Reference

General Transit Feed Specification Reference

Revised Oct 16, 2024. See Revision History for more details.

This document defines the format and structure of the files that comprise a GTFS dataset.

Table of Contents

1. Document Conventions
2. Dataset Files
3. File Requirements
4. Dataset Publishing & General Practices
5. Field Definitions
   • agency.txt
   • stops.txt
   • routes.txt
   • trips.txt
   • stop_times.txt
   • calendar.txt
   • calendar_dates.txt
   • fare_attributes.txt
   • fare_rules.txt
   • timeframes.txt
   • fare_media.txt
   • fare_products.txt
   • fare_leg_rules.txt
   • fare_transfer_rules.txt
   • areas.txt
   • stop_areas.txt
   • networks.txt
   • route_networks.txt
   • shapes.txt
   • frequencies.txt
   • transfers.txt
   • pathways.txt
   • levels.txt
   • location_groups.txt
   • location_group_stops.txt
   • locations.geojson
   • booking_rules.txt
   • translations.txt
   • feed_info.txt
   • attributions.txt

Document Conventions

The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", “SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119.

Term Definitions

This section defines terms that are used throughout this document.

• Dataset - A complete set of files defined by this specification reference. Altering the dataset creates a new version of the dataset. Datasets should be published at a public, permanent URL, including the zip file name. (e.g., https://www.agency.org/gtfs/gtfs.zip).
• Record - A basic data structure comprised of a number of different field values describing a single entity (e.g. transit agency, stop, route, etc.). Represented, in a table, as a row.
• Field - A property of an object or entity. Represented, in a table, as a column. The field exists if added in a file as a header. It may or may not have field values defined.
• Field value - An individual entry in a field. Represented, in a table, as a single cell.
• Service day - A service day is a time period used to indicate route scheduling. The exact definition of service day varies from agency to agency but service days often do not correspond with calendar days. A service day may exceed 24:00:00 if service begins on one day and ends on a following day. For example, service that runs from 08:00:00 on Friday to 02:00:00 on Saturday, could be denoted as running from 08:00:00 to 26:00:00 on a single service day.
• Text-to-speech field - The field should contain the same information than its parent field (on which it falls back if it is empty). It is aimed to be read as text-to-speech, therefore, abbreviation should be either removed ("St" should be either read as "Street" or "Saint"; "Elizabeth I" should be "Elizabeth the first") or kept to be read as it ("JFK Airport" is said abbreviated).
• Leg - Travel in which a rider boards and alights between a pair of subsequent locations along a trip.
• Journey - Overall travel from origin to destination, including all legs and transfers in-between.
• Sub-journey - Two or more legs that comprise a subset of a journey.
• Fare product - Purchassable fare products that can be used to pay for or validate travel.

Presence

Presence conditions applicable to fields and files:

• Required - The field or file must be included in the dataset and contain a valid value for each record.
• Optional - The field or file may be omitted from the dataset.
• Conditionally Required - The field or file must be included under conditions outlined in the field or file description.
• Conditionally Forbidden - The field or file must not be included under conditions outlined in the field or file description.
• Recommended - The field or file may be omitted from the dataset, but it is a best practice to include it. Before omitting this field or file, the best practice should be carefully evaluated and the full implications of omission should be understood.

Field Types

• Color - A color encoded as a six-digit hexadecimal number. Refer to https://htmlcolorcodes.com to generate a valid value (the leading "#" must not be included).
  Example: FFFFFF for white, 000000 for black or 0039A6 for the A,C,E lines in NYMTA.
• Currency code - An ISO 4217 alphabetical currency code. For the list of current currency, refer to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_4217#Active_codes.
  Example: CAD for Canadian dollars, EUR for euros or JPY for Japanese yen.
• Currency amount - A decimal value indicating a currency amount. The number of decimal places is specified by ISO 4217 for the accompanying Currency code. All financial calculations should be processed as decimal, currency, or another equivalent type suitable for financial calculations depending on the programming language used to consume data. Processing currency amounts as float is discouraged due to gains or losses of money during calculations.
• Date - Service day in the YYYYMMDD format. Since time within a service day may be above 24:00:00, a service day may contain information for the subsequent day(s).
  Example: 20180913 for September 13th, 2018.
• Email - An email address.
  Example: example@example.com
• Enum - An option from a set of predefined constants defined in the "Description" column.
  Example: The route_type field contains a 0 for tram, a 1 for subway...
• ID - An ID field value is an internal ID, not intended to be shown to riders, and is a sequence of any UTF-8 characters. Using only printable ASCII characters is recommended. An ID is labeled "unique ID" when it must be unique within a file. IDs defined in one .txt file are often referenced in another .txt file. IDs that reference an ID in another table are labeled "foreign ID".
  Example: The stop_id field in stops.txt is a "unique ID". The parent_station field in stops.txt is a "foreign ID referencing stops.stop_id".
• Language code - An IETF BCP 47 language code. For an introduction to IETF BCP 47, refer to http://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/bcp/bcp47.txt and http://www.w3.org/International/articles/language-tags/.
  Example: en for English, en-US for American English or de for German.
• Latitude - WGS84 latitude in decimal degrees. The value must be greater than or equal to -90.0 and less than or equal to 90.0.
  Example: 41.890169 for the Colosseum in Rome.
• Longitude - WGS84 longitude in decimal degrees. The value must be greater than or equal to -180.0 and less than or equal to 180.0.
  Example: 12.492269 for the Colosseum in Rome.
• Float - A floating point number.
• Integer - An integer.
• Phone number - A phone number.
• Time - Time in the HH:MM:SS format (H:MM:SS is also accepted). The time is measured from "noon minus 12h" of the service day (effectively midnight except for days on which daylight savings time changes occur). For times occurring after midnight on the service day, enter the time as a value greater than 24:00:00 in HH:MM:SS.
  Example: 14:30:00 for 2:30PM or 25:35:00 for 1:35AM on the next day.
• Text - A string of UTF-8 characters, which is aimed to be displayed and which must therefore be human readable.
• Timezone - TZ timezone from the https://www.iana.org/time-zones. Timezone names never contain the space character but may contain an underscore. Refer to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tz_zones for a list of valid values.
  Example: Asia/Tokyo, America/Los_Angeles or Africa/Cairo.
• URL - A fully qualified URL that includes http:// or https://, and any special characters in the URL must be correctly escaped. See the following http://www.w3.org/Addressing/URL/4_URI_Recommentations.html for a description of how to create fully qualified URL values.

Field Signs

Signs applicable to Float or Integer field types:

• Non-negative - Greater than or equal to 0.
• Non-zero - Not equal to 0.
• Positive - Greater than 0.

Example: Non-negative float - A floating point number greater than or equal to 0.

Dataset Attributes

The primary key of a dataset is the field or combination of fields that uniquely identify a row. Primary key (*) is used when all provided fields for a file are used to uniquely identify a row. Primary key (none) means that the file allows only one row.

Example: the trip_id and stop_sequence fields make the primary key of stop_times.txt.

Dataset Files

This specification defines the following files:

File Name	Presence	Description
agency.txt	Required	Transit agencies with service represented in this dataset.
stops.txt	Conditionally Required	Stops where vehicles pick up or drop off riders. Also defines stations and station entrances. Conditionally Required: - Optional if demand-responsive zones are defined in locations.geojson. - Required otherwise.
routes.txt	Required	Transit routes. A route is a group of trips that are displayed to riders as a single service.
trips.txt	Required	Trips for each route. A trip is a sequence of two or more stops that occur during a specific time period.
stop_times.txt	Required	Times that a vehicle arrives at and departs from stops for each trip.
calendar.txt	Conditionally Required	Service dates specified using a weekly schedule with start and end dates. Conditionally Required: - Required unless all dates of service are defined in calendar_dates.txt. - Optional otherwise.
calendar_dates.txt	Conditionally Required	Exceptions for the services defined in the calendar.txt. Conditionally Required: - Required if calendar.txt is omitted. In which case calendar_dates.txt must contain all dates of service. - Optional otherwise.
fare_attributes.txt	Optional	Fare information for a transit agency's routes.
fare_rules.txt	Optional	Rules to apply fares for itineraries.
timeframes.txt	Optional	Date and time periods to use in fare rules for fares that depend on date and time factors.
fare_media.txt	Optional	To describe the fare media that can be employed to use fare products. File fare_media.txt describes concepts that are not represented in fare_attributes.txt and fare_rules.txt. As such, the use of fare_media.txt is entirely separate from files fare_attributes.txt and fare_rules.txt.
fare_products.txt	Optional	To describe the different types of tickets or fares that can be purchased by riders. File fare_products.txt describes fare products that are not represented in fare_attributes.txt and fare_rules.txt. As such, the use of fare_products.txt is entirely separate from files fare_attributes.txt and fare_rules.txt.
fare_leg_rules.txt	Optional	Fare rules for individual legs of travel. File fare_leg_rules.txt provides a more detailed method for modeling fare structures. As such, the use of fare_leg_rules.txt is entirely separate from files fare_attributes.txt and fare_rules.txt.
fare_transfer_rules.txt	Optional	Fare rules for transfers between legs of travel. Along with fare_leg_rules.txt, file fare_transfer_rules.txt provides a more detailed method for modeling fare structures. As such, the use of fare_transfer_rules.txt is entirely separate from files fare_attributes.txt and fare_rules.txt.
areas.txt	Optional	Area grouping of locations.
stop_areas.txt	Optional	Rules to assign stops to areas.
networks.txt	Conditionally Forbidden	Network grouping of routes. Conditionally Forbidden: - Forbidden if network_id exists in routes.txt. - Optional otherwise.
route_networks.txt	Conditionally Forbidden	Rules to assign routes to networks. Conditionally Forbidden: - Forbidden if network_id exists in routes.txt. - Optional otherwise.
shapes.txt	Optional	Rules for mapping vehicle travel paths, sometimes referred to as route alignments.
frequencies.txt	Optional	Headway (time between trips) for headway-based service or a compressed representation of fixed-schedule service.
transfers.txt	Optional	Rules for making connections at transfer points between routes.
pathways.txt	Optional	Pathways linking together locations within stations.
levels.txt	Conditionally Required	Levels within stations. Conditionally Required: - Required when describing pathways with elevators (pathway_mode=5). - Optional otherwise.
location_groups.txt	Optional	A group of stops that together indicate locations where a rider may request pickup or drop off.
location_group_stops.txt	Optional	Rules to assign stops to location groups.
locations.geojson	Optional	Zones for rider pickup or drop-off requests by on-demand services, represented as GeoJSON polygons.
booking_rules.txt	Optional	Booking information for rider-requested services.
translations.txt	Optional	Translations of customer-facing dataset values.
feed_info.txt	Conditionally Required	Dataset metadata, including publisher, version, and expiration information. Conditionally Required: - Required if translations.txt is provided. - Recommended otherwise.
attributions.txt	Optional	Dataset attributions.

