TIDES Governance ¶

Governance of the TIDES Project is achieved through the definition and filling of the following roles as defined here and fulfilled by the following individuals as noted:

Definitions ¶

TIDES Project ¶

The TIDES Project is made up of:

• The specification itself
• Documentation of the specification
• The structure and templates for sample data and scripts
• Validation/CI/documentation scripts
• The GitHub Organization “TIDES-transit”
• Contents of the GitHub repositories owned by the TIDES-transit organization
• Documentation and records for the governance and management of TIDES
• Other documentation of the TIDES Project overall

Roles ¶

TIDES Owner ¶

TIDES is collectively owned and governed by a Board of Directors.

TIDES Board of Directors ¶

TIDES is governed by a Board of Directors. The Board holds quarterly strategic meetings with the TIDES Manager. The Board Coordinator may convene additional Board meetings as needed. The Board has a public agenda and minutes.

Board Membership ¶

• Members of the Board decide the number of positions on the Board.
• Members of the Board select individuals to fill open positions on the Board.
• Members of the Board may remove any individual from the Board.
• The TIDES Board Coordinator is responsible for maintaining control of and managing core TIDES assets, including the GitHub organization, the tides-transit.org domain, cloud data storage resources, and other similar assets.

Board Coordinator ¶

• The TIDES Board will select a member to serve as the Board Coordinator.
• The Board Coordinator will schedule and arrange for Board meetings.
• The Board Coordinator will conduct votes by the Board and document results.
• The Board Coordinator will communicate with the TIDES Manager / TIDES Program Manager as needed.

Board Decisions ¶

• Unless otherwise stated, decisions of the TIDES Board are subject to approval by two thirds of the non-abstaining membership of the entire board at the time of the vote (not just those voting).
• Board members may abstain from any vote.
• Decisions of the Board will be documented in writing and saved within the TIDES GitHub repository.
• The primary decisions that Board members are expected to make include:
  • Selection of new Board members, and removal of Board members if needed.
  • Selection of the TIDES Manager.
  • Approval of the MOU with the TIDES Manager.
  • Approve list of proposed changes for each development cycle.
  • Review and approve each new release of TIDES.
  • Manage Urgent Changes to the standard in collaboration with the TIDES Manager.
  • Resolve issues that arise during the Change Management process that cannot be addressed by the TIDES Manager.
  • Establish Working Groups and approve their written charters.
  • Appoint Working Group chairs.

Board Member Role and Term ¶

• Board members serve as individuals, not as representatives of an organization.
• Board members who change organizations, leave the transit industry, or otherwise have a major change in their professional affiliation will be expected to offer their resignation so that the Board can continue to broadly represent the interest of TIDES stakeholders.
• Board members will have staggered terms of three years.

Board Makeup ¶

• Majority of board members should be from transit agencies.
• The Board will seek geographic, demographic (race, gender, and other categories), organizational (transit agency, ITS vendor, DOT, etc.) diversity of members in offering positions.

TIDES Manager ¶

• The Board may select an individual or organization to serve as the TIDES Manager to handle the day-to-day management of the TIDES specification and other elements.
• The Board will execute a Memorandum of Understanding with the TIDES Manager that outlines the roles, responsibilities, and limitations of the management role.
• The Board may change the management of TIDES at any time for any reason.
• When there is no TIDES Manager assigned, the Board will take over management in the interim.
• The TIDES Manager conducts its activities in coordination and collaboration with Working Groups and other entities established by the Board, and facilitates the work of those groups. The TIDES Manager is not responsible for staffing or managing Working Groups.

TIDES Program Manager ¶

• The TIDES Manager will assign an individual as the Program Manager.
• The TIDES Manager will communicate the name of the Program Manager to the Board in writing and notify the Board of any change in this assignment in writing.
• The TIDES Program Manager will be the primary point of contact between the TIDES Board and the TIDES Manager.

Management Implementation and Principles ¶

• The TIDES Board Coordinator will provide the TIDES Program Manager and other staff with the necessary access, authority, and resources to perform their obligations effectively. Working Group chair access is defined by each chair agreement (see Working Groups).
• The TIDES Manager will solicit, review, approve, and manage requests by individuals to be assigned as a TIDES Contributor.
• The TIDES Manager will remove Contributors at their discretion, including situations when the Contributor violates the Contributor agreement.
• The TIDES Manager will, with the input and concurrence of the Board of Directors, establish and manage the process for modifying the TIDES spec over time.

Working Groups ¶

The TIDES Board may charter Working Groups, standing or formed for a limited time, to carry work on the specification, tooling, documentation, and community engagement. Current groups, their charters, chairs, and how to join are listed in the TIDES Working Groups registry.

• Working Groups are distinct from the Issue Resolution Groups defined in the Change Management Policy.
• Each Working Group operates under a written, Board-approved charter (purpose, scope, chair(s), rights, timeline, review cadence).
• Each Working Group has one or more Board-appointed chairs (for example a Chair and Deputy Chair) who sign a written agreement defining their rights and responsibilities and are removable by the Board at any time.
• Chairs may be granted defined GitHub rights (repository Write via a Board-administered team) as Board-designees, scoped to their charter, not organization ownership.
• Members and chairs of Working Groups are volunteers; their time may be sponsored by their employers; they are not staff of the TIDES Board or the TIDES Manager.
• Working Groups are open to anyone. Each charter states how to join (a published sign-up or contact path), the group’s meeting cadence, and any limits on participation. If a group limits membership, the charter says so and gives the criteria and how to request to join.
• Joining a Working Group includes registering as a TIDES Contributor, which carries agreement to the TIDES Code of Conduct; anyone may observe public working sessions without registering.
• Chairs maintain the membership list and share it with the Board and the TIDES Manager.
• Working Groups work in the open, recording agendas, decisions, and outcomes through lightweight public channels (e.g., GitHub Issues and Discussions), without formal minute-taking requirements. A group may use a non-public working space to mature draft material, provided the charter discloses it and the way to opt in.
• Members may be removed only through the TIDES Code of Conduct process (unlike chairs, who serve at the Board’s pleasure).

TIDES Contributor ¶

• Individuals will request to be a Contributor by completing an online form that includes acknowledgement of the Contributor Agreement and TIDES Code of Conduct.
• A TIDES Contributor has rights to create issues, discussions, and pull requests in the TIDES repository.
• A TIDES Contributor has rights to vote in decisions on changes to the TIDES spec and other aspects of TIDES.

TIDES Stakeholder ¶

• Anyone who has an interest in or could be directly affected by the TIDES specification and tools.

Document History ¶

2026-09-08 ¶

• Updated per the 2026-08-27 Board approval: added the Working Groups section and registry, updated Board meeting cadence, GitHub organization asset language, TIDES Manager coordination with Working Groups, Board decisions list, and management implementation language.
• Updated the TIDES Program Manager assignment to Carl Fredlund, MobilityData, and Board member affiliations.

2023-12-04 ¶

• Updated board composition per 2023-11-29 board action.

2024-01-04 ¶

• Updated Board Coordinator and TIDES Manager role assignment per 2023-12-06 board actions.

Initial Version ¶

• Initial release of the TIDES Governance document.
• Establishment of governance principles, roles, policies, and procedures.