We’re on a mission to create the largest public transport database in the world. In this blog we’ll explain how we’re doing it and the challenge

Building the world’s largest public transport database

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2023-03-17 12:00:06

We’re on a mission to create the largest public transport database in the world. In this blog we’ll explain how we’re doing it and the challenges we face along the way. If you want to explore our transport models in depth check out our data studio.

GTFS stands for General Transit Feed Specification. It’s a format that easily allows public transport data providers to share their timetables with others. These companies can take this data and build useful apps or APIs.

This is the name of the full end-to-end public transport route from start to terminus. Here’s an example of the Walthamstow Central > Brixton Tube route in London.

This covers the start time for each route. In the example image below it shows a train route starting in Bedford, UK. The trip begins in Bedford at 8:10am, another trip begins at 8.02am, another at 8.18am etc.

A route is made up of multiple stops, the stop time specifies the exact time the transport mode is scheduled to stop at each point. In the Bedford public transport image above, this means the trip begins at 8.18am and stop times are Flitwick 8.29am, Harlington at 8.33am and Leagrave at 8.52. Other stop information includes the official name of the stop and the stop’s map coordinates.