File Requirements

The following requirements apply to the format and contents of the dataset files:

• All files must be saved as comma-delimited text.
• The first line of each file must contain field names. Each subsection of the Field Definitions section corresponds to one of the files in a GTFS dataset and lists the field names that may be used in that file.
• All file and field names are case-sensitive.
• Field values must not contain tabs, carriage returns or new lines.
• Field values that contain quotation marks or commas must be enclosed within quotation marks. In addition, each quotation mark in the field value must be preceded with a quotation mark. This is consistent with the manner in which Microsoft Excel outputs comma-delimited (CSV) files. For more information on the CSV file format, see http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc4180. The following example demonstrates how a field value would appear in a comma-delimited file:
• Original field value: Contains "quotes", commas and text
• Field value in CSV file: "Contains ""quotes"", commas and text"
• Field values must not contain HTML tags, comments or escape sequences.
• Extra spaces between fields or field names should be removed. Many parsers consider the spaces to be part of the value, which may cause errors.
• Each line must end with a CRLF or LF linebreak character.
• Files should be encoded in UTF-8 to support all Unicode characters. Files that include the Unicode byte-order mark (BOM) character are acceptable. See http://unicode.org/faq/utf_bom.html#BOM for more information on the BOM character and UTF-8.
• All dataset files must be zipped together. The files must reside at the root level directly, not in a subfolder.
• All customer-facing text strings (including stop names, route names, and headsigns) should use Mixed Case (not ALL CAPS), following local conventions for capitalization of place names on displays capable of displaying lower case characters (e.g. “Brighton Churchill Square”, “Villiers-sur-Marne”, “Market Street”).
• The use of abbreviations should be avoided throughout the feed for names and other text (e.g. St. for Street) unless a location is called by its abbreviated name (e.g. “JFK Airport”). Abbreviations may be problematic for accessibility by screen reader software and voice user interfaces. Consuming software can be engineered to reliably convert full words to abbreviations for display, but converting from abbreviations to full words is prone to more risk of error.

Dataset Publishing & General Practices

• Datasets should be published at a public, permanent URL, including the zip file name. (e.g., www.agency.org/gtfs/gtfs.zip). Ideally, the URL should be directly downloadable without requiring login to access the file, to facilitate download by consuming software applications. While it is recommended (and the most common practice) to make a GTFS dataset openly downloadable, if a data provider does need to control access to GTFS for licensing or other reasons, it is recommended to control access to the GTFS dataset using API keys, which will facilitate automatic downloads.
• GTFS data should be published in iterations so that a single file at a stable location always contains the latest official description of service for a transit agency (or agencies).
• Datasets should maintain persistent identifiers (id fields) for stop_id, route_id, and agency_id across data iterations whenever possible.
• One GTFS dataset should contain current and upcoming service (sometimes called a “merged” dataset). There are multiple merge tools available that can be used to create a merged dataset from two different GTFS feeds.
  • At any time, the published GTFS dataset should be valid for at least the next 7 days, and ideally for as long as the operator is confident that the schedule will continue to be operated.
  • If possible, the GTFS dataset should cover at least the next 30 days of service.
• Old services (expired calendars) should be removed from the feed.
• If a service modification will go into effect in 7 days or fewer, this service change should be expressed through a GTFS-realtime feed (service advisories or trip updates) rather than static GTFS dataset.
• The web-server hosting GTFS data should be configured to correctly report the file modification date (see HTTP/1.1 - Request for Comments 2616, under Section 14.29).

Field Definitions

agency.txt

File: Required

Primary key (agency_id)

Field Name	Type	Presence	Description
agency_id	Unique ID	Conditionally Required	Identifies a transit brand which is often synonymous with a transit agency. Note that in some cases, such as when a single agency operates multiple separate services, agencies and brands are distinct. This document uses the term "agency" in place of "brand". A dataset may contain data from multiple agencies. Conditionally Required: - Required when the dataset contains data for multiple transit agencies. - Recommended otherwise.
agency_name	Text	Required	Full name of the transit agency.
agency_url	URL	Required	URL of the transit agency.
agency_timezone	Timezone	Required	Timezone where the transit agency is located. If multiple agencies are specified in the dataset, each must have the same agency_timezone.
agency_lang	Language code	Optional	Primary language used by this transit agency. Should be provided to help GTFS consumers choose capitalization rules and other language-specific settings for the dataset.
agency_phone	Phone number	Optional	A voice telephone number for the specified agency. This field is a string value that presents the telephone number as typical for the agency's service area. It may contain punctuation marks to group the digits of the number. Dialable text (for example, TriMet's "503-238-RIDE") is permitted, but the field must not contain any other descriptive text.
agency_fare_url	URL	Optional	URL of a web page that allows a rider to purchase tickets or other fare instruments for that agency online.
agency_email	Email	Optional	Email address actively monitored by the agency’s customer service department. This email address should be a direct contact point where transit riders can reach a customer service representative at the agency.

stops.txt

File: Conditionally Required

Primary key (stop_id)

Field Name	Type	Presence	Description
stop_id	Unique ID	Required	Identifies a location: stop/platform, station, entrance/exit, generic node or boarding area (see location_type). ID must be unique across all stops.stop_id, locations.geojson id, and location_groups.location_group_id values. Multiple routes may use the same stop_id.
stop_code	Text	Optional	Short text or a number that identifies the location for riders. These codes are often used in phone-based transit information systems or printed on signage to make it easier for riders to get information for a particular location. The stop_code may be the same as stop_id if it is public facing. This field should be left empty for locations without a code presented to riders.
stop_name	Text	Conditionally Required	Name of the location. The stop_name should match the agency's rider-facing name for the location as printed on a timetable, published online, or represented on signage. For translations into other languages, use translations.txt. When the location is a boarding area (location_type=4), the stop_name should contains the name of the boarding area as displayed by the agency. It could be just one letter (like on some European intercity railway stations), or text like “Wheelchair boarding area” (NYC’s Subway) or “Head of short trains” (Paris’ RER). Conditionally Required: - Required for locations which are stops (location_type=0), stations (location_type=1) or entrances/exits (location_type=2). - Optional for locations which are generic nodes (location_type=3) or boarding areas (location_type=4).
tts_stop_name	Text	Optional	Readable version of the stop_name. See "Text-to-speech field" in the Term Definitions for more.
stop_desc	Text	Optional	Description of the location that provides useful, quality information. Should not be a duplicate of stop_name.
stop_lat	Latitude	Conditionally Required	Latitude of the location. For stops/platforms (location_type=0) and boarding area (location_type=4), the coordinates must be the ones of the bus pole — if exists — and otherwise of where the travelers are boarding the vehicle (on the sidewalk or the platform, and not on the roadway or the track where the vehicle stops). Conditionally Required: - Required for locations which are stops (location_type=0), stations (location_type=1) or entrances/exits (location_type=2). - Optional for locations which are generic nodes (location_type=3) or boarding areas (location_type=4).
stop_lon	Longitude	Conditionally Required	Longitude of the location. For stops/platforms (location_type=0) and boarding area (location_type=4), the coordinates must be the ones of the bus pole — if exists — and otherwise of where the travelers are boarding the vehicle (on the sidewalk or the platform, and not on the roadway or the track where the vehicle stops). Conditionally Required: - Required for locations which are stops (location_type=0), stations (location_type=1) or entrances/exits (location_type=2). - Optional for locations which are generic nodes (location_type=3) or boarding areas (location_type=4).
zone_id	ID	Optional	Identifies the fare zone for a stop. If this record represents a station or station entrance, the zone_id is ignored.
stop_url	URL	Optional	URL of a web page about the location. This should be different from the agency.agency_url and the routes.route_url field values.
location_type	Enum	Optional	Location type. Valid options are: 0 (or empty) - Stop (or Platform). A location where passengers board or disembark from a transit vehicle. Is called a platform when defined within a parent_station. 1 - Station. A physical structure or area that contains one or more platform. 2 - Entrance/Exit. A location where passengers can enter or exit a station from the street. If an entrance/exit belongs to multiple stations, it may be linked by pathways to both, but the data provider must pick one of them as parent. 3 - Generic Node. A location within a station, not matching any other location_type, that may be used to link together pathways define in pathways.txt. 4 - Boarding Area. A specific location on a platform, where passengers can board and/or alight vehicles.
parent_station	Foreign ID referencing stops.stop_id	Conditionally Required	Defines hierarchy between the different locations defined in stops.txt. It contains the ID of the parent location, as followed: - Stop/platform (location_type=0): the parent_station field contains the ID of a station. - Station (location_type=1): this field must be empty. - Entrance/exit (location_type=2) or generic node (location_type=3): the parent_station field contains the ID of a station (location_type=1) - Boarding Area (location_type=4): the parent_station field contains ID of a platform. Conditionally Required: - Required for locations which are entrances (location_type=2), generic nodes (location_type=3) or boarding areas (location_type=4). - Optional for stops/platforms (location_type=0). - Forbidden for stations (location_type=1).
stop_timezone	Timezone	Optional	Timezone of the location. If the location has a parent station, it inherits the parent station’s timezone instead of applying its own. Stations and parentless stops with empty stop_timezone inherit the timezone specified by agency.agency_timezone. The times provided in stop_times.txt are in the timezone specified by agency.agency_timezone, not stop_timezone. This ensures that the time values in a trip always increase over the course of a trip, regardless of which timezones the trip crosses.
wheelchair_boarding	Enum	Optional	Indicates whether wheelchair boardings are possible from the location. Valid options are: For parentless stops: 0 or empty - No accessibility information for the stop. 1 - Some vehicles at this stop can be boarded by a rider in a wheelchair. 2 - Wheelchair boarding is not possible at this stop. For child stops: 0 or empty - Stop will inherit its wheelchair_boarding behavior from the parent station, if specified in the parent. 1 - There exists some accessible path from outside the station to the specific stop/platform. 2 - There exists no accessible path from outside the station to the specific stop/platform. For station entrances/exits: 0 or empty - Station entrance will inherit its wheelchair_boarding behavior from the parent station, if specified for the parent. 1 - Station entrance is wheelchair accessible. 2 - No accessible path from station entrance to stops/platforms.
level_id	Foreign ID referencing levels.level_id	Optional	Level of the location. The same level may be used by multiple unlinked stations.
platform_code	Text	Optional	Platform identifier for a platform stop (a stop belonging to a station). This should be just the platform identifier (eg. "G" or "3"). Words like “platform” or "track" (or the feed’s language-specific equivalent) should not be included. This allows feed consumers to more easily internationalize and localize the platform identifier into other languages.

routes.txt

File: Required

Primary key (route_id)

