Prep for a call: printable one-page brief · For your board packet: printable one-pager · Fix log: every issue this feed has cleared · Compare with another agency · Watch this feed: get an email before it expires
Feed status · checked 2026-07-09
Capital Area Transportation Authority (CATA)
Based on the feed this agency publishes
down 0.3 since 2026-07-08
Ahead of 55% of all tracked agencies and 66% of large agencies. Operates in Michigan.
A data-quality and completeness lens to help an agency improve its GTFS feed. Not an official compliance determination from any transit program. New to this? How to read your scorecard. Interactive view of this scorecard. Rubric v1.1, validator 8.0.1.
Checked for changes 15 minutes ago; last changed 18 days ago.
Top things to fix
Set wheelchair_boarding to 1 (accessible) or 2 (not accessible) for every stop. A field survey can start with the busiest stops.Likely your team
1335 of 1335 stops don't say whether a wheelchair user can board there. Riders who use wheelchairs can't plan a trip when accessibility is marked 'unknown'; apps show no information at all.
⏱ A column in stops.txt; your scheduling software likely has it.worth about +25 points
Set wheelchair_accessible on every trip (most small-agency fleets are 100% accessible, so this is often a single default).Likely your export tool
7620 of 7620 trips don't say whether the vehicle is wheelchair accessible. Even with accessible stops, riders need to know the bus itself can take them.
⏱ Often one default setting in your export.worth about +15 points
Agencies here usually clear this within about 1 week (based on 5 observed fixes).
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.
⏱ A small file for most flat-fare systems.worth about +15 points
Close the loop on each fix. Read the guide, make the change in your tool, and let the next run verify it — the scorecard shows the fix; the agency publishes it.
Set wheelchair_boarding to 1 (accessible) or 2 (not accessible) for every stop. A field survey can start with the busiest stops. · Read the fix guide
Make the change. Make this change in whatever tool produces your feed, then re-export.
Prove it cleared. The next scorecard run re-checks this automatically and, once it is gone, mints a dated receipt. See this feed's dated fix log.
Set wheelchair_accessible on every trip (most small-agency fleets are 100% accessible, so this is often a single default). · Read the fix guide
Make the change. Make this change in whatever tool produces your feed, then re-export.
Prove it cleared. The next scorecard run re-checks this automatically and, once it is gone, mints a dated receipt. See this feed's dated fix log.
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. · Read the fix guide
Make the change. Make this change in whatever tool produces your feed, then re-export.
Prove it cleared. The next scorecard run re-checks this automatically and, once it is gone, mints a dated receipt. See this feed's dated fix log.
Send your vendor a fix request
You may not control the GTFS export yourself. Copy this and send it to whoever runs your scheduling software export. It names each fix with the validator notice and a guide link.
Score by category
The MobilityData validator flagged 7 kinds of issue across 8154 instances (0 error, 8154 warning, 0 informational).
Service data covers the next 45 days.
0% of stops state wheelchair accessibility (0% marked accessible, 0% marked not accessible). This measures what the feed publishes, not whether a stop is physically usable. Fare data is not published.
0% of stops state accessibility (0% marked accessible). Reflects what the feed states, not verified physical usability.
Sampled 9 times: 3 of 3 feeds healthy; 82.1% of scheduled trips had live predictions; 96.1% of vehicles on their route; predictions ran a median of 104s behind schedule.
Over time
Overall score across the last 20 checks — down 0.3 since 2026-07-08.
Show the numbers
| Check | Score | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-19 | 69.6 | first check |
| 2026-06-20 | 69.4 | down 0.2 |
| 2026-06-21 | 69.2 | down 0.2 |
| 2026-06-22 | 69.1 | down 0.1 |
| 2026-06-23 | 70.1 | up 1.0 |
| 2026-06-24 | 70.1 | no change |
| 2026-06-25 | 69.0 | down 1.1 |
| 2026-06-26 | 68.9 | down 0.1 |
| 2026-06-27 | 68.6 | down 0.3 |
| 2026-06-28 | 68.3 | down 0.3 |
| 2026-06-29 | 67.9 | down 0.4 |
| 2026-06-30 | 67.6 | down 0.3 |
| 2026-07-01 | 67.3 | down 0.3 |
| 2026-07-02 | 66.9 | down 0.4 |
| 2026-07-04 | 66.3 | down 0.6 |
| 2026-07-05 | 65.9 | down 0.4 |
| 2026-07-06 | 65.6 | down 0.3 |
| 2026-07-07 | 65.3 | down 0.3 |
| 2026-07-08 | 64.9 | down 0.4 |
| 2026-07-09 | 64.6 | down 0.3 |
What changed since your last check
- Correctness no change
- Freshness down 1.7
- Rider experience no change
- Realtime quality no change
What changed in this feed
Overall score fell 0.3 points since 2026-07-08.
