of London - Transport Strategy - Portion of the city's site from which you can download the Mayor's monumental Transport Strategy document (released in July 2001) which outlines plans on how to best solve London's transport crisis. Both the full document and several summary/highlight documents are available as are results from the public consultation process. There are also details on how to order a printed copy, a Braille copy, a copy on CD-ROM, or an audio version on cassette with some of the summary/highlight documents also available in a number of other languages as well. (Some features require Acrobat.)
    • Oyster - Official Transport for London site (provided by TranSys) devoted to the Oyster smartcard ticketing system now being used by most public transport services in London. Besides the ability to buy or renew Oyster cards online, the site provides a users guide, background on the why the system was developed, the technology used, the partners behind the TransSys consortium, and an archive of press releases, reports, and photos. (Some features require a Word viewer.)
• United States
  • Federal Transit Administration - Part of the US Department of Transportation, the FTA provides technical and financial assistance to plan, build, and operate local transit (bus, rail, trolley, ferry, etc.) systems in the USA. It also administers a significant Research and Technology program. The online National Transit Library contains scores of on-line reports on all areas covered by the department.
  • Metropolitan Transportation Commission - MTC is the transportation planning, financing, and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area and is responsible for the Regional Transportation Plan (covering all mass transit, highway, airport, seaport, rail, bicycle, and pedestrian facilities). The site has information about the commission (background, board, budget, meeting schedules, and agenda), Citizen's Guide, DataMart (census, survey, and research data), development plans (regional, localized, and for particular transit modes), publications library, their Transactions newsletter, plus calls for projects, how to get involved in project reviews, job and contract opportunities, and more. (Some features require Acrobat or PowerPoint.)
    • Bay Area Transit Information - Independent site, supported by the MTC, which provides access to transit information for virtually all transit services (light rail, metro, suburban rail, bus, ferry) in the San Francisco Bay Area with schedules, maps, service announcements, and journey planner (covers only a portion of the area) plus guides to popular transit destinations such as airport, parks, and other attractions. Also featured are individual overviews of about 50 transit agencies/operators in the service area (with details provided by the participating agencies was well as third parties) plus links to other agencies without overviews.