[GTFS Digest] May 2024 - Discussions Galore¶

Join the community in exploring inconsistencies in trip updates, new fields like cars_allowed and trip_global_id, recommendations for bikes_allowed and shapes.txt, adding vehicles.txt, using StopTimeEvent.uncertainty, GTFS-Flex changes, and GTFS terminology updates.

The GTFS Digest is a resource generated monthly by MobilityData providing an overview of developments on GTFS.

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🏅 Contributor Shoutouts¶

Weston Shippy

Congratulations on getting your first PR adopted into the spec!

David Rudi, Niels Penneman, and Ville Pihlava

Thank you for contributing your first issues (#462, #466, #468) to the community. Your contributions lay the groundwork for great discussions and possible changes.

Michael Paine

Returns to the spec with a new issue and sparked some interesting back and forths. Thank you!

James Bunch, and Josh Drucker

Have been some of the most active contributors on Slack. Your threads spark a lot of discussion and bring so much value to the rest of the community. Thank you!

🚀 Recently Adopted¶

Add rule_priority to fare_leg_rules.txt #418

The rule_priority field is used to represent cases when some fare leg matching rules need to take precedence over other matching rules. In addition, the existence of the rule_priority field acts as a trigger to change empty semantics for other fields in fare_leg_rules.txt.

Clarify stops.zone_id conditional requirement for route-based fare_rules #432 \ This proposal modifies the conditional requirement for stops.zone_id to allow for the scenario in which the stop is only assigned to trip_ids whose route_id is present in a fare_rules.txt record with only fare_id and route_id defined (route-based fares).

📂 Active Proposals¶

Update requirement for feed_info.txt #460

This PR updates the presence description for feed_info.txt, to better align with the specification formatting and provide additional clarity on the requirement of the file, making it Conditionally Required.

Clarify from/to_stop_id presence and description in transfers.txt #455

This PR changes presence from Conditionally Required to Required for transfers.from/to_stop_id and removes the word "forbidden" from their description to avoid potential confusion.

Other open proposals:¶

🔥 Most Active Conversations¶

Inconsistency in trip update example vs. reference documentation? #468

Niels Penneman needs your help to figure out an inconsistency between the trip update example and the reference documentation.

Add cars_allowed field to trips.txt #466

Ville Pihlava proposes to add the car_allowed field to trips.txt to cover ferry and auto train use cases.

Proposed Best Practice: always including trip_id in TripDescriptor for SCHEDULED trips #465

This proposal suggests mandating the use of trip_id in the TripDescriptor for SCHEDULED trips in GTFS Realtime to simplify data integration, as the alternative method using multiple identifiers often causes issues.

Global trip id #462

David from SKI+ proposes a new field "trip_global_id" in GTFS Schedule and Realtime for better integration with other standards like NeTEx and HRDF, addressing a need for a day-long valid trip identifier. This global ID would allow easier mapping of travel information across different data formats.

Make bikes_allowed a recommended field in GTFS #461

Making the bikes_allowed field recommended in GTFS Schedule aims to improve data accuracy on bike accommodations. This change would prompt validation notices for datasets missing this field, encouraging its wider adoption.

Make Shapes a recommended file in GTFS #459

Recommending the shapes.txt file in GTFS Schedule to improve map-based presentations and data quality validations, reflecting its 85% adoption rate. This change would enhance user experience and support real-time vehicle tracking.

Addition of vehicles.txt to GTFS static #458

Darwin from TransSee proposes adding a vehicles.txt file to GTFS. This could provide detailed information about vehicle capacity, accessibility, and features, enhancing real-time prediction tools and standardizing fleet data reporting. This file could include details such as vehicle type, capacity, manufacturer, and accessibility features.

Using StopTimeEvent.uncertainty for non-timepoints #454

Michael Paine from AC Transit seeks to use the StopTimeEvent.uncertainty field for non-timepoint stops to indicate schedule approximation, preventing rider confusion due to buses appearing early or late. This practice might improve communication of time variances without altering delay values, ensuring riders are better informed about bus schedules.

[DRT] After the adoption of GTFS-Flex, stops.txt should no longer be a required file. #452

With the introduction of GTFS-Flex, stops.txt may no longer be essential for defining geographic locations in GTFS. Producers could exclusively use locations.geojson for zone-based demand-responsive services, rendering stops.txt conditionally required (only if locations.geojson doesn't exist). Adjustments in the GTFS validator would accommodate this change.

Refinement of GTFS Terminology: Transitioning from "Schedule" to "Static" #442

This issue suggests shifting from "Schedule" to "Static" in GTFS documentation to better represent the dataset. There's substantial community backing for clarity. The proposal involves updating documentation. Feedback on next steps is encouraged before moving forward to the Pull Request stage.

📅 Upcoming Events¶

GTFS-Flex: it's adopted, now let’s implement it! | June 4, 2024 @ 11 am EDT

Topics : Modeling Flex , Current Implementations, Use cases covered, Flex features, and Free MobilityData resources.

GTFS-Fares v2 – Monthly meetings | June 25, 2024 @ 11 am EDT

Topics : GTFS-Fares v2 extension Working Group Meeting

Governance Working Group Meeting | TBA

Topics : Next steps in the GTFS governance Revamp

🛠️ Tools update¶

Flex rules proposal for the Canonical GTFS Schedule Validator

Now that GTFS-Flex has been adopted into the specification (🎊), MobilityData has developed a list of requirements for the Flex validation rules that will be added to the Canonical Validator. Please share feedback on the proposal and let us know if you want to accelerate this work by contributing rules to the validator!

💬 Join the GTFS Community¶

GitHub: google/transit: Share your ideas with the community! Join the official GTFS GitHub repository.

GTFS-changes: Get updates as soon as they happen, join the GTFS-changes google groups to get information about new pull requests and votes.

GTFS-realtime: Talk everything Realtime and stay up to date. This group is discussing the GTFS Realtime, asking questions, and proposing changes.

GTFS.org: The official GTFS documentation website. Here you will find frequently updated resources for your GTFS needs.

MobilityData Slack: Have a question about GTFS or need to connect with the community? Join in on GTFS slack conversations. This is a great place to have questions answered quickly by the over 1,300 mobility enthusiasts navigating our channels.

**Thank you for reading the sixth edition of the GTFS Digest! We look forward to bringing you the latest GTFS updates in 2024 and beyond. **