Upcoming changes to Alerts feed

313 views
Skip to first unread message

Sam Salkin

unread,
Nov 23, 2021, 3:36:28 PM11/23/21
to mtadeveloperresources

Hi all,

We are making a few changes to our GTFS-RT alerts feed to normalize fields and create more consistency across alert types.

Starting soon (week of Dec 6), all alerts will consistently use the <header_text> for a headline and <description_text> for additional details. In the past, this had differed based on whether the alert was for a real-time or planned disruption. We are also limiting <header_text> entries to 160 characters. 

The service status category will now only appear in the <alert_type> field. 

We will also be deprecating the <additional_information> field and it will no longer show in our feed.

We will share the exact cutover timing but want to make sure everyone has ample time to prepare any required changes. We will also share updated documentation for the feed early next week.

Thanks and let us know if you have any questions,

Sam 

Sam Salkin

Senior Product Manager – Mercury 

MTA Customer Team

Underway

unread,
Nov 23, 2021, 3:40:51 PM11/23/21
to mtadevelop...@googlegroups.com
Sounds good - thanks for the heads up. 

Regarding “Planned - Station Skipped” status, could you please add the station IDs of the closed stations to the “informed entities” field? 

Thanks!

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "mtadeveloperresources" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to mtadeveloperreso...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mtadeveloperresources/a129dcc6-bb00-45f4-9852-e79bfe88beacn%40googlegroups.com.
--

Sam Salkin

unread,
Dec 1, 2021, 11:44:32 AM12/1/21
to mtadeveloperresources
Hi there - we're likely adding more robust station tagging in the coming months. This is on the roadmap and will keep this request in mind as we prioritize the backlog.

Underway

unread,
Dec 1, 2021, 12:10:53 PM12/1/21
to mtadevelop...@googlegroups.com
That’s wonderful news!

For example, the station closure at Clark St is currently structured as affecting the entire 2 and 3 line in the informed entities. It would be nice if the informed entities included “231N” and “231S” - the stop codes for Clark Street. 

In addition, this past weekend, 215 St (and other nearby stations) were open in only one direction on the 1 line. It would be nice if the informed entity included the stop codes of the closed stations in the appropriate direction. 

Alternatively, it would be nice if the GTFS feeds could filter out arrival times to closed stations. 

Thank you for your attention to this. 

Daniel
Underway NYC

Sam Salkin

unread,
Dec 1, 2021, 5:12:18 PM12/1/21
to mtadeveloperresources
As mentioned last week, please see the attached documentation for our GTFS alerts feed. These will also be posted on our site at some point but I wanted to make sure this group had it ASAP.

We're likely implementing these changes as soon as next Tuesday (12/7).

Thanks,

Sam

MTA GTFS Alerts Documentation_Dec2021.pdf

clevercommute

unread,
Dec 8, 2021, 2:13:22 PM12/8/21
to mtadeveloperresources
Hi Sam, 

is this complete / in production? 

Thanks 

--Josh

Sam Salkin

unread,
Dec 9, 2021, 12:11:39 PM12/9/21
to mtadeveloperresources
Yes, as of yesterday morning.
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages