VTA block IDs

[Kona Farry]

Hi there, 

Until a few days ago, VTA's GTFS feed contained 3-4 digit block_id values that match those used internally. A user who relies on this reached out to let me know that the feed now contains 6-digit block_id values that appear to be random, and importantly do not match the internal values. 

Is this a VTA change, or did 511 change something? Is it possible to restore the previous behavior? The feed published by VTA directly at https://gtfs.vta.org contains the correct values, but I'm reluctant to use this, as identifiers may not match those published in the real-time feed, which of course is only available through 511. 

Thank you, 

Kona

[kdar...@bayareametro.gov]

Hi Kona,

511 SF Bay does not change/update block_id values provided by the agency in GTFS feed. The existing 6-digit block_ids in GTFS feed were made available to us by VTA. 

We would like to know your reference to internal values. Please see if you could share your source to VTA's internal block_ids.  

Regards,

Kapeel Daryani.

[Kona Farry]

Hi Kapeel, 

Thanks for the confirmation. I'll contact VTA and see what they know. It's interesting that they're publishing different GTFS feeds directly versus in 511. Are you able to share a good public contact for this inquiry at VTA? 

I do not have a source of their internal block IDs myself. A VTA employee uses my application, which exposes the GTFS block_id—functionality these users found helpful. I received a note when this started occurring, as this mismatch created a problem for them. 

Thank you,

Kona