Board packet · transit data quality · checked 2026-10-07
Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority (TheRide)
Grade B · 84.0 / 100
Unchanged since 2026-10-06.
What this grade measures
The quality of the schedule data in the feed scored here for trip-planning apps: whether riders using Google Maps, Apple Maps, or Transit see current, correct, and complete information. It measures the data feed, not service quality or operations.
Progress this period
No newly cleared items this period. The score and trend above reflect where the feed stands today.
What needs attention next
Three improvements, in priority order, each sized so the board can see what it is approving:
Add fare_attributes.txt (or Fares v2 files) with your fare structure. If your service is fare-free, ask to have it marked fare-free instead.
The feed contains no fare information. Riders see 'fare unknown' in trip planners and can't budget their trip; visitors are most affected.
This one is about the feed as a whole, so there is no share of it to count.
Estimated effort: A small file for most flat-fare systems.
Trim leading and trailing spaces on export. The scorecard's auto-fixed copy already does this.
Some values have extra spaces at the start or end. A stray space can break a match, so a stop or route may fail to link across files.
This is a validator notice, and the validator decides what each instance covers, so no share of the network can be read from it here.
Estimated effort: Usually one export setting.
Use mixed case for stop names and headsigns (e.g. 'Main St & 2nd Ave', not 'MAIN ST & 2ND AVE').
Some rider-facing names are in ALL CAPS or all lowercase. ALL-CAPS stop and headsign names are harder to read in apps and are read awkwardly by screen readers.
This is a validator notice, and the validator decides what each instance covers, so no share of the network can be read from it here.
Estimated effort: Often a bulk fix in your scheduling software.
Riders and need behind these fixes
- This feed carries no National Transit Database ID, so annual rider-trips are not known for it.
- Michigan as a whole measures lower on transit need. That is a statewide reading, not one for this feed's service area. Source: US Census ACS 5-year 2022, statewide overlay, as of 2026-10-05.
These describe this feed only. They do not rank agencies, and they do not change the grade or the order of the fixes.
Finding handoff
Move one finding to a recheck
Select one finding. Copy the request, make the change in the feed-producing tool, then compare the next complete run.
- Feed evidence
- The feed contains no fare information.
- Next action
- Add fare_attributes.txt (or Fares v2 files) with your fare structure. If your service is fare-free, ask to have it marked fare-free instead.
- Recheck
- Publish the changed feed at the same URL. On the next complete, comparable scorecard run, confirm that this finding is no longer reported.
Copy handoff text
- Feed evidence
- Some values have extra spaces at the start or end.
- Next action
- Trim leading and trailing spaces on export. The scorecard's auto-fixed copy already does this.
- Recheck
- Publish the changed feed at the same URL. On the next complete, comparable scorecard run, confirm that this finding is no longer reported.
Copy handoff text
- Feed evidence
- Some rider-facing names are in ALL CAPS or all lowercase.
- Next action
- Use mixed case for stop names and headsigns (e.g. 'Main St & 2nd Ave', not 'MAIN ST & 2ND AVE').
- Recheck
- Publish the changed feed at the same URL. On the next complete, comparable scorecard run, confirm that this finding is no longer reported.
Copy handoff text
Produced by the GTFS Scorecard, an open-source data quality tool. A data-quality read to support the board conversation, not an official compliance determination. Live scorecard: https://gtfsscorecard.org/agency/ann-arbor-area-transportation-authority-theride/. Rubric v1.4, validator 8.0.1.