trip_short_name

[Joe Hughes]

Continuing this previous thread on the trip_short_name proposal:
http://groups.google.com/group/gtfs-changes/browse_frm/thread/ab34be2731aa2288

I wanted to check in on the state of implementations of this proposal,
to see whether it's ready for inclusion in the spec. On the data
publisher side, the Caltrain public feed includes this field:
http://www.caltrain.com/google_transit_feed/

Now I'd like to get confirmation from one or more application authors
that they're using this field in their app and that it's working as
expected. I've CC'd the authors of a few third-party Caltrain
applications on this thread to see who's using this info.

Here's an updated version of the proposal to clarify some ambiguities
in the last draft:

Proposal:
A new trip_short_name field would be added to trips.txt, with a
description as follows:
--------------------------------
trip_short_name (optional):
For individual trips that have a short rider-facing name in schedules
and station signage (for instance, commuter rail train numbers), this
field provides that name. If riders do not commonly identify trips by
name, please leave this field blank. A trip_short_name value, if
provided, should uniquely identify a trip within a service day; it
should not be used for destination names or limited/express
designations.
---------------------------------

Thanks,
Joe

[Jehiah Czebotar]

On Thu, Nov 20, 2008 at 9:03 PM, Joe Hughes <joe.hug...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Continuing this previous thread on the trip_short_name proposal:
> http://groups.google.com/group/gtfs-changes/browse_frm/thread/ab34be2731aa2288
>
> I wanted to check in on the state of implementations of this proposal,
> to see whether it's ready for inclusion in the spec. On the data
> publisher side, the Caltrain public feed includes this field:
> http://www.caltrain.com/google_transit_feed/
>
> Now I'd like to get confirmation from one or more application authors
> that they're using this field in their app and that it's working as
> expected. I've CC'd the authors of a few third-party Caltrain
> applications on this thread to see who's using this info.
>

sorry for a slow follow up.

I think this is a good proposal and that it's ready for inclusion in
the spec. I have started including this field in the feeds I publish
(LIRR and VRE so far),
some of which are being used by Yuri Yakimenko on trainlogic.net
(including the trip_short_name)

--
Jehiah

[Joe Hughes]

Jehiah,

Thanks for the feedback.

I took a look at the TrainSchedule app, and when I correlated the
train numbers that it was showing with the contents of your unofficial
LIRR feed ( http://www.gtfs-data-exchange.com/meta/ahJndGZzLWRhdGEtZXhjaGFuZ2VyDgsSB01lc3NhZ2UYghcM
), it was became to me that it was displaying the contents of the
trip_id field rather than the trip_short_name field.

So we still need to find an application that's successfully using the
contents of the trip_short_name field before this proposal is ready
for inclusion.

Thanks,
Joe

On Dec 11, 12:04 pm, "Jehiah Czebotar" <jeh...@gmail.com> wrote:

> On Thu, Nov 20, 2008 at 9:03 PM, Joe Hughes <joe.hughes.c...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Continuing this previous thread on the trip_short_name proposal:

> >http://groups.google.com/group/gtfs-changes/browse_frm/thread/ab34be2...

[Yuriy Yakimenko]

Hm, I thought it was used unless I messed up something in my build. I
will check.

Yuriy

[Yuriy Yakimenko]

OK, it was something on my end. I updated the data.

Joe, if you open the app, go to Schedules and uncheck the LIRR
schedule(s) you were using for testing; then click OK then go back to
Schedules and select 'Delete Unused'. It will remove the schedule. You
can then update it using "Schedules - Updates" and you'll see the
actual train numbers.

Normally the update is done through effective date/revision change but
I don't want to confuse my users who expect the new LIRR schedule in a
couple of days, this is why you have to do this in this awkward way.
Altrernatively, you can simlpy delete the app which will remove all
old data and re-install.

Keep in mind that LIRR City Terminal trains don't have any real
numbers, they're all called "Local".

Yuriy

[Joe Hughes]

Thanks, Yuriy. I updated the app as you indicated, and now I see
train numbers that correspond to the trip_short_name values in
Jehiah's LIRR feed. That means that this change is ready for
inclusion in the next version of the spec, since it seems to work well
with a real data feed and a real app, and no one has voiced any
substantial objections. Thanks!

Joe