Cartographic Applications in Terms of Passenger Transport by Road. Application to the Case of Cantabria

In a multitude of activities that take place throughout a certain territory, the tools that allow optimization of the management of these activities have become a fundamental aspect that should be developed in order to minimize costs of all kinds. In this sense, geographic information systems (GIS) have long been shown to be a very useful tool for this purpose. They offer a series of advantages typical of computer environments: ease of use, maintenance, reduced storage space, etc. This research develops the management of passenger transport by road, which ultimately depends on public administrations. Specifically, it applies to the case of passenger transport by bus in the Autonomous Community of Cantabria and which is the responsibility of this administration. The starting data is on paper and for its transformation to GIS data, a set of challenges are resolved that must be taken into account: finding compatible numerical cartographic bases both in precision and in its geometric definition, dumping of alphanumeric data that are considered relevant: definition of the line, dealer, frequency, etc. From this first inventory GIS environment, the possibilities and difficulties of its management are raised, as well as the possibility of carrying out more efficient operations of redefinition of transport lines, optimization of routes, etc.