Overview
ISO/TS 18234-5:2006 - "Traffic and Travel Information (TTI) via TPEG data‑streams - Part 5: Public Transport Information (PTI) application" - defines the TPEG-PTI application for efficient, language‑independent delivery of public (collective) transport information. The specification covers all modes of public transport and both inter‑urban and intra‑urban travel. It describes the hierarchical data structure, encoding/decoding rules and message composition used to transmit PTI from service providers (including broadcasters) to end‑user devices.
Key topics and technical requirements
- TPEG application structure: TPEG‑PTI comprises three containers - the message management container, the application event (PTI) container, and the TPEG‑location container (location referencing is specified in ISO/TS 18234‑6).
- Message format and encoding: Based on the TPEG Syntax, Semantics and Framing (SSF) defined in ISO/TS 18234‑2; messages are byte‑oriented for transmission over diverse digital bearers.
- Application ID: AID = 0002 (hex) identifies the PTI application within TPEG services and routing.
- Event and presentation models: PTI supports grouping of data elements into end‑user presentation modes such as incident reports, station/terminal displays, route information and individual service information.
- Message management elements: Mandatory fields include date/time (ISO 8601 referenced), severity and reliability indicators, and other metadata to support filtering and presentation.
- Event container structure: Hierarchical classes (level‑one and sub‑levels), coding tables (pti01 to pti34), and defined primitives for consistent interpretation by decoders.
- Location referencing: Uses the TPEG‑Loc approach (Part 6) to enable map‑based or human‑readable location specification.
- Standards alignment: Normative references include ISO 8601 and other parts of ISO/TS 18234 (Parts 1–4, 6).
Applications and users
Who uses ISO/TS 18234‑5:2006:
- Public transport operators and network managers - to publish service disruptions, cancellations and timetable‑related alerts.
- ITS and TPEG service implementers - to encode, transmit and decode PTI data streams.
- Broadcasters and content aggregators - to distribute PTI via multimedia channels.
- Passenger information system manufacturers and mobile app developers - to render consistent, language‑independent displays (e.g., station boards, journey planners, in‑vehicle systems).
Practical uses include real‑time disruption alerts, station departure boards, route status overviews and individual service notifications.
Related standards
Keywords: ISO/TS 18234-5:2006, TPEG‑PTI, Public Transport Information, TPEG, traffic and travel information, location referencing, message management, event container.