NEW: Automatically create up-to-date Layover, Span, and Stops Dashboards by uploading a General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) file.
Navigate to the QAQC apps at the icons below. Find the Schedule Review Checklist here.
How Do We Use these Apps?
These apps support the quality assurance and quality control processes of MTA by generating relevant dashboards and reports. In most cases, you will begin by uploading a General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) file and processing it. Each app provides a unique set of features:
- Schedule QAQC: Dashboards of Layovers, Spans, and Stops. These allow for quicker identification of potential scheduling problems than reviewing Trapeze exports or other text-based formats.
- GTFS QAQC: Validation of select GTFS-required elements and optional comparison of two GTFS feeds. This tool helps to ensure that the GTFS feeds MTA provides to the public reflect schedule service and do not include validation errors.
Beginning in June 2020, the dashboards must be regenerated from a source GTFS feed each time you wish to view them. This ensures up-to-date visualizations are ready throughout the service development process.
Where Do I Obtain GTFS Feeds?
- Current GTFS feeds can be obtained for each mode of service on the MTA Developer Resources page.
- Archived public feeds from earlier picks are available from third-party sources such as transit.land.
- A GTFS feed can be generated by Trapeze during the service development process. Contact Zohreh Rashidi Moghaddam, Manager of Data Science for questions about appropriate GTFS files to use for these dashboards.
What Else Should I Know About These Apps and GTFS Feeds?
GTFS is an open-source file format that allows transit agencies from around the world to share their route, schedule, and stop data in a standard format. The GTFS feeds only reflect scheduled services. In other words, the data you view on these dashboards is only representative of what should be occurring out in the field and does not reflect delays due to traffic conditions or weather. Moreover, the application will by default show service only for the first week described in the GTFS feed.
GTFS feeds also do not include internal four-digit block codes referenced in Trapeze; instead, the app adds this information to the GTFS feed before display. If block codes do not display in the Layover dashboard as expected, please contact Zohreh Rashidi Moghaddam to update the application.