Field Name	Type	Presence	Description
route_id	Unique ID	Required	Identifies a route.
agency_id	Foreign ID referencing agency.agency_id	Conditionally Required	Agency for the specified route. Conditionally Required: - Required if multiple agencies are defined in agency.txt. - Recommended otherwise.
route_short_name	Text	Conditionally Required	Short name of a route. Often a short, abstract identifier (e.g., "32", "100X", "Green") that riders use to identify a route. Both route_short_name and route_long_name may be defined. Conditionally Required: - Required if routes.route_long_name is empty. - Recommended if there is a brief service designation. This should be the commonly-known passenger name of the service, and should be no longer than 12 characters.
route_long_name	Text	Conditionally Required	Full name of a route. This name is generally more descriptive than the route_short_name and often includes the route's destination or stop. Both route_short_name and route_long_name may be defined. Conditionally Required: - Required if routes.route_short_name is empty. - Optional otherwise.
route_desc	Text	Optional	Description of a route that provides useful, quality information. Should not be a duplicate of route_short_name or route_long_name. Example: "A" trains operate between Inwood-207 St, Manhattan and Far Rockaway-Mott Avenue, Queens at all times. Also from about 6AM until about midnight, additional "A" trains operate between Inwood-207 St and Lefferts Boulevard (trains typically alternate between Lefferts Blvd and Far Rockaway).
route_type	Enum	Required	Indicates the type of transportation used on a route. Valid options are: 0 - Tram, Streetcar, Light rail. Any light rail or street level system within a metropolitan area. 1 - Subway, Metro. Any underground rail system within a metropolitan area. 2 - Rail. Used for intercity or long-distance travel. 3 - Bus. Used for short- and long-distance bus routes. 4 - Ferry. Used for short- and long-distance boat service. 5 - Cable tram. Used for street-level rail cars where the cable runs beneath the vehicle (e.g., cable car in San Francisco). 6 - Aerial lift, suspended cable car (e.g., gondola lift, aerial tramway). Cable transport where cabins, cars, gondolas or open chairs are suspended by means of one or more cables. 7 - Funicular. Any rail system designed for steep inclines. 11 - Trolleybus. Electric buses that draw power from overhead wires using poles. 12 - Monorail. Railway in which the track consists of a single rail or a beam.
route_url	URL	Optional	URL of a web page about the particular route. Should be different from the agency.agency_url value.
route_color	Color	Optional	Route color designation that matches public facing material. Defaults to white (FFFFFF) when omitted or left empty. The color difference between route_color and route_text_color should provide sufficient contrast when viewed on a black and white screen.
route_text_color	Color	Optional	Legible color to use for text drawn against a background of route_color. Defaults to black (000000) when omitted or left empty. The color difference between route_color and route_text_color should provide sufficient contrast when viewed on a black and white screen.
route_sort_order	Non-negative integer	Optional	Orders the routes in a way which is ideal for presentation to customers. Routes with smaller route_sort_order values should be displayed first.
continuous_pickup	Enum	Conditionally Forbidden	Indicates that the rider can board the transit vehicle at any point along the vehicle’s travel path as described by shapes.txt, on every trip of the route. Valid options are: 0 - Continuous stopping pickup. 1 or empty - No continuous stopping pickup. 2 - Must phone agency to arrange continuous stopping pickup. 3 - Must coordinate with driver to arrange continuous stopping pickup. Values for routes.continuous_pickup may be overridden by defining values in stop_times.continuous_pickup for specific stop_times along the route. Conditionally Forbidden: - Forbidden if stop_times.start_pickup_drop_off_window or stop_times.end_pickup_drop_off_window are defined for any trip of this route. - Optional otherwise.
continuous_drop_off	Enum	Conditionally Forbidden	Indicates that the rider can alight from the transit vehicle at any point along the vehicle’s travel path as described by shapes.txt, on every trip of the route. Valid options are: 0 - Continuous stopping drop off. 1 or empty - No continuous stopping drop off. 2 - Must phone agency to arrange continuous stopping drop off. 3 - Must coordinate with driver to arrange continuous stopping drop off. Values for routes.continuous_drop_off may be overridden by defining values in stop_times.continuous_drop_off for specific stop_times along the route. Conditionally Forbidden: - Forbidden if stop_times.start_pickup_drop_off_window or stop_times.end_pickup_drop_off_window are defined for any trip of this route. - Optional otherwise.
network_id	ID	Conditionally Forbidden	Identifies a group of routes. Multiple rows in routes.txt may have the same network_id. Conditionally Forbidden: - Forbidden if the route_networks.txt file exists. - Optional otherwise.

trips.txt

File: Required

Primary key (trip_id)

Field Name	Type	Presence	Description
route_id	Foreign ID referencing routes.route_id	Required	Identifies a route.
service_id	Foreign ID referencing calendar.service_id or calendar_dates.service_id	Required	Identifies a set of dates when service is available for one or more routes.
trip_id	Unique ID	Required	Identifies a trip.
trip_headsign	Text	Optional	Text that appears on signage identifying the trip's destination to riders. This field is recommended for all services with headsign text displayed on the vehicle which may be used to distinguish amongst trips in a route. If the headsign changes during a trip, values for trip_headsign may be overridden by defining values in stop_times.stop_headsign for specific stop_times along the trip.
trip_short_name	Text	Optional	Public facing text used to identify the trip to riders, for instance, to identify train numbers for commuter rail trips. If riders do not commonly rely on trip names, trip_short_name should be empty. A trip_short_name value, if provided, should uniquely identify a trip within a service day; it should not be used for destination names or limited/express designations.
direction_id	Enum	Optional	Indicates the direction of travel for a trip. This field should not be used in routing; it provides a way to separate trips by direction when publishing time tables. Valid options are: 0 - Travel in one direction (e.g. outbound travel). 1 - Travel in the opposite direction (e.g. inbound travel). Example: The trip_headsign and direction_id fields may be used together to assign a name to travel in each direction for a set of trips. A trips.txt file could contain these records for use in time tables: trip_id,...,trip_headsign,direction_id 1234,...,Airport,0 1505,...,Downtown,1
block_id	ID	Optional	Identifies the block to which the trip belongs. A block consists of a single trip or many sequential trips made using the same vehicle, defined by shared service days and block_id. A block_id may have trips with different service days, making distinct blocks. See the example below. To provide in-seat transfers information, transfers of transfer_type 4 should be provided instead.
shape_id	Foreign ID referencing shapes.shape_id	Conditionally Required	Identifies a geospatial shape describing the vehicle travel path for a trip. Conditionally Required: - Required if the trip has a continuous pickup or drop-off behavior defined either in routes.txt or in stop_times.txt. - Optional otherwise.
wheelchair_accessible	Enum	Optional	Indicates wheelchair accessibility. Valid options are: 0 or empty - No accessibility information for the trip. 1 - Vehicle being used on this particular trip can accommodate at least one rider in a wheelchair. 2 - No riders in wheelchairs can be accommodated on this trip.
bikes_allowed	Enum	Optional	Indicates whether bikes are allowed. Valid options are: 0 or empty - No bike information for the trip. 1 - Vehicle being used on this particular trip can accommodate at least one bicycle. 2 - No bicycles are allowed on this trip.

Example: Blocks and service day

The example below is valid, with distinct blocks every day of the week.

route_id	trip_id	service_id	block_id	(first stop time)	(last stop time)
red	trip_1	mon-tues-wed-thurs-fri-sat-sun	red_loop	22:00:00	22:55:00
red	trip_2	fri-sat-sun	red_loop	23:00:00	23:55:00
red	trip_3	fri-sat	red_loop	24:00:00	24:55:00
red	trip_4	mon-tues-wed-thurs	red_loop	20:00:00	20:50:00
red	trip_5	mon-tues-wed-thurs	red_loop	21:00:00	21:50:00

Notes on above table:

• On Friday into Saturday morning, for example, a single vehicle operates trip_1, trip_2, and trip_3 (10:00 PM through 12:55 AM). Note that the last trip occurs on Saturday, 12:00 AM to 12:55 AM, but is part of the Friday “service day” because the times are 24:00:00 to 24:55:00.
• On Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, a single vehicle operates trip_1, trip_4, and trip_5 in a block from 8:00 PM to 10:55 PM.

stop_times.txt

File: Required

Primary key (trip_id, stop_sequence)

Field Name	Type	Presence	Description
trip_id	Foreign ID referencing trips.trip_id	Required	Identifies a trip.
arrival_time	Time	Conditionally Required	Arrival time at the stop (defined by stop_times.stop_id) for a specific trip (defined by stop_times.trip_id) in the time zone specified by agency.agency_timezone, not stops.stop_timezone. If there are not separate times for arrival and departure at a stop, arrival_time and departure_time should be the same. For times occurring after midnight on the service day, enter the time as a value greater than 24:00:00 in HH:MM:SS. If exact arrival and departure times (timepoint=1) are not available, estimated or interpolated arrival and departure times (timepoint=0) should be provided. Conditionally Required: - Required for the first and last stop in a trip (defined by stop_times.stop_sequence). - Required for timepoint=1. - Forbidden when start_pickup_drop_off_window or end_pickup_drop_off_window are defined. - Optional otherwise.
departure_time	Time	Conditionally Required	Departure time from the stop (defined by stop_times.stop_id) for a specific trip (defined by stop_times.trip_id) in the time zone specified by agency.agency_timezone, not stops.stop_timezone. If there are not separate times for arrival and departure at a stop, arrival_time and departure_time should be the same. For times occurring after midnight on the service day, enter the time as a value greater than 24:00:00 in HH:MM:SS. If exact arrival and departure times (timepoint=1) are not available, estimated or interpolated arrival and departure times (timepoint=0) should be provided. Conditionally Required: - Required for timepoint=1. - Forbidden when start_pickup_drop_off_window or end_pickup_drop_off_window are defined. - Optional otherwise.
stop_id	Foreign ID referencing stops.stop_id	Conditionally Required	Identifies the serviced stop. All stops serviced during a trip must have a record in stop_times.txt. Referenced locations must be stops/platforms, i.e. their stops.location_type value must be 0 or empty. A stop may be serviced multiple times in the same trip, and multiple trips and routes may service the same stop. On-demand service using stops should be referenced in the sequence in which service is available at those stops. A data consumer should assume that travel is possible from one stop or location to any stop or location later in the trip, provided that the pickup/drop_off_type of each stop_time and the time constraints of each start/end_pickup_drop_off_window do not forbid it. Conditionally Required: - Required if stop_times.location_group_id AND stop_times.location_id are NOT defined. - Forbidden if stop_times.location_group_id or stop_times.location_id are defined.
location_group_id	Foreign ID referencing location_groups.location_group_id	Conditionally Forbidden	Identifies the serviced location group that indicates groups of stops where riders may request pickup or drop off. All location groups serviced during a trip must have a record in stop_times.txt. Multiple trips and routes may service the same location group. On-demand service using location groups should be referenced in the sequence in which service is available at those location groups. A data consumer should assume that travel is possible from one stop or location to any stop or location later in the trip, provided that the pickup/drop_off_type of each stop_time and the time constraints of each start/end_pickup_drop_off_window do not forbid it. Conditionally Forbidden: - Forbidden if stop_times.stop_id or stop_times.location_id are defined.
location_id	Foreign ID referencing id from locations.geojson	Conditionally Forbidden	Identifies the GeoJSON location that corresponds to serviced zone where riders may request pickup or drop off. All GeoJSON locations serviced during a trip must have a record in stop_times.txt. Multiple trips and routes may service the same GeoJSON location. On-demand service within locations should be referenced in the sequence in which service is available in those locations. A data consumer should assume that travel is possible from one stop or location to any stop or location later in the trip, provided that the pickup/drop_off_type of each stop_time and the time constraints of each start/end_pickup_drop_off_window do not forbid it. Conditionally Forbidden: - Forbidden if stop_times.stop_id or stop_times.location_group_id are defined.
stop_sequence	Non-negative integer	Required	Order of stops, location groups, or GeoJSON locations for a particular trip. The values must increase along the trip but do not need to be consecutive. Example: The first location on the trip could have a stop_sequence=1, the second location on the trip could have a stop_sequence=23, the third location could have a stop_sequence=40, and so on. Travel within the same location group or GeoJSON location requires two records in stop_times.txt with the same location_group_id or location_id.
stop_headsign	Text	Optional	Text that appears on signage identifying the trip's destination to riders. This field overrides the default trips.trip_headsign when the headsign changes between stops. If the headsign is displayed for an entire trip, trips.trip_headsign should be used instead. A stop_headsign value specified for one stop_time does not apply to subsequent stop_times in the same trip. If you want to override the trip_headsign for multiple stop_times in the same trip, the stop_headsign value must be repeated in each stop_time row.
start_pickup_drop_off_window	Time	Conditionally Required	Time that on-demand service becomes available in a GeoJSON location, location group, or stop. Conditionally Required: - Required if stop_times.location_group_id or stop_times.location_id is defined. - Required if end_pickup_drop_off_window is defined. - Forbidden if arrival_time or departure_time is defined. - Optional otherwise.
end_pickup_drop_off_window	Time	Conditionally Required	Time that on-demand service ends in a GeoJSON location, location group, or stop. Conditionally Required: - Required if stop_times.location_group_id or stop_times.location_id is defined. - Required if start_pickup_drop_off_window is defined. - Forbidden if arrival_time or departure_time is defined. - Optional otherwise.
pickup_type	Enum	Conditionally Forbidden	Indicates pickup method. Valid options are: 0 or empty - Regularly scheduled pickup. 1 - No pickup available. 2 - Must phone agency to arrange pickup. 3 - Must coordinate with driver to arrange pickup. Conditionally Forbidden: - pickup_type=0 forbidden if start_pickup_drop_off_window or end_pickup_drop_off_window are defined. - pickup_type=3 forbidden if start_pickup_drop_off_window or end_pickup_drop_off_window are defined. - Optional otherwise.
drop_off_type	Enum	Conditionally Forbidden	Indicates drop off method. Valid options are: 0 or empty - Regularly scheduled drop off. 1 - No drop off available. 2 - Must phone agency to arrange drop off. 3 - Must coordinate with driver to arrange drop off. Conditionally Forbidden: - drop_off_type=0 forbidden if start_pickup_drop_off_window or end_pickup_drop_off_window are defined. - Optional otherwise.
continuous_pickup	Enum	Conditionally Forbidden	Indicates that the rider can board the transit vehicle at any point along the vehicle’s travel path as described by shapes.txt, from this stop_time to the next stop_time in the trip’s stop_sequence. Valid options are: 0 - Continuous stopping pickup. 1 or empty - No continuous stopping pickup. 2 - Must phone agency to arrange continuous stopping pickup. 3 - Must coordinate with driver to arrange continuous stopping pickup. If this field is populated, it overrides any continuous pickup behavior defined in routes.txt. If this field is empty, the stop_time inherits any continuous pickup behavior defined in routes.txt. Conditionally Forbidden: - Forbidden if start_pickup_drop_off_window or end_pickup_drop_off_window are defined. - Optional otherwise.
continuous_drop_off	Enum	Conditionally Forbidden	Indicates that the rider can alight from the transit vehicle at any point along the vehicle’s travel path as described by shapes.txt, from this stop_time to the next stop_time in the trip’s stop_sequence. Valid options are: 0 - Continuous stopping drop off. 1 or empty - No continuous stopping drop off. 2 - Must phone agency to arrange continuous stopping drop off. 3 - Must coordinate with driver to arrange continuous stopping drop off. If this field is populated, it overrides any continuous drop-off behavior defined in routes.txt. If this field is empty, the stop_time inherits any continuous drop-off behavior defined in routes.txt. Conditionally Forbidden: - Forbidden if start_pickup_drop_off_window or end_pickup_drop_off_window are defined. - Optional otherwise.
shape_dist_traveled	Non-negative float	Optional	Actual distance traveled along the associated shape, from the first stop to the stop specified in this record. This field specifies how much of the shape to draw between any two stops during a trip. Must be in the same units used in shapes.txt. Values used for shape_dist_traveled must increase along with stop_sequence; they must not be used to show reverse travel along a route. Recommended for routes that have looping or inlining (the vehicle crosses or travels over the same portion of alignment in one trip). See shapes.shape_dist_traveled. Example: If a bus travels a distance of 5.25 kilometers from the start of the shape to the stop,shape_dist_traveled=5.25.
timepoint	Enum	Optional	Indicates if arrival and departure times for a stop are strictly adhered to by the vehicle or if they are instead approximate and/or interpolated times. This field allows a GTFS producer to provide interpolated stop-times, while indicating that the times are approximate. Valid options are: 0 - Times are considered approximate. 1 - Times are considered exact. All records of stop_times.txt with defined arrival or departure times should have timepoint values populated. If no timepoint values are provided, all times are considered exact.
pickup_booking_rule_id	Foreign ID referencing booking_rules.booking_rule_id	Optional	Identifies the boarding booking rule at this stop time. Recommended when pickup_type=2.
drop_off_booking_rule_id	Foreign ID referencing booking_rules.booking_rule_id	Optional	Identifies the alighting booking rule at this stop time. Recommended when drop_off_type=2.

