Across the first two iterations of this ongoing effort, the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) engaged Foursquare ITP to help multiple rural and suburban transit agencies develop and maintain general transit feed specification (GTFS) data for deviated fixed-route services to support compliance with new Federal Transit Administration (FTA) requirements. Many agencies had limited experience with GTFS and stored schedule information in inconsistent formats, creating challenges for meeting annual National Transit Database (NTD) reporting requirements and maintaining accurate, up-to-date schedule data over time.
Foursquare ITP developed and updated GTFS feeds for 14 agencies, created a comprehensive Excel-based GTFS editor workbook with built-in validation and automation tools, and produced detailed standard operating procedures (SOPs) to guide agencies through feed creation and long-term maintenance. Using custom-built processing tools and technical assistance, the team also identified schedule data discrepancies, supported agencies in publishing compliant feeds, and established workflows that enable ongoing data updates.
As a result, ODOT’s recipient agencies successfully produced accurate GTFS data and met FTA requirements for annual NTD submissions. All participating agencies completed compliant GTFS submissions, and Foursquare ITP is currently partnering with ODOT on the third iteration of this ongoing effort.
Solutions and Outcomes
- Developed GTFS feeds for 14 rural and suburban agencies throughout Ohio.
- Created GTFS feeds to standardize schedule data and use in the annual NTD submission.
- Developed tools and workflows to help these agencies comply with FTA GTFS publishing requirements.
- Broke down a complex process into easily maintainable workflow that uses common programs such as Excel and Google Earth.
- Agencies provided training and tools to maintain GTFS data into the future.