Same feed file as 2026-07-08; the published zip did not change.
Subscribe to this feed’s changes (Atom) to hear about grade drops in a reader, with no sign-up.
What changed over time
On 2026-06-19 this feed started at grade D. On 2026-06-23 the grade moved from D to C. On 2026-06-25 the grade moved from C to D. On 2026-06-22 it cleared scorecard_rt_predictions_implausible. As of 2026-07-09 it holds grade D.
A plain-language history of this feed, newest first.
- 2026-06-25 Grade went C to D, realtime fell 4 points.
- 2026-06-23 Grade went D to C, realtime rose 5 points.
Everything we checked
- Warning7620 instances
7620 of 7620 trips don't say whether the vehicle is wheelchair accessible.
Even with accessible stops, riders need to know the bus itself can take them.
Fix: Set wheelchair_accessible on every trip (most small-agency fleets are 100% accessible, so this is often a single default). (Often one default setting in your export.)
Agencies here usually clear this within about 1 week (based on 5 observed fixes).
Validator rule: scorecard_wheelchair_accessible_unknown · Read the fix guide · See GTFS Schedule reference (opens the GTFS Schedule reference on an external site)
- Warning7448 instances
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.
Fix: Use mixed case for stop names and headsigns (e.g. 'Main St & 2nd Ave', not 'MAIN ST & 2ND AVE'). (Often a bulk fix in your scheduling software.)
Validator rule: mixed_case_recommended_field · Read the fix guide · See MobilityData GTFS Validator rules (opens the validator rules on an external site)
- Warning1881 instances
Some live predictions disagree with the schedule by more than 30 minutes.
Differences that large usually mean predictions are keyed to the wrong trips, not that buses are that late.
Fix: Spot-check the flagged predictions against what buses actually did; raise trip-matching with your AVL vendor. (A vendor data-mapping question.)
Agencies here usually clear this within about 1 week (based on 27 observed fixes).
Validator rule: scorecard_rt_predictions_implausible
- Warning1335 instances
1335 of 1335 stops don't say whether a wheelchair user can board there.
Riders who use wheelchairs can't plan a trip when accessibility is marked 'unknown'; apps show no information at all.
Fix: Set wheelchair_boarding to 1 (accessible) or 2 (not accessible) for every stop. A field survey can start with the busiest stops. (A column in stops.txt; your scheduling software likely has it.)
Validator rule: scorecard_wheelchair_boarding_unknown · Read the fix guide · See GTFS Schedule reference (opens the GTFS Schedule reference on an external site)
- Warning683 instances
Some scheduled trips travel implausibly fast between stops.
Usually a typo'd stop time; riders get impossible arrival estimates.
Fix: Check the flagged stop times for transposed minutes. (A few minutes per flagged trip.)
Agencies here usually clear this within about 2 weeks (based on 6 observed fixes).
Validator rule: fast_travel_between_consecutive_stops · Read the fix guide · See MobilityData GTFS Validator rules (opens the validator rules on an external site)
- Warning204 instances
204 of 7620 trips have no headsign.
Riders at the stop can't tell which direction a bus is going.
Fix: Populate trip_headsign to match what the bus displays. (Usually a bulk edit in your scheduling software.)
Validator rule: scorecard_missing_headsigns · Read the fix guide · See GTFS Best Practices (opens GTFS Best Practices on an external site)
- Warning18 instances
Stop too far from shape using user distance (flagged by the MobilityData validator).
See the linked rule for what this affects.
Fix: Review the rule documentation for 'stop_too_far_from_shape_using_user_distance' at https://gtfs-validator.mobilitydata.org/rules.html and check the flagged rows in your feed. (Varies.)
Agencies here usually clear this within about 1 week (based on 6 observed fixes).
Validator rule: stop_too_far_from_shape_using_user_distance · Read the fix guide · See MobilityData GTFS Validator rules (opens the validator rules on an external site)
- Warning5 instances
5 of 28 trips scheduled during the sampling window had no live predictions.
