Stop Ids

[stefan...@veoliatransdev.com]

Does Google plan to incorporate the ability for people to type in a
stop ID for their stop? At my agency we use Trapeze - Google pulls the
stop abbreviation code rather than the stop id code which is what some
agencies use to create unique stops. While I have a manual solution to
fix the stops table (copy stop id to stop code column) - why does
Google not use the stop id column?

[Roger Slevin]

If only they did - in the UK we have unique codes for every stop in the
country, yet Google does not read the StopID (AtcoCode to give it its name)
which would then avoid the repeated duplication of stops when they are also
required by Google to be supplied as part of each feed of schedule data. We
have been arguing for this for years - all we have been told is that because
not everyone has unique IDs, they have to use some other method. If only
they were to use unique IDs where available - and use other methods where
they are not available - I am sure many participants in Google Transit would
be much happier .... and the quality of information offered by Google
Transit in those areas with IDs would be much improved in its presentation.

Roger

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[T Sobota]

The disconnect would seem to lie between the database standard of auto-incrementing numbers, and transit agencies that have reason to want to arbitrarily assign stop numbers (based on geographic location, etc.)

GTFS distinguishing each field type (stop_id and stop_code) would seem to capture that distinction... with the assumption that where both exist, riders are most likely to see the arbitrary number (stop_code), rather than what the auto-incremented number (stop_id) might have been.

For what it's worth, due to an arbitrary stop numbering system, my Trapeze workaround is to create a stop (auto-incremented id, but with specific stopcode) - then immediately changing the auto-incremented id in the database to match the specific code, before actually assigning it to any routes/trips (so that database integrity is maintained).

I can prevent duplication being a single transit system, and confirming the unique status of newly assigned arbitrary numbers.