On-demand Service Routing Behavior

• When providing routing or travel time between the origin and destination, data consumers should ignore intermediate stop_times.txt records with the same trip_id that have start_pickup_drop_off_window and end_pickup_drop_off_window defined. For examples that demonstrate what should be ignored, see the data example page.
• Simultaneous overlap of locations.geojson id geometry, start/end_pickup_drop_off_window time, and pickup_type or drop_off_type between two or more stop_times.txt records with the same trip_id is forbidden. For examples that demonstrate what is forbidden, see the data example page.

calendar.txt

File: Conditionally Required

Primary key (service_id)

Field Name	Type	Presence	Description
service_id	Unique ID	Required	Identifies a set of dates when service is available for one or more routes.
monday	Enum	Required	Indicates whether the service operates on all Mondays in the date range specified by the start_date and end_date fields. Note that exceptions for particular dates may be listed in calendar_dates.txt. Valid options are: 1 - Service is available for all Mondays in the date range. 0 - Service is not available for Mondays in the date range.
tuesday	Enum	Required	Functions in the same way as monday except applies to Tuesdays
wednesday	Enum	Required	Functions in the same way as monday except applies to Wednesdays
thursday	Enum	Required	Functions in the same way as monday except applies to Thursdays
friday	Enum	Required	Functions in the same way as monday except applies to Fridays
saturday	Enum	Required	Functions in the same way as monday except applies to Saturdays.
sunday	Enum	Required	Functions in the same way as monday except applies to Sundays.
start_date	Date	Required	Start service day for the service interval.
end_date	Date	Required	End service day for the service interval. This service day is included in the interval.

calendar_dates.txt

File: Conditionally Required

Primary key (service_id, date)

The calendar_dates.txt table explicitly activates or disables service by date. It may be used in two ways.

• Recommended: Use calendar_dates.txt in conjunction with calendar.txt to define exceptions to the default service patterns defined in calendar.txt. If service is generally regular, with a few changes on explicit dates (for instance, to accommodate special event services, or a school schedule), this is a good approach. In this case calendar_dates.service_id is a foreign ID referencing calendar.service_id.
• Alternate: Omit calendar.txt, and specify each date of service in calendar_dates.txt. This allows for considerable service variation and accommodates service without normal weekly schedules. In this case service_id is an ID.

Field Name	Type	Presence	Description
service_id	Foreign ID referencing calendar.service_id or ID	Required	Identifies a set of dates when a service exception occurs for one or more routes. Each (service_id, date) pair may only appear once in calendar_dates.txt if using calendar.txt and calendar_dates.txt in conjunction. If a service_id value appears in both calendar.txt and calendar_dates.txt, the information in calendar_dates.txt modifies the service information specified in calendar.txt.
date	Date	Required	Date when service exception occurs.
exception_type	Enum	Required	Indicates whether service is available on the date specified in the date field. Valid options are: 1 - Service has been added for the specified date. 2 - Service has been removed for the specified date. Example: Suppose a route has one set of trips available on holidays and another set of trips available on all other days. One service_id could correspond to the regular service schedule and another service_id could correspond to the holiday schedule. For a particular holiday, the calendar_dates.txt file could be used to add the holiday to the holiday service_id and to remove the holiday from the regular service_id schedule.

fare_attributes.txt

File: Optional

Primary key (fare_id)

Versions
There are two modelling options for describing fares. GTFS-Fares V1 is the legacy option for describing minimal fare information. GTFS-Fares V2 is an updated method that allows for a more detailed account of an agency's fare structure. Both are allowed to be present in a dataset, but only one method should be used by a data consumer for a given dataset. It is recommended that GTFS-Fares V2 takes precedence over GTFS-Fares V1.

The files associated with GTFS-Fares V1 are:
- fare_attributes.txt
- fare_rules.txt

The files associated with GTFS-Fares V2 are:
- fare_media.txt
- fare_products.txt
- fare_leg_rules.txt
- fare_transfer_rules.txt

Field Name	Type	Presence	Description
fare_id	Unique ID	Required	Identifies a fare class.
price	Non-negative float	Required	Fare price, in the unit specified by currency_type.
currency_type	Currency code	Required	Currency used to pay the fare.
payment_method	Enum	Required	Indicates when the fare must be paid. Valid options are: 0 - Fare is paid on board. 1 - Fare must be paid before boarding.
transfers	Enum	Required	Indicates the number of transfers permitted on this fare. Valid options are: 0 - No transfers permitted on this fare. 1 - Riders may transfer once. 2 - Riders may transfer twice. empty - Unlimited transfers are permitted.
agency_id	Foreign ID referencing agency.agency_id	Conditionally Required	Identifies the relevant agency for a fare. Conditionally Required: - Required if multiple agencies are defined in agency.txt. - Recommended otherwise.
transfer_duration	Non-negative integer	Optional	Length of time in seconds before a transfer expires. When transfers=0 this field may be used to indicate how long a ticket is valid for or it may be left empty.

fare_rules.txt

File: Optional

Primary key (*)

The fare_rules.txt table specifies how fares in fare_attributes.txt apply to an itinerary. Most fare structures use some combination of the following rules:

• Fare depends on origin or destination stations.
• Fare depends on which zones the itinerary passes through.
• Fare depends on which route the itinerary uses.

For examples that demonstrate how to specify a fare structure with fare_rules.txt and fare_attributes.txt, see FareExamples in the GoogleTransitDataFeed open source project wiki.

Field Name	Type	Presence	Description
fare_id	Foreign ID referencing fare_attributes.fare_id	Required	Identifies a fare class.
route_id	Foreign ID referencing routes.route_id	Optional	Identifies a route associated with the fare class. If several routes with the same fare attributes exist, create a record in fare_rules.txt for each route. Example: If fare class "b" is valid on route "TSW" and "TSE", the fare_rules.txt file would contain these records for the fare class: fare_id,route_id b,TSW b,TSE
origin_id	Foreign ID referencing stops.zone_id	Optional	Identifies an origin zone. If a fare class has multiple origin zones, create a record in fare_rules.txt for each origin_id. Example: If fare class "b" is valid for all travel originating from either zone "2" or zone "8", the fare_rules.txt file would contain these records for the fare class: fare_id,...,origin_id b,...,2 b,...,8
destination_id	Foreign ID referencing stops.zone_id	Optional	Identifies a destination zone. If a fare class has multiple destination zones, create a record in fare_rules.txt for each destination_id. Example: The origin_id and destination_id fields could be used together to specify that fare class "b" is valid for travel between zones 3 and 4, and for travel between zones 3 and 5, the fare_rules.txt file would contain these records for the fare class: fare_id,...,origin_id,destination_id b,...,3,4 b,...,3,5
contains_id	Foreign ID referencing stops.zone_id	Optional	Identifies the zones that a rider will enter while using a given fare class. Used in some systems to calculate correct fare class. Example: If fare class "c" is associated with all travel on the GRT route that passes through zones 5, 6, and 7 the fare_rules.txt would contain these records: fare_id,route_id,...,contains_id c,GRT,...,5 c,GRT,...,6 c,GRT,...,7 Because all contains_id zones must be matched for the fare to apply, an itinerary that passes through zones 5 and 6 but not zone 7 would not have fare class "c". For more detail, see https://code.google.com/p/googletransitdatafeed/wiki/FareExamples in the GoogleTransitDataFeed project wiki.

timeframes.txt

File: Optional

Primary key (*)

Used to describe fares that can vary based on the time of day, the day of the week, or a particular day in the year. Timeframes can be associated with fare products in fare_leg_rules.txt.
There must not be overlapping time intervals for the same timeframe_group_id and service_id values.

