Prep for a call: printable one-page brief · For your board packet: printable one-pager · Compare with another agency · Watch this feed: get an email before it expires · Correct or claim this listing
Feed status · checked 2026-07-10
Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA)
Based on the feed this agency publishes
First scorecard for this agency
Ahead of 57% of all tracked agencies and 69% of large agencies.
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.
Top things to fix
Check with your AVL vendor that every vehicle assignment flows into TripUpdates, including school-day and tripper runs.
116 of 116 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.
⏱ A vendor data-mapping question.worth about +35 points
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
2949 of 2949 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
5435 of 5435 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
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.
Check with your AVL vendor that every vehicle assignment flows into TripUpdates, including school-day and tripper runs. · 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. Self-check a feed before you publish.
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. Self-check a feed before you publish.
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. Self-check a feed before you publish.
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 6 kinds of issue across 8517 instances (0 error, 8516 warning, 1 informational).
Service data covers the next 58 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 published.
0% of stops state accessibility (0% marked accessible). Reflects what the feed states, not verified physical usability.
Fares are applied to trips.
Sampled 9 times: 3 of 3 feeds healthy; 0.0% of scheduled trips had live predictions.
Over time
This is the first scorecard for this agency. A trend and a "what changed" summary appear here once it has been checked more than once.
Everything we checked
- Warning8411 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)
- Warning5435 instances
5435 of 5435 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.)
Validator rule: scorecard_wheelchair_accessible_unknown · Read the fix guide · See GTFS Schedule reference (opens the GTFS Schedule reference on an external site)
- Warning2949 instances
2949 of 2949 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)
- Warning116 instances
116 of 116 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.)
Validator rule: scorecard_rt_trip_coverage · Read the fix guide · See GTFS-Realtime reference (opens the GTFS-Realtime reference on an external site)
- Warning102 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.)
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)
- 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.)
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 files are missing recommended (not required) fields.
Recommended fields like agency_phone or stop descriptions make the feed more useful to riders and trip planners.
Fix: Review the flagged fields and fill in the ones your riders would use. (A field at a time; not urgent.)
Validator rule: missing_recommended_field · Read the fix guide · See MobilityData GTFS Validator rules (opens the validator rules on an external site)
- Warning1 instance
Route long name contains short name (flagged by the MobilityData validator).
See the linked rule for what this affects.
Fix: Review the rule documentation for 'route_long_name_contains_short_name' at https://gtfs-validator.mobilitydata.org/rules.html and check the flagged rows in your feed. (Varies.)
Validator rule: route_long_name_contains_short_name · See MobilityData GTFS Validator rules (opens the validator rules on an external site)
- Info2920 instances
About 2920 stop names are written in ALL CAPS.
Mixed-case names are easier to read in apps and are read more naturally by screen readers.
Fix: Rename stops to mixed case (e.g. 'Main St & 2nd Ave'). (Often a bulk fix in your scheduling software.)
Validator rule: scorecard_stop_names_all_caps · Read the fix guide · See GTFS Best Practices (opens GTFS Best Practices on an external site)
- Info1 instance
Unknown file (flagged by the MobilityData validator).
See the linked rule for what this affects.
Fix: Review the rule documentation for 'unknown_file' at https://gtfs-validator.mobilitydata.org/rules.html and check the flagged rows in your feed. (Varies.)
Validator rule: unknown_file · Read the fix guide · See MobilityData GTFS Validator rules (opens the validator rules 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.)
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.
2887 stop name(s) use abbreviations or symbols a screen reader may mispronounce, with no spoken form set ("HANSON ST & E MAIN ST", "W MOUND ST & S WAYNE AVE", "MORSE CROSSING & EASTON WAY", 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.
Trimmed surrounding whitespace 7 changes
For example: 'stop_desc': ' Unit CANNON DR & E 7TH AVE' -> 'Unit CANNON DR & E 7TH AVE'
Recased shouting stop names 2920 changes
For example: HANSON ST & E MAIN ST -> Hanson St & E Main St
Recased shouting route names 41 changes
For example: KENNY/LIVINGSTON -> Kenny/livingston
NTD GTFS 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 58 days.
- agency_id matches your NTD ID Not checked yet
- Setting your GTFS agency_id to your five-digit NTD ID is an optional way to line a feed up with its National Transit Database record. FTA links the two on your P-50 form, so it is not a required feed change. We don't have your NTD ID on file, so this is not checked yet.
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 58 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 1 checks, 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.
Clears the Google and Apple Maps four-week coverage bar. This feed has 58 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.
- Correctness 72 / 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 97 / 100
- The FTA National Transit Database expectation of a valid, current feed. Google Transit: an expired calendar drops the agency from Maps.
- Rider experience 38 / 100
- GTFS Best Practices for rider-facing fields. MobilityData grading: stop names and headsigns.
- Realtime quality 59 / 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/central-ohio-transit-authority-cota-404/2026-07-10.json and never overwritten, pinning the grade, category scores, rubric version, validator version, and the scored feed's sha256 as they stood on 2026-07-10. 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.