MDS is an evolving specification with a regular release cycle. Please review the MDS Release Guidelines to understand the release process.
MDS is an open specification and anyone can contribute to its development. Because MDS supports a growing ecosystem of mobility services, policies, and tools, there are some key stakeholders whose participation is particularly encouraged:
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Public agencies: As licensing authority and regulator, public agencies are the ultimate customers for MDS and the data flowing through it. The public agency role is to ensure that MDS effectively supports program management and offers a flexible foundation for policy implementation. Public agencies of all levels of technical capacity are encourage to participate in the evolution of MDS, whether by submitting pull requests and issues, or simply by providing feedback during release cycles.
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Mobility Service Providers: Providers are often required to implement MDS in order to comply with permitting requirements for their services. Providers can inform the development of MDS with real-world operating experience and to offer input on specification design that maximizes data quality, reliability, and utility.
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Public agency software partners: Serve as a key bridge between public agencies and mobility service providers by offering tools that turn MDS data into useful insights. The public agency software partners help ensure that MDS will enable real-world product development, reflects the needs of their public agency customers, and encourages private investment in the MDS ecosystem.
Contributions should be offered through GitHub issues and pull requests. Please review the MDS Release Guidelines for details on the release process, schedule, and communications channels.
In general, you may open an issue or make a pull request at any time. Once the issue or pull request is associated with a particular Milestone, it will be included for review within the process for that release.
MDS is a tool to facilitate data exchange between mobility service providers, public agencies, and public agency software partners. Although providers are often required to support MDS as part of mobility permits or policies, MDS is intended as a neutral mechanism for information exchange. It is not intended to force or foreclose any specific policy options that a public agency may choose to pursue.
To encourage participation by any and all interested people, we aim to create an open and welcoming environment for contributors. We pledge to make participation in this project a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of age, body size, disability, ethnicity, gender identity and expression, level of experience, nationality, personal appearance, race, religion, or sexual identity and orientation.
Examples of behavior that contributes to creating a positive environment include:
- Using welcoming and inclusive language
- Being respectful of differing viewpoints and experiences
- Gracefully accepting constructive criticism
- Focusing on what is best for the community
- Showing empathy towards other community members