Field Name	Type	Presence	Description
timeframe_group_id	ID	Required	Identifies a timeframe or set of timeframes.
start_time	Time	Conditionally Required	Defines the beginning of a timeframe. The interval includes the start time. Values greater than 24:00:00 are forbidden. An empty value in start_time is considered 00:00:00. Conditionally Required: - Required if timeframes.end_time is defined. - Forbidden otherwise
end_time	Time	Conditionally Required	Defines the end of a timeframe. The interval does not include the end time. Values greater than 24:00:00 are forbidden. An empty value in end_time is considered 24:00:00. Conditionally Required: - Required if timeframes.start_time is defined. - Forbidden otherwise
service_id	Foreign ID referencing calendar.service_id or calendar_dates.service_id	Required	Identifies a set of dates that a timeframe is in effect.

Timeframe Local Time Semantics

• When evaluating a fare event’s time against timeframes.txt, the event time is computed in local time using the local timezone, as determined by the stop_timezone, if specified, of the stop or parent station for the fare event. If not specified, the feed’s agency timezone should be used instead.
• The “current day” is the current date of the fare event’s time, computed relative to the local timezone. The “current day” may be different from the service day of a fare leg’s trip, especially for trips that extend past midnight.
• The “time-of-day” for the fare event is computed relative to “current day” using GTFS Time field-type semantics.

fare_media.txt

File: Optional

Primary key (fare_media_id)

To describe the different fare media that can be employed to use fare products. Fare media are physical or virtual holders used for the representation and/or validation of a fare product.

Field Name	Type	Presence	Description
fare_media_id	Unique ID	Required	Identifies a fare media.
fare_media_name	Text	Optional	Name of the fare media. For fare media which are transit cards (fare_media_type =2) or mobile apps (fare_media_type =4), the fare_media_name should be included and should match the rider-facing name used by the organizations delivering them.
fare_media_type	Enum	Required	The type of fare media. Valid options are: 0 - None. Used when there is no fare media involved in purchasing or validating a fare product, such as paying cash to a driver or conductor with no physical ticket provided. 1 - Physical paper ticket that allows a passenger to take either a certain number of pre-purchased trips or unlimited trips within a fixed period of time. 2 - Physical transit card that has stored tickets, passes or monetary value. 3 - cEMV (contactless Europay, Mastercard and Visa) as an open-loop token container for account-based ticketing. 4 - Mobile app that have stored virtual transit cards, tickets, passes, or monetary value.

fare_products.txt

File: Optional

Primary key (fare_product_id, fare_media_id)

Used to describe the range of fares available for purchase by riders or taken into account when computing the total fare for journeys with multiple legs, such as transfer costs.

Field Name	Type	Presence	Description
fare_product_id	ID	Required	Identifies a fare product or set of fare products. Multiple records in fare_products.txt may share the same fare_product_id, in which case all records with that ID will be retrieved when referenced from another file. Multiple records may share the same fare_product_id but with different fare_media_ids, indicating various methods available for employing the fare product, potentially at different prices.
fare_product_name	Text	Optional	The name of the fare product as displayed to riders.
fare_media_id	Foreign ID referencing fare_media.fare_media_id	Optional	Identifies a fare media that can be employed to use the fare product during the trip. When fare_media_id is empty, it is considered that the fare media is unknown.
amount	Currency amount	Required	The cost of the fare product. May be negative to represent transfer discounts. May be zero to represent a fare product that is free.
currency	Currency code	Required	The currency of the cost of the fare product.

fare_leg_rules.txt

File: Optional

Primary key (network_id, from_area_id, to_area_id, from_timeframe_group_id, to_timeframe_group_id, fare_product_id)

Fare rules for individual legs of travel.

Fares in fare_leg_rules.txt must be queried by filtering all the records in the file to find rules that match the leg to be traveled by the rider.

To process the cost of a leg:

1. The file fare_leg_rules.txt must be filtered by the fields that define the characteristics of travel, these fields are:

   • fare_leg_rules.network_id
   • fare_leg_rules.from_area_id
   • fare_leg_rules.to_area_id
   • fare_leg_rules.from_timeframe_group_id
   • fare_leg_rules.to_timeframe_group_id
     

2. If the leg exactly matches a record in fare_leg_rules.txt based on the characteristics of travel, that record must be processed to determine the cost of the leg. This file handles empty entries in two ways: empty semantics OR rule_priority.
   

3. If no exact matches are found AND the rule_priority field does not exist, then empty entries in fare_leg_rules.network_id, fare_leg_rules.from_area_id, and fare_leg_rules.to_area_id must be checked to process the cost of the leg:

   • An empty entry in fare_leg_rules.network_id corresponds to all networks defined in routes.txt or networks.txt excluding the ones listed under fare_leg_rules.network_id

   • An empty entry in fare_leg_rules.from_area_id corresponds to all areas defined in areas.area_id excluding the ones listed under fare_leg_rules.from_area_id

   • An empty entry in fare_leg_rules.to_area_id corresponds to all areas defined in areas.area_id excluding the ones listed under fare_leg_rules.to_area_id
     

4. If the rule_priority field exists, then

   • An empty entry in fare_leg_rules.network_id indicates the network of the leg does not affect the matching of this rule.
   • An empty entry in fare_leg_rules.from_area_id indicates the departure area of the leg does not affect the matching of this rule.
   • An empty entry in fare_leg_rules.to_area_id indicates the arrival area of the leg does not affect the matching of this rule.
     

5. If the leg does not match any of the rules described above, then the fare is unknown.

Field Name	Type	Presence	Description
leg_group_id	ID	Optional	Identifies a group of entries in fare_leg_rules.txt. Used to describe fare transfer rules between fare_transfer_rules.from_leg_group_id and fare_transfer_rules.to_leg_group_id. Multiple entries in fare_leg_rules.txt may belong to the same fare_leg_rules.leg_group_id. The same entry in fare_leg_rules.txt (not including fare_leg_rules.leg_group_id) must not belong to multiple fare_leg_rules.leg_group_id.
network_id	Foreign ID referencing routes.network_id or networks.network_id	Optional	Identifies a route network that applies for the fare leg rule. If the rule_priority field does not exist AND there are no matching fare_leg_rules.network_id values to the network_id being filtered, empty fare_leg_rules.network_id will be matched by default. An empty entry in fare_leg_rules.network_id corresponds to all networks defined in routes.txt or networks.txt excluding the ones listed under fare_leg_rules.network_id If the rule_priority field exists in the file, an empty fare_leg_rules.network_id indicates that the route network of the leg does not affect the matching of this rule.
from_area_id	Foreign ID referencing areas.area_id	Optional	Identifies a departure area. If the rule_priority field does not exist AND there are no matching fare_leg_rules.from_area_id values to the area_id being filtered, empty fare_leg_rules.from_area_id will be matched by default. An empty entry in fare_leg_rules.from_area_id corresponds to all areas defined in areas.area_id excluding the ones listed under fare_leg_rules.from_area_id If the rule_priority field exists in the file, an empty fare_leg_rules.from_area_id indicates that the departure area of the leg does not affect the matching of this rule.
to_area_id	Foreign ID referencing areas.area_id	Optional	Identifies an arrival area. If the rule_priority field does not exist AND there are no matching fare_leg_rules.to_area_id values to the area_id being filtered, empty fare_leg_rules.to_area_id will be matched by default. An empty entry in fare_leg_rules.to_area_id corresponds to all areas defined in areas.area_id excluding the ones listed under fare_leg_rules.to_area_id If the rule_priority field exists in the file, an empty fare_leg_rules.to_area_id indicates that the arrival area of the leg does not affect the matching of this rule.
from_timeframe_group_id	Foreign ID referencing timeframes.timeframe_group_id	Optional	Defines the timeframe for the fare validation event at the start of the fare leg. The “start time” of the fare leg is the time at which the event is scheduled to occur. For example, the time could be the scheduled departure time of a bus at the start of a fare leg where the rider boards and validates their fare. For the rule matching semantics below, the start time is computed in local time, as determined by Local Time Semantics of timeframes.txt. The stop or station of the fare leg’s departure event should be used for timezone resolution, where appropriate. For a fare leg rule that specifies a from_timeframe_group_id, that rule will match a particular leg if there exists at least one record in timeframes.txt where all of the following conditions are true - The value of timeframe_group_id is equal to the from_timeframe_group_id value. - The set of days identified by the record’s service_id contains the “current day” of the fare leg’s start time. - The “time-of-day” of the fare leg's start time is greater than or equal to the record’s timeframes.start_time value and less than the timeframes.end_time value. An empty fare_leg_rules.from_timeframe_group_id indicates that the start time of the leg does not affect the matching of this rule.
to_timeframe_group_id	Foreign ID referencing timeframes.timeframe_group_id	Optional	Defines the timeframe for the fare validation event at the end of the fare leg. The “end time” of the fare leg is the time at which the event is scheduled to occur. For example, the time could be the scheduled arrival time of a bus at the end of a fare leg where the rider gets off and validates their fare. For the rule matching semantics below, the end time is computed in local time, as determined by Local Time Semantics of timeframes.txt. The stop or station of the fare leg’s arrival event should be used for timezone resolution, where appropriate. For a fare leg rule that specifies a to_timeframe_group_id, that rule will match a particular leg if there exists at least one record in timeframes.txt where all of the following conditions are true - The value of timeframe_group_id is equal to the to_timeframe_group_id value. - The set of days identified by the record’s service_id contains the “current day” of the fare leg’s end time. - The “time-of-day” of the fare leg's end time is greater than or equal to the record’s timeframes.start_time value and less than the timeframes.end_time value. An empty fare_leg_rules.to_timeframe_group_id indicates that the end time of the leg does not affect the matching of this rule.
fare_product_id	Foreign ID referencing fare_products.fare_product_id	Required	The fare product required to travel the leg.
rule_priority	Non-negative integer	Optional	Defines the order of priority in which matching rules are applied to legs, allowing certain rules to take precedence over others. When multiple entries in fare_leg_rules.txt match, the rule or set of rules with the highest value for rule_priority will be selected. An empty value for rule_priority is treated as zero.

fare_transfer_rules.txt

File: Optional

Primary key (from_leg_group_id, to_leg_group_id, fare_product_id, transfer_count, duration_limit)

Fare rules for transfers between legs of travel defined in fare_leg_rules.txt.

To process the cost of a multi-leg journey:

1. The applicable fare leg groups defined in fare_leg_rules.txt should be determined for all individual legs of travel based on the rider’s journey.

2. The file fare_transfer_rules.txt must be filtered by the fields that define the characteristics of the transfer, these fields are:

   • fare_transfer_rules.from_leg_group_id
   • fare_transfer_rules.to_leg_group_id
     
     

3. If the transfer exactly matches a record in fare_transfer_rules.txt based on the characteristics of the transfer, then that record must be processed to determine the transfer cost.