Riders on those trips get schedule data dressed up as realtime. Caltrans expects every operating trip in TripUpdates.
Fix: Check with your AVL vendor that every vehicle assignment flows into TripUpdates, including school-day and tripper runs. (A vendor data-mapping question.)
Agencies here usually clear this within about 1 week (based on 82 observed fixes).
Validator rule: scorecard_rt_trip_coverage · Read the fix guide · See GTFS-Realtime reference (opens the GTFS-Realtime reference on an external site)
- Warning2 instances
Stops match shape out of order (flagged by the MobilityData validator).
See the linked rule for what this affects.
Fix: Review the rule documentation for 'stops_match_shape_out_of_order' at https://gtfs-validator.mobilitydata.org/rules.html and check the flagged rows in your feed. (Varies.)
Agencies here usually clear this within about 1 week (based on 6 observed fixes).
Validator rule: stops_match_shape_out_of_order · See MobilityData GTFS Validator rules (opens the validator rules on an external site)
- Warning1 instance
Missing feed contact email and url (flagged by the MobilityData validator).
See the linked rule for what this affects.
Fix: Review the rule documentation for 'missing_feed_contact_email_and_url' at https://gtfs-validator.mobilitydata.org/rules.html and check the flagged rows in your feed. (Varies.)
Agencies here usually clear this within about 1 week (based on 6 observed fixes).
Validator rule: missing_feed_contact_email_and_url · Read the fix guide · See MobilityData GTFS Validator rules (opens the validator rules on an external site)
- Warning1 instance
Some route colors don't contrast with their text color.
Route badges become unreadable, especially for riders with low vision.
Fix: Pick a darker/lighter route_text_color for the flagged routes. (One field per route.)
Validator rule: route_color_contrast · Read the fix guide · See MobilityData GTFS Validator rules (opens the validator rules on an external site)
- Warning1 instance
Some stops sit far from the route line they belong to.
Trip planners may draw the bus route through the wrong streets or point riders to the wrong corner.
Fix: Check the flagged stops' coordinates and the route shape in your scheduling software; re-snap whichever is misplaced. (A few minutes per flagged stop.)
Agencies here usually clear this within about 2 weeks (based on 6 observed fixes).
Validator rule: stop_too_far_from_shape · Read the fix guide · See MobilityData GTFS Validator rules (opens the validator rules on an external site)
- Warning1 instance
The feed contains no fare information.
Riders see 'fare unknown' in trip planners and can't budget their trip; visitors are most affected.
Fix: 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. (A small file for most flat-fare systems.)
Validator rule: scorecard_no_fare_data · Read the fix guide · See GTFS Best Practices (opens GTFS Best Practices on an external site)
- Info1 instance
feed_info.txt has no technical contact (feed_contact_email or feed_contact_url).
App makers and state data programs have nobody to email when they spot a problem with your feed, so problems linger.
Fix: Add feed_contact_email to feed_info.txt. (One field.)
Agencies here usually clear this within about 1 week (based on 10 observed fixes).
Validator rule: scorecard_no_feed_contact · Read the fix guide · See MobilityData GTFS Validator rules (opens the validator rules on an external site)
Beyond the grade
Opportunities that do not change your grade today: fare detail, on-demand service, and deeper accessibility data.
5 route badge(s) pair a color and text color below the WCAG 4.5:1 contrast bar (01, 10, 12, 14, 31).
Consider: Adjust route_color or route_text_color so each pair clears 4.5:1. Often switching the text between black and white is enough.
765 stop name(s) use abbreviations or symbols a screen reader may mispronounce, with no spoken form set ("SBD Collins Rd @ Post Office", "EBD St Joseph before Waverly (store)", "NBD Grand Ave before E Allegan St", and more).
Consider: Add tts_stop_name with the spoken form, e.g. 'Main Street and Second Avenue', for the affected stops.
Some fixes we can make for you
These are the safe mechanical fixes, applied to a copy of your feed. They change only what is certain and leave everything else untouched. Review the diff before you publish.
Recased shouting route names 32 changes
For example: DOWNTOWN LANSING-MERIDIAN MALL -> Downtown Lansing-meridian Mall
NTD certification readiness Ready
Published at a public URL, valid, and current: the three things the NTD GTFS requirement asks of a feed all hold here. Only your own D-10 certification makes that official; this is a heads-up, not a determination.
