Coming soon: changes to route_desc values in GTFS-Static
Developer at MBTA
We’re writing to inform you of important (potentially breaking) changes to the route_desc field in our GTFS-Static feed, which categorizes a route's level of service. For example, this field can indicate whether a bus service operates frequently throughout the day, serves weekday commuters, or supplements other routes.
As part of proposed revisions to the MBTA’s Service Delivery Policy, these changes will take effect as part of the Winter schedule changes.
We will publish these changes in our GTFS-static data the week of December 2, 2024, in a deploy that contains our Winter 2025 schedules (effective December 15).
What’s Changing?
The following route_desc values will be removed:
- "Commuter Rail"
- "Community Bus"
- "Key Bus"
They will be replaced with updated terminology:
- Commuter Rail → "Regional Rail"
- Key Bus → "Frequent Bus"
- Community Bus → "Coverage Bus"
Updated list:
(Based on current list available in GTFS static documentation)
- Regional Rail [formerly Commuter Rail]
- Rapid Transit
- Local Bus
- Frequent Bus [formerly Key Bus]
- Supplemental Bus
- Coverage Bus [formerly Community Bus]
- Commuter Bus
- Ferry
- Rail Replacement Bus
Please review this information carefully to ensure your applications are ready to adapt to these changes.
As a reminder, developers can track our GitHub-based GTFS documentation, which will be updated to reflect this and all future changes.
If you have any questions or require further assistance, feel free to reach out.
Developer at MBTA
As a reminder, developers can track our GitHub-based GTFS documentation, which will be updated to reflect this and all future changes.
If you have any questions or require further assistance, feel free to reach out.