4. If no exact matches are found, then empty entries in from_leg_group_id or in to_leg_group_id must be checked to process the transfer cost:
   • An empty entry in fare_transfer_rules.from_leg_group_id corresponds to all leg groups defined under fare_leg_rules.leg_group_id excluding the ones listed under fare_transfer_rules.from_leg_group_id
   • An empty entry in fare_transfer_rules.to_leg_group_id corresponds to all leg groups defined under fare_leg_rules.leg_group_id excluding the ones listed under fare_transfer_rules.to_leg_group_id
     
     
5. If the transfer does not match any of the rules described above, then there is no transfer arrangement and the legs are considered separate.

Field Name	Type	Presence	Description
from_leg_group_id	Foreign ID referencing fare_leg_rules.leg_group_id	Optional	Identifies a group of pre-transfer fare leg rules. If there are no matching fare_transfer_rules.from_leg_group_id values to the leg_group_id being filtered, empty fare_transfer_rules.from_leg_group_id will be matched by default. An empty entry in fare_transfer_rules.from_leg_group_id corresponds to all leg groups defined under fare_leg_rules.leg_group_id excluding the ones listed under fare_transfer_rules.from_leg_group_id
to_leg_group_id	Foreign ID referencing fare_leg_rules.leg_group_id	Optional	Identifies a group of post-transfer fare leg rules. If there are no matching fare_transfer_rules.to_leg_group_id values to the leg_group_id being filtered, empty fare_transfer_rules.to_leg_group_id will be matched by default. An empty entry in fare_transfer_rules.to_leg_group_id corresponds to all leg groups defined under fare_leg_rules.leg_group_id excluding the ones listed under fare_transfer_rules.to_leg_group_id
transfer_count	Non-zero integer	Conditionally Forbidden	Defines how many consecutive transfers the transfer rule may be applied to. Valid options are: -1 - No limit. 1 or more - Defines how many transfers the transfer rule may span. If a sub-journey matches multiple records with different transfer_counts, then the rule with the minimum transfer_count that is greater than or equal to the current transfer count of the sub-journey is to be selected. Conditionally Forbidden: - Forbidden if fare_transfer_rules.from_leg_group_id does not equal fare_transfer_rules.to_leg_group_id. - Required if fare_transfer_rules.from_leg_group_id equals fare_transfer_rules.to_leg_group_id.
duration_limit	Positive integer	Optional	Defines the duration limit of the transfer. Must be expressed in integer increments of seconds. If there is no duration limit, fare_transfer_rules.duration_limit must be empty.
duration_limit_type	Enum	Conditionally Required	Defines the relative start and end of fare_transfer_rules.duration_limit. Valid options are: 0 - Between the departure fare validation of the current leg and the arrival fare validation of the next leg. 1 - Between the departure fare validation of the current leg and the departure fare validation of the next leg. 2 - Between the arrival fare validation of the current leg and the departure fare validation of the next leg. 3 - Between the arrival fare validation of the current leg and the arrival fare validation of the next leg. Conditionally Required: - Required if fare_transfer_rules.duration_limit is defined. - Forbidden if fare_transfer_rules.duration_limit is empty.
fare_transfer_type	Enum	Required	Indicates the cost processing method of transferring between legs in a journey: Valid options are: 0 - From-leg fare_leg_rules.fare_product_id plus fare_transfer_rules.fare_product_id; A + AB. 1 - From-leg fare_leg_rules.fare_product_id plus fare_transfer_rules.fare_product_id plus to-leg fare_leg_rules.fare_product_id; A + AB + B. 2 - fare_transfer_rules.fare_product_id; AB. Cost processing interactions between multiple transfers in a journey: fare_transfer_type Processing A > B Processing B > C 0 A + AB S + BC 1 A + AB +B S + BC + C 2 AB S + BC Where S indicates the total processed cost of the preceding leg(s) and transfer(s).
fare_product_id	Foreign ID referencing fare_products.fare_product_id	Optional	The fare product required to transfer between two fare legs. If empty, the cost of the transfer rule is 0.

areas.txt

File: Optional

Primary key (area_id)

Defines area identifiers.

Field Name	Type	Presence	Description
area_id	Unique ID	Required	Identifies an area. Must be unique in areas.txt.
area_name	Text	Optional	The name of the area as displayed to the rider.

stop_areas.txt

File: Optional

Primary key (*)

Assigns stops from stops.txt to areas.

Field Name	Type	Presence	Description
area_id	Foreign ID referencing areas.area_id	Required	Identifies an area to which one or multiple stop_ids belong. The same stop_id may be defined in many area_ids.
stop_id	Foreign ID referencing stops.stop_id	Required	Identifies a stop. If a station (i.e. a stop with stops.location_type=1) is defined in this field, it is assumed that all of its platforms (i.e. all stops with stops.location_type=0 that have this station defined as stops.parent_station) are part of the same area. This behavior can be overridden by assigning platforms to other areas.

networks.txt

File: Conditionally Forbidden

Primary key (network_id)

Defines network identifiers that apply for fare leg rules.

Field Name	Type	Presence	Description
network_id	Unique ID	Required	Identifies a network. Must be unique in networks.txt.
network_name	Text	Optional	The name of the network that apply for fare leg rules, as used by the local agency and its riders.

route_networks.txt

File: Conditionally Forbidden

Primary key (route_id)

Assigns routes from routes.txt to networks.

Field Name	Type	Presence	Description
network_id	Foreign ID referencing networks.network_id	Required	Identifies a network to which one or multiple route_ids belong. A route_id can only be defined in one network_id.
route_id	Foreign ID referencing routes.route_id	Required	Identifies a route.

shapes.txt

File: Optional

Primary key (shape_id, shape_pt_sequence)

Shapes describe the path that a vehicle travels along a route alignment, and are defined in the file shapes.txt. Shapes are associated with Trips, and consist of a sequence of points through which the vehicle passes in order. Shapes do not need to intercept the location of Stops exactly, but all Stops on a trip should lie within a small distance of the shape for that trip, i.e. close to straight line segments connecting the shape points. The shapes.txt file should be included for all route-based services (not for zone-based demand-responsive services).

Field Name	Type	Presence	Description
shape_id	ID	Required	Identifies a shape.
shape_pt_lat	Latitude	Required	Latitude of a shape point. Each record in shapes.txt represents a shape point used to define the shape.
shape_pt_lon	Longitude	Required	Longitude of a shape point.
shape_pt_sequence	Non-negative integer	Required	Sequence in which the shape points connect to form the shape. Values must increase along the trip but do not need to be consecutive. Example: If the shape "A_shp" has three points in its definition, the shapes.txt file might contain these records to define the shape: shape_id,shape_pt_lat,shape_pt_lon,shape_pt_sequence A_shp,37.61956,-122.48161,0 A_shp,37.64430,-122.41070,6 A_shp,37.65863,-122.30839,11
shape_dist_traveled	Non-negative float	Optional	Actual distance traveled along the shape from the first shape point to the point specified in this record. Used by trip planners to show the correct portion of the shape on a map. Values must increase along with shape_pt_sequence; they must not be used to show reverse travel along a route. Distance units must be consistent with those used in stop_times.txt. Recommended for routes that have looping or inlining (the vehicle crosses or travels over the same portion of alignment in one trip). If a vehicle retraces or crosses the route alignment at points in the course of a trip, shape_dist_traveled is important to clarify how portions of the points in shapes.txt line up correspond with records in stop_times.txt. Example: If a bus travels along the three points defined above for A_shp, the additional shape_dist_traveled values (shown here in kilometers) would look like this: shape_id,shape_pt_lat,shape_pt_lon,shape_pt_sequence,shape_dist_traveled A_shp,37.61956,-122.48161,0,0 A_shp,37.64430,-122.41070,6,6.8310 A_shp,37.65863,-122.30839,11,15.8765

frequencies.txt

File: Optional

Primary key (trip_id, start_time)

Frequencies.txt represents trips that operate on regular headways (time between trips). This file may be used to represent two different types of service.

• Frequency-based service (exact_times=0) in which service does not follow a fixed schedule throughout the day. Instead, operators attempt to strictly maintain predetermined headways for trips.
• A compressed representation of schedule-based service (exact_times=1) that has the exact same headway for trips over specified time period(s). In schedule-based service operators try to strictly adhere to a schedule.

Field Name	Type	Presence	Description
trip_id	Foreign ID referencing trips.trip_id	Required	Identifies a trip to which the specified headway of service applies.
start_time	Time	Required	Time at which the first vehicle departs from the first stop of the trip with the specified headway.
end_time	Time	Required	Time at which service changes to a different headway (or ceases) at the first stop in the trip.
headway_secs	Positive integer	Required	Time, in seconds, between departures from the same stop (headway) for the trip, during the time interval specified by start_time and end_time. Multiple headways may be defined for the same trip, but must not overlap. New headways may start at the exact time the previous headway ends.
exact_times	Enum	Optional	Indicates the type of service for a trip. See the file description for more information. Valid options are: 0 or empty - Frequency-based trips. 1 - Schedule-based trips with the exact same headway throughout the day. In this case the end_time value must be greater than the last desired trip start_time but less than the last desired trip start_time + headway_secs.

transfers.txt

File: Optional

Primary key (from_stop_id, to_stop_id, from_trip_id, to_trip_id, from_route_id, to_route_id)

When calculating an itinerary, GTFS-consuming applications interpolate transfers based on allowable time and stop proximity. Transfers.txt specifies additional rules and overrides for selected transfers.

Fields from_trip_id, to_trip_id, from_route_id and to_route_id allow higher orders of specificity for transfer rules. Along with from_stop_id and to_stop_id, the ranking of specificity is as follows:

1. Both trip_ids defined: from_trip_id and to_trip_id.
2. One trip_id and route_id set defined: (from_trip_id and to_route_id) or (from_route_id and to_trip_id).
3. One trip_id defined: from_trip_id or to_trip_id.
4. Both route_ids defined: from_route_id and to_route_id.
5. One route_id defined: from_route_id or to_route_id.
6. Only from_stop_id and to_stop_id defined: no route or trip related fields set.

For a given ordered pair of arriving trip and departing trip, the transfer with the greatest specificity that applies between these two trips is chosen. For any pair of trips, there should not be two transfers with equally maximal specificity that could apply.

