GTFS: common standards for public transportation
What does GTFS or General Transit Feed Specification stand for? If we translate it into Spanish it means General Specification of Public Transport Feeds. And what are they for? These standards allow transport operators to offer their travelers information about trips.
A GTFS file is a compressed ZIP file that contains several text files in CSV format. This is commonly known as the GTFS feed. Each text file that makes up the feed models a particular aspect of traffic information.
Help system
Usually the origin of the data offered by the operators is found in an Exploitation Assistance System or SAE, to which it is necessary to connect and document to find what is necessary for the feed.
In these cases, the most difficult task lies in diving and navigating between the different databases in search of the table that provides what is necessary. Actually, this type of connection is nothing other than a database where you can choose exactly what is needed.
The objective is always the same: to find the operators that make up the feed that you want to build, which are usually unique. In addition, it is about finding the most static data, such as stops, routes and calendars, for example.
From there, the most difficult tasks are made up of finding the trips for each route and generating the times per stop. As a general rule, it is avoided to show the routes in a straight line, and it is sought that the lines that are drawn on the maps reflect the routes made by the appropriate routes (roads, train tracks or metro…).
Unfortunately, in this type of maps, other types of information are not shown, such as fares, frequencies or transfers, among others.
Applications development
At Ingartek we are specialists in the development of web and mobile applications that, on the one hand, provide us with permanent information on the mobility situation, and, on the other, allow us to help our clients, both transport operators and administrations, to improve its relationship with its customers and the public as a whole.
We help our clients to be present in Google trip planners by creating and maintaining GTFS files, we work with the Zendesk tool for customer service and public transport incident management, and we develop turnkey tools to help transport companies in driving efficiency.
If you want to know more about our services or products, do not hesitate, contact us and we will help you with whatever you need. If you prefer, you can also check our website for projects prepared by Ingartek on the GTFS service.