- Published Ready
- Published at a public URL.
- Valid Ready
- Passes validation with no errors.
- Current Ready
- Service data covers the next 45 days.
- agency_id matches your NTD ID Aligned
- Your agency_id is set to your NTD ID (50036), so this feed lines up with your National Transit Database record.
In plain words: if you report to the federal transit database, you have to publish a working, up-to-date feed and confirm it once a year. This box is a heads-up on whether yours looks ready; it is not the official sign-off.
A readiness signal mapping this feed to the FTA National Transit Database GTFS requirement (Report Year 2023 onward: a public, valid, current feed, certified annually on the D-10). Aligning agency_id with your NTD ID lets the feed line up with your NTD record; the July 2025 final rule links the two on the P-50 form rather than requiring that feed change, and requires shapes.txt in the published GTFS: Full Reporters from Report Year 2025, and Reduced, Rural, and Tribal Reporters from Report Year 2026. Not an official determination; your certification is the official check.
Conformance mark Not yet
This feed is close to the conformance mark. States wheelchair access on 0% of stops and 0% of trips; the mark needs 90% of each.
- Valid Met
- Passes validation with no errors.
- Current Met
- Service data covers the next 45 days.
- Accessible Not yet
- States wheelchair access on 0% of stops and 0% of trips; the mark needs 90% of each.
In plain words: earn this mark when your feed passes validation, has not expired, and says whether nearly every stop and trip is wheelchair accessible.
A pass credential for a feed that is valid, current, and states wheelchair access on nearly every stop and trip. Accessibility here measures what the feed publishes, not whether a stop is physically usable. How the conformance mark works.
Realtime reliability
The realtime feed responded on 100.0% of 105 checks over the last 16 days, with 10s median lag.
Sampled on a schedule between full scores, so this tracks uptime and freshness over time rather than at a single moment.
Prediction accuracy
Arrival predictions ran a median 104s late versus the schedule, and stayed within 3600s nine times in ten. They were on time (about a minute early to five late) 68.7% of the time. 96.1% of reported vehicle positions sat on or near the published route shape.
From the last full realtime sample: how far live arrival predictions sat from the schedule, and whether vehicle positions fell on the route. These feed the realtime score; they change no other category.
Clears the Google and Apple Maps four-week coverage bar. This feed has 45 days of service ahead, clearing the four-week (28-day) window Maps asks for. No validator errors either, so riders keep seeing this agency in their trip planners; warnings lower the grade here but do not remove a feed from Maps.
How this agency maps to the standards
A data-quality lens, not a compliance determination. Each category shows this feed's score and the standards it relates to: the FTA National Transit Database GTFS requirement, the MobilityData grading scheme, and the Google Transit gate. Read the full standards crosswalk.
Your state runs a transit-data program that can help: Michigan Public Transit Open Data Program. MDOT's program helping agencies produce and maintain GTFS and GTFS-Flex. Your state publishes no quality rubric of its own, so the closest published bars a program can hold this feed to are the federal and industry ones below; the score maps to those.
- Correctness 62 / 100
- GTFS Schedule best practices, checked by the MobilityData validator. MobilityData grading: stop locations, route names and colors. Google Transit: a feed must pass validation to stay in Maps.
- Freshness 75 / 100
- The FTA National Transit Database expectation of a valid, current feed. Google Transit: an expired calendar drops the agency from Maps.
- Rider experience 37 / 100
- GTFS Best Practices for rider-facing fields. MobilityData grading: stop names and headsigns.
- Realtime quality 93 / 100
- GTFS-Realtime best practices: a stable URL, high uptime, and frequent updates.
Show your grade
Put a live badge on your agency site or feed README. It updates daily and links back to this scorecard.
Prefer a shields.io style? Point a dynamic endpoint badge at the published badge.json.
Cite this record
This page updates on every check. The record below does not: it is the dated file this grade came from, published at https://gtfsscorecard.org/data/artifacts/capital-area-transportation-authority-cata/2026-07-09.json and never overwritten, pinning the grade, category scores, rubric version, validator version, and the scored feed's sha256 as they stood on 2026-07-09. Use it in a board packet, an NTD narrative, or a research citation instead of linking the live page, whose content will differ on your next visit.
Citing the tool itself rather than one agency's record? Use the repo's CITATION.cff.