Field Name	Type	Presence	Description
from_stop_id	Foreign ID referencing stops.stop_id	Conditionally Required	Identifies a stop (location_type=0) or a station (location_type=1) where a connection between routes begins. If this field refers to a station, the transfer rule applies to all its child stops. It must refer to a stop (location_type=0) if transfer_type is 4 or 5. Conditionally Required: - Required if transfer_type is 1, 2, or 3. - Optional if transfer_type is 4 or 5.
to_stop_id	Foreign ID referencing stops.stop_id	Conditionally Required	Identifies a stop (location_type=0) or a station (location_type=1) where a connection between routes ends. If this field refers to a station, the transfer rule applies to all child stops. It must refer to a stop (location_type=0) if transfer_type is 4 or 5. Conditionally Required: - Required if transfer_type is 1, 2, or 3. - Optional if transfer_type is 4 or 5.
from_route_id	Foreign ID referencing routes.route_id	Optional	Identifies a route where a connection begins. If from_route_id is defined, the transfer will apply to the arriving trip on the route for the given from_stop_id. If both from_trip_id and from_route_id are defined, the trip_id must belong to the route_id, and from_trip_id will take precedence.
to_route_id	Foreign ID referencing routes.route_id	Optional	Identifies a route where a connection ends. If to_route_id is defined, the transfer will apply to the departing trip on the route for the given to_stop_id. If both to_trip_id and to_route_id are defined, the trip_id must belong to the route_id, and to_trip_id will take precedence.
from_trip_id	Foreign ID referencing trips.trip_id	Conditionally Required	Identifies a trip where a connection between routes begins. If from_trip_id is defined, the transfer will apply to the arriving trip for the given from_stop_id. If both from_trip_id and from_route_id are defined, the trip_id must belong to the route_id, and from_trip_id will take precedence. Conditionally Required: - Required if transfer_type is 4 or 5. - Optional otherwise.
to_trip_id	Foreign ID referencing trips.trip_id	Conditionally Required	Identifies a trip where a connection between routes ends. If to_trip_id is defined, the transfer will apply to the departing trip for the given to_stop_id. If both to_trip_id and to_route_id are defined, the trip_id must belong to the route_id, and to_trip_id will take precedence. Conditionally Required: - Required if transfer_type is 4 or 5. - Optional otherwise.
transfer_type	Enum	Required	Indicates the type of connection for the specified (from_stop_id, to_stop_id) pair. Valid options are: 0 or empty - Recommended transfer point between routes. 1 - Timed transfer point between two routes. The departing vehicle is expected to wait for the arriving one and leave sufficient time for a rider to transfer between routes. 2 - Transfer requires a minimum amount of time between arrival and departure to ensure a connection. The time required to transfer is specified by min_transfer_time. 3 - Transfers are not possible between routes at the location. 4 - Passengers can transfer from one trip to another by staying onboard the same vehicle (an "in-seat transfer"). More details about this type of transfer below. 5 - In-seat transfers are not allowed between sequential trips. The passenger must alight from the vehicle and re-board. More details about this type of transfer below.
min_transfer_time	Non-negative integer	Optional	Amount of time, in seconds, that must be available to permit a transfer between routes at the specified stops. The min_transfer_time should be sufficient to permit a typical rider to move between the two stops, including buffer time to allow for schedule variance on each route.

Linked trips

The following applies to transfer_type=4 and =5, which are used to link trips together, with or without in-seats transfers.

The trips linked together MUST be operated by the same vehicle. The vehicle MAY be coupled to, or uncoupled from, other vehicles.

If both a linked trips transfer and a block_id are provided and they produce conflicting results, then the linked trips transfer shall be used.

The last stop of from_trip_id SHOULD be geographically close to the first stop of to_trip_id, and the last arrival time of from_trip_id SHOULD be prior but close to the first departure time of to_trip_id. The last arrival time of from_trip_id MAY be later than the first departure time of to_trip_id in case the to_trip_id trip is occurring the subsequent service day.

Trips MAY be linked 1-to-1 in the regular case, but MAY also be linked 1-to-n, n-to-1, or n-to-n to represent more complex trip continuations. For example, two train trips (trip A and trip B in the diagram below) can merge into a single train trip (trip C) after a vehicle coupling operation at a common station:

• In a 1-to-n continuation, the trips.service_id for each to_trip_id MUST be identical.
• In an n-to-1 continuation, the trips.service_id for each from_trip_id MUST be identical.
• n-to-n continuations must respect both constraints.
• Trips may be linked together as part of multiple distinct continuations, provided that the trip.service_id MUST NOT overlap on any day of service.

Trip A
───────────────────\
                    \    Trip C
                     ─────────────
Trip B              /
───────────────────/

pathways.txt

File: Optional

Primary key (pathway_id)

Files pathways.txt and levels.txt use a graph representation to describe subway or train stations, with nodes representing locations and edges representing pathways.

To navigate from the station entrance/exit (a node represented as a location with location_type=2) to a platform (a node represented as a location with location_type=0 or empty), the rider will move through walkways, fare gates, stairs, and other edges represented as pathways. Generic nodes (nodes represented with location_type=3) can be used to connect pathways throughout a station.

Pathways must be defined exhaustively in a station. If any pathways are defined, it is assumed that all pathways throughout the station are represented. Therefore, the following guidelines apply:

• No dangling locations: If any location within a station has a pathway, then all locations within that station should have pathways, except for platforms that have boarding areas (location_type=4, see guideline below).
• No pathways for a platform with boarding areas: A platform (location_type=0 or empty) that has boarding areas (location_type=4) is treated as a parent object, not a point. In such cases, the platform must not have pathways assigned. All pathways should be assigned for each of the platform's boarding areas.
• No locked platforms: Each platform (location_type=0 or empty) or boarding area (location_type=4) must be connected to at least one entrance/exit (location_type=2) via some chain of pathways. Stations not allowing a pathway to the outside of the station from a given platform are rare.

Field Name	Type	Presence	Description
pathway_id	Unique ID	Required	Identifies a pathway. Used by systems as an internal identifier for the record. Must be unique in the dataset. Different pathways may have the same values for from_stop_id and to_stop_id. Example: When two escalators are side-by-side in opposite directions, or when a stair set and elevator go from the same place to the same place, different pathway_id may have the same from_stop_id and to_stop_id values.
from_stop_id	Foreign ID referencing stops.stop_id	Required	Location at which the pathway begins. Must contain a stop_id that identifies a platform (location_type=0 or empty), entrance/exit (location_type=2), generic node (location_type=3) or boarding area (location_type=4). Values for stop_id that identify stations (location_type=1) are forbidden.
to_stop_id	Foreign ID referencing stops.stop_id	Required	Location at which the pathway ends. Must contain a stop_id that identifies a platform (location_type=0 or empty), entrance/exit (location_type=2), generic node (location_type=3) or boarding area (location_type=4). Values for stop_id that identify stations (location_type=1) are forbidden.
pathway_mode	Enum	Required	Type of pathway between the specified (from_stop_id, to_stop_id) pair. Valid options are: 1 - Walkway. 2 - Stairs. 3 - Moving sidewalk/travelator. 4 - Escalator. 5 - Elevator. 6 - Fare gate (or payment gate): A pathway that crosses into an area of the station where proof of payment is required to cross. Fare gates may separate paid areas of the station from unpaid ones, or separate different payment areas within the same station from each other. This information can be used to avoid routing passengers through stations using shortcuts that would require passengers to make unnecessary payments, like directing a passenger to walk through a subway platform to reach a busway. 7- Exit gate: A pathway exiting a paid area into an unpaid area where proof of payment is not required to cross.
is_bidirectional	Enum	Required	Indicates the direction that the pathway can be taken: 0 - Unidirectional pathway that can only be used from from_stop_id to to_stop_id. 1 - Bidirectional pathway that can be used in both directions. Exit gates (pathway_mode=7) must not be bidirectional.
length	Non-negative float	Optional	Horizontal length in meters of the pathway from the origin location (defined in from_stop_id) to the destination location (defined in to_stop_id). This field is recommended for walkways (pathway_mode=1), fare gates (pathway_mode=6) and exit gates (pathway_mode=7).
traversal_time	Positive integer	Optional	Average time in seconds needed to walk through the pathway from the origin location (defined in from_stop_id) to the destination location (defined in to_stop_id). This field is recommended for moving sidewalks (pathway_mode=3), escalators (pathway_mode=4) and elevator (pathway_mode=5).
stair_count	Non-null integer	Optional	Number of stairs of the pathway. A positive stair_count implies that the rider walk up from from_stop_id to to_stop_id. And a negative stair_count implies that the rider walk down from from_stop_id to to_stop_id. This field is recommended for stairs (pathway_mode=2). If only an estimated stair count can be provided, it is recommended to approximate 15 stairs for 1 floor.
max_slope	Float	Optional	Maximum slope ratio of the pathway. Valid options are: 0 or empty - No slope. Float - Slope ratio of the pathway, positive for upwards, negative for downwards. This field should only be used with walkways (pathway_mode=1) and moving sidewalks (pathway_mode=3). Example: In the US, 0.083 (also written 8.3%) is the maximum slope ratio for hand-propelled wheelchair, which mean an increase of 0.083m (so 8.3cm) for each 1m.
min_width	Positive float	Optional	Minimum width of the pathway in meters. This field is recommended if the minimum width is less than 1 meter.
signposted_as	Text	Optional	Public facing text from physical signage that is visible to riders. May be used to provide text directions to riders, such as 'follow signs to '. The text in singposted_as should appear exactly how it is printed on the signs. When the physical signage is multilingual, this field may be populated and translated following the example of stops.stop_name in the field definition of feed_info.feed_lang.
reversed_signposted_as	Text	Optional	Same as signposted_as, but when the pathway is used from the to_stop_id to the from_stop_id.

levels.txt

File: Conditionally Required

Primary key (level_id)

Describes levels in a station. Useful in conjunction with pathways.txt.

Field Name	Type	Presence	Description
level_id	Unique ID	Required	Identifies a level in a station.
level_index	Float	Required	Numeric index of the level that indicates its relative position. Ground level should have index 0, with levels above ground indicated by positive indices and levels below ground by negative indices.
level_name	Text	Optional	Name of the level as seen by the rider inside the building or station. Example: Take the elevator to "Mezzanine" or "Platform" or "-1".

location_groups.txt

File: Optional

Primary key (location_group_id)

Defines location groups, which are groups of stops where a rider may request pickup or drop off.

Field Name	Type	Presence	Description
location_group_id	Unique ID	Required	Identifies a location group. ID must be unique across all stops.stop_id, locations.geojson id, and location_groups.location_group_id values. A location group is a group of stops that together indicate locations where a rider may request pickup or drop off.
location_group_name	Text	Optional	The name of the location group as displayed to the rider.

location_group_stops.txt

File: Optional

Primary key (*)

Assigns stops from stops.txt to location groups.

Field Name	Type	Presence	Description
location_group_id	Foreign ID referencing location_groups.location_group_id	Required	Identifies a location group to which one or multiple stop_ids belong. The same stop_id may be defined in many location_group_ids.
stop_id	Foreign ID referencing stops.stop_id	Required	Identifies a stop belonging to the location group.

locations.geojson

File: Optional

Defines zones where riders can request either pickup or drop off by on-demand services. These zones are represented as GeoJSON polygons.

