Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA)

Top things to fix

Score by category

Over time

Overall score across the last 20 checks — down 0.4 since 2026-07-08.

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 0.4 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.

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.)

  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)

• 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)

• Warning134 instances

  134 of 134 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)

• 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.)

  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)

• 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 files leave out fields that GTFS asks for but does not require.

  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.)

  Agencies here usually clear this within about 2 weeks (based on 8 observed fixes).

  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

  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.

• 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

Run it yourself on your own copy of the feed: scorecard autofix <feed.zip> --out corrected.zip