(Cross-posted to gtfs-changes and transit-developers. Apologies in advance for any duplicate emails.)
Hi all,
This is a message to announce a forum for discussing the GTFS and transit services that do not fall into the fixed-route category. See below for more background and links. Please join the group and participate if this is a topic that interests you.
GTFS has accomplished a lot for describing fixed-route transportation — enabling convenient and innovative ways to understand and access those services. There here have been many discussions about extending the Spec’s descriptive capacity to include flexible services (demand responsive transit, paratransit, dial-a-ride, point/route deviation, etc.), which Denis Haskin helpfully summarized here:
https://github.com/camsys/1click/wiki/State-of-paratransit,-DRT,-flexible-routes,-etc-for-GTFS
There are several current efforts necessitating GTFS support for flexible services, including several Veterans Transportation and Community Living Initiative (VTCLI) projects in the United States, and various transportation projects throughout the world. Instead of working in isolation, a group is forming for software developers, transportation professionals, and other interest parties to work together and develop and propose common data specifications.
See the GTFS Flexible Transit Working Group:
https://groups.google.com/group/gtfs-flexible-wg
If you are interested in following or participating in this effort, please join the group.
The group welcome email offers a proposed process:
https://groups.google.com/d/msg/gtfs-flexible-wg/icHrAElPQ_w/CGQ__ShPowMJ
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Aaron Antrim
www.trilliumtransit.com