• This file uses a subset of the GeoJSON format, described in RFC 7946.
• Each polygon must be valid by the definition of the OpenGIS Simple Features Specification, section 6.1.11.
• The locations.geojson file must contain a FeatureCollection.
• A FeatureCollection defines various stop locations where riders may request pickup or drop off.
• Every GeoJSON Feature must have an id. The id must be unique across all stops.stop_id, locations.geojson id, and location_group_id values.
• Every GeoJSON Feature should have objects and associated keys according to the table below:

Field Name	Type	Presence	Description
- type	String	Required	"FeatureCollection" of locations.
- features	Array	Required	Collection of "Feature" objects describing the locations.
- type	String	Required	"Feature"
- id	String	Required	Identifies a location. ID must be unique across all stops.stop_id, locations.geojson id, and location_groups.location_group_id values.
- properties	Object	Required	Location property keys.
- stop_name	String	Optional	Indicates the name of the location as displayed to riders.
- stop_desc	String	Optional	Meaningful description of the location to help orient riders.
- geometry	Object	Required	Geometry of the location.
- type	String	Required	Must be of type: - "Polygon" - "MultiPolygon"
- coordinates	Array	Required	Geographic coordinates (latitude and longitude) defining the geometry of the location.

booking_rules.txt

File: Optional

Primary key (booking_rule_id)

Defines the booking rules for rider-requested services

Field Name	Type	Presence	Description
booking_rule_id	Unique ID	Required	Identifies a rule.
booking_type	Enum	Required	Indicates how far in advance booking can be made. Valid options are: 0 - Real time booking. 1 - Up to same-day booking with advance notice. 2 - Up to prior day(s) booking.
prior_notice_duration_min	Integer	Conditionally Required	Minimum number of minutes before travel to make the request. Conditionally Required: - Required for booking_type=1. - Forbidden otherwise.
prior_notice_duration_max	Integer	Conditionally Forbidden	Maximum number of minutes before travel to make the booking request. Conditionally Forbidden: - Forbidden for booking_type=0 and booking_type=2. - Optional for booking_type=1.
prior_notice_last_day	Integer	Conditionally Required	Last day before travel to make the booking request. Example: “Ride must be booked 1 day in advance before 5PM” will be encoded as prior_notice_last_day=1. Conditionally Required: - Required for booking_type=2. - Forbidden otherwise.
prior_notice_last_time	Time	Conditionally Required	Last time on the last day before travel to make the booking request. Example: “Ride must be booked 1 day in advance before 5PM” will be encoded as prior_notice_last_time=17:00:00. Conditionally Required: - Required if prior_notice_last_day is defined. - Forbidden otherwise.
prior_notice_start_day	Integer	Conditionally Forbidden	Earliest day before travel to make the booking request. Example: “Ride can be booked at the earliest one week in advance at midnight” will be encoded as prior_notice_start_day=7. Conditionally Forbidden: - Forbidden for booking_type=0. - Forbidden for booking_type=1 if prior_notice_duration_max is defined. - Optional otherwise.
prior_notice_start_time	Time	Conditionally Required	Earliest time on the earliest day before travel to make the booking request. Example: “Ride can be booked at the earliest one week in advance at midnight” will be encoded as prior_notice_start_time=00:00:00. Conditionally Required: - Required if prior_notice_start_day is defined. - Forbidden otherwise.
prior_notice_service_id	Foreign ID referencing calendar.service_id	Conditionally Forbidden	Indicates the service days on which prior_notice_last_day or prior_notice_start_day are counted. Example: If empty, prior_notice_start_day=2 will be two calendar days in advance. If defined as a service_id containing only business days (weekdays without holidays), prior_notice_start_day=2 will be two business days in advance. Conditionally Forbidden: - Optional if booking_type=2. - Forbidden otherwise.
message	Text	Optional	Message to riders utilizing service at a stop_time when booking on-demand pickup and drop off. Meant to provide minimal information to be transmitted within a user interface about the action a rider must take in order to utilize the service.
pickup_message	Text	Optional	Functions in the same way as message but used when riders have on-demand pickup only.
drop_off_message	Text	Optional	Functions in the same way as message but used when riders have on-demand drop off only.
phone_number	Phone number	Optional	Phone number to call to make the booking request.
info_url	URL	Optional	URL providing information about the booking rule.
booking_url	URL	Optional	URL to an online interface or app where the booking request can be made.

translations.txt

File: Optional

Primary key (table_name, field_name, language, record_id, record_sub_id, field_value)

In regions that have multiple official languages, transit agencies/operators typically have language-specific names and web pages. In order to best serve riders in those regions, it is useful for the dataset to include these language-dependent values.

If both referencing methods (record_id, record_sub_id) and field_value are used to translate the same value in 2 different rows, the translation provided with (record_id, record_sub_id) takes precedence.

Field Name	Type	Presence	Description
table_name	Enum	Required	Defines the table that contains the field to be translated. Allowed values are: - agency - stops - routes - trips - stop_times - pathways - levels - feed_info - attributions Any file added to GTFS will have a table_name value equivalent to the file name, as listed above (i.e., not including the .txt file extension).
field_name	Text	Required	Name of the field to be translated. Fields with type Text may be translated, fields with type URL, Email and Phone number may also be “translated” to provide resources in the correct language. Fields with other types should not be translated.
language	Language code	Required	Language of translation. If the language is the same as in feed_info.feed_lang, the original value of the field will be assumed to be the default value to use in languages without specific translations (if default_lang doesn't specify otherwise). Example: In Switzerland, a city in an officially bilingual canton is officially called “Biel/Bienne”, but would simply be called “Bienne” in French and “Biel” in German.
translation	Text or URL or Email or Phone number	Required	Translated value.
record_id	Foreign ID	Conditionally Required	Defines the record that corresponds to the field to be translated. The value in record_id must be the first or only field of a table's primary key, as defined in the primary key attribute for each table and below: - agency_id for agency.txt - stop_id for stops.txt; - route_id for routes.txt; - trip_id for trips.txt; - trip_id for stop_times.txt; - pathway_id for pathways.txt; - level_id for levels.txt; - attribution_id for attributions.txt. Fields in tables not defined above should not be translated. However producers sometimes add extra fields that are outside the official specification and these unofficial fields may be translated. Below is the recommended way to use record_id for those tables: - service_id for calendar.txt; - service_id for calendar_dates.txt; - fare_id for fare_attributes.txt; - fare_id for fare_rules.txt; - shape_id for shapes.txt; - trip_id for frequencies.txt; - from_stop_id for transfers.txt. Conditionally Required: - Forbidden if table_name is feed_info. - Forbidden if field_value is defined. - Required if field_value is empty.
record_sub_id	Foreign ID	Conditionally Required	Helps the record that contains the field to be translated when the table doesn’t have a unique ID. Therefore, the value in record_sub_id is the secondary ID of the table, as defined by the table below: - None for agency.txt; - None for stops.txt; - None for routes.txt; - None for trips.txt; - stop_sequence for stop_times.txt; - None for pathways.txt; - None for levels.txt; - None for attributions.txt. Fields in tables not defined above should not be translated. However producers sometimes add extra fields that are outside the official specification and these unofficial fields may be translated. Below is the recommended way to use record_sub_id for those tables: - None for calendar.txt; - date for calendar_dates.txt; - None for fare_attributes.txt; - route_id for fare_rules.txt; - None for shapes.txt; - start_time for frequencies.txt; - to_stop_id for transfers.txt. Conditionally Required: - Forbidden if table_name is feed_info. - Forbidden if field_value is defined. - Required if table_name=stop_times and record_id is defined.
field_value	Text or URL or Email or Phone number	Conditionally Required	Instead of defining which record should be translated by using record_id and record_sub_id, this field can be used to define the value which should be translated. When used, the translation will be applied when the fields identified by table_name and field_name contains the exact same value defined in field_value. The field must have exactly the value defined in field_value. If only a subset of the value matches field_value, the translation won’t be applied. If two translation rules match the same record (one with field_value, and the other one with record_id), the rule with record_id takes precedence. Conditionally Required: - Forbidden if table_name is feed_info. - Forbidden if record_id is defined. - Required if record_id is empty.

feed_info.txt

File: Conditionally Required

Primary key (none)

The file contains information about the dataset itself, rather than the services that the dataset describes. In some cases, the publisher of the dataset is a different entity than any of the agencies.

Field Name	Type	Presence	Description
feed_publisher_name	Text	Required	Full name of the organization that publishes the dataset. This may be the same as one of the agency.agency_name values.
feed_publisher_url	URL	Required	URL of the dataset publishing organization's website. This may be the same as one of the agency.agency_url values.
feed_lang	Language code	Required	Default language used for the text in this dataset. This setting helps GTFS consumers choose capitalization rules and other language-specific settings for the dataset. The file translations.txt can be used if the text needs to be translated into languages other than the default one. The default language may be multilingual for datasets with the original text in multiple languages. In such cases, the feed_lang field should contain the language code mul defined by the norm ISO 639-2, and a translation for each language used in the dataset should be provided in translations.txt. If all the original text in the dataset is in the same language, then mul should not be used. Example: Consider a dataset from a multilingual country like Switzerland, with the original stops.stop_name field populated with stop names in different languages. Each stop name is written according to the dominant language in that stop’s geographic location, e.g. Genève for the French-speaking city of Geneva, Zürich for the German-speaking city of Zurich, and Biel/Bienne for the bilingual city of Biel/Bienne. The dataset feed_lang should be mul and translations would be provided in translations.txt, in German: Genf, Zürich and Biel; in French: Genève, Zurich and Bienne; in Italian: Ginevra, Zurigo and Bienna; and in English: Geneva, Zurich and Biel/Bienne.
default_lang	Language code	Optional	Defines the language that should be used when the data consumer doesn’t know the language of the rider. It will often be en (English).
feed_start_date	Date	Recommended	The dataset provides complete and reliable schedule information for service in the period from the beginning of the feed_start_date day to the end of the feed_end_date day. Both days may be left empty if unavailable. The feed_end_date date must not precede the feed_start_date date if both are given. It is recommended that dataset providers give schedule data outside this period to advise of likely future service, but dataset consumers should treat it mindful of its non-authoritative status. If feed_start_date or feed_end_date extend beyond the active calendar dates defined in calendar.txt and calendar_dates.txt, the dataset is making an explicit assertion that there is no service for dates within the feed_start_date or feed_end_date range but not included in the active calendar dates.
feed_end_date	Date	Recommended	(see above)
feed_version	Text	Recommended	String that indicates the current version of their GTFS dataset. GTFS-consuming applications can display this value to help dataset publishers determine whether the latest dataset has been incorporated.
feed_contact_email	Email	Optional	Email address for communication regarding the GTFS dataset and data publishing practices. feed_contact_email is a technical contact for GTFS-consuming applications. Provide customer service contact information through agency.txt. It's recommended that at least one of feed_contact_email or feed_contact_url are provided.
feed_contact_url	URL	Optional	URL for contact information, a web-form, support desk, or other tools for communication regarding the GTFS dataset and data publishing practices. feed_contact_url is a technical contact for GTFS-consuming applications. Provide customer service contact information through agency.txt. It's recommended that at least one of feed_contact_url or feed_contact_email are provided.

attributions.txt

File: Optional

Primary key (attribution_id)

The file defines the attributions applied to the dataset.

Field Name	Type	Presence	Description
attribution_id	Unique ID	Optional	Identifies an attribution for the dataset or a subset of it. This is mostly useful for translations.
agency_id	Foreign ID referencing agency.agency_id	Optional	Agency to which the attribution applies. If one agency_id, route_id, or trip_id attribution is defined, the other ones must be empty. If none of them is specified, the attribution will apply to the whole dataset.
route_id	Foreign ID referencing routes.route_id	Optional	Functions in the same way as agency_id except the attribution applies to a route. Multiple attributions may apply to the same route.
trip_id	Foreign ID referencing trips.trip_id	Optional	Functions in the same way as agency_id except the attribution applies to a trip. Multiple attributions may apply to the same trip.
organization_name	Text	Required	Name of the organization that the dataset is attributed to.
is_producer	Enum	Optional	The role of the organization is producer. Valid options are: 0 or empty - Organization doesn’t have this role. 1 - Organization does have this role. At least one of the fields is_producer, is_operator, or is_authority should be set at 1.
is_operator	Enum	Optional	Functions in the same way as is_producer except the role of the organization is operator.
is_authority	Enum	Optional	Functions in the same way as is_producer except the role of the organization is authority.
attribution_url	URL	Optional	URL of the organization.
attribution_email	Email	Optional	Email of the organization.
attribution_phone	Phone number	Optional	Phone number of the organization.