Feed status · checked 2026-10-07
Downtown Alliance
Based on the feed source on file; publisher ownership is not verified
Service mode Bus
down 0.4 since 2026-10-06
Cataloged in New York.
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 v1.4, validator 8.0.1.
Checked for changes 32 minutes ago; last changed 105 days ago.
Measured 3 of 4 score categories from the feed URL on file (publisher not verified).
How we measured this
Confidence in this measurement: medium.
- Realtime quality was not measured this run. It does not count against the grade.
- The feed was downloaded from the configured feed URL. Publisher ownership of that URL is not verified.
Confidence describes how much the pipeline could measure this run, not the feed itself. It never changes the grade.
About this feed
Downtown Alliance’s published feed lists 1 bus route, 76 scheduled trips and 34 stops. Its service dates run from 2024-09-15 through 2026-10-31. The published file has not changed since our first check on 2026-06-19.
Top things to fix
Re-export with a validity window that reaches at least 60 days out.Likely your export tool
Service data runs out in 24 day(s). When the calendar runs out, trip planners stop showing this agency. Fixing it now is calmer than after riders notice.
This one is about the feed as a whole, so there is no share of it to count.
⏱ One export setting.worth about +56 points in its category
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
34 of 34 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.
Fixing this covers all 34 stops in the feed.
⏱ A column in stops.txt; your scheduling software likely has it.worth about +25 points in its category
Riders and need behind these fixes
- This feed carries no National Transit Database ID, so annual rider-trips are not known for it.
- New York as a whole measures moderate 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.
- Finding
- Fix 01 in Top things to fix: its feed evidence and the requested change.
- 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
- Finding
- Fix 02 in Top things to fix: its feed evidence and the requested change.
- 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
How to make and check these changes
Check the result on the published feed. Read the guide, make the change in your tool, and use the next comparable run to see whether the finding is still reported. Only an action or ticket record can attribute who made the change.
Fix 01 · Read the fix guide for scorecard_feed_expiring_soon
Make the change. Make this change in whatever tool produces your feed, then re-export.
Check the result. The next scorecard run checks this finding again. If a comparable check no longer reports it, the feed's clearance log records that result. This confirms feed state, not who made the change. Self-check a feed before you publish.
Fix 02 · Read the fix guide for scorecard_wheelchair_boarding_unknown
Make the change. Make this change in whatever tool produces your feed, then re-export.
Check the result. The next scorecard run checks this finding again. If a comparable check no longer reports it, the feed's clearance log records that result. This confirms feed state, not who made the change. Self-check a feed before you publish.
Rider view: what this feed publishes
A quick read of rider-facing information in this feed.
- Schedule visibility
- The feed's last published service date is in 24 days.
- Published accessibility data
- Accessibility information is stated for 0% of stops and 100% of trips. This measures published data, not whether stops or vehicles are physically usable.
- Fare information
- Fare information is published using GTFS Fares v1.
- Realtime information
- Realtime-feed availability and live-arrival coverage are not known from this scorecard.
Important: This does not rate service reliability. Riders should confirm current service alerts, fares, and accessibility accommodations with the transit operator before traveling.
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.
Send the agency a note
Supporting this agency? Copy this and email it to them. It names what lapsed, why it matters to riders, and the one setting to change.
Score by category
The validator found no problems in this feed. That is rare and worth celebrating.
Service data runs out in 24 day(s). Publish an updated feed soon or riders will lose trip planning.
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.
2 accessibility depth signals
1 route badge(s) pair a color and text color below the WCAG 4.5:1 contrast bar (Free Downtown Connection).
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.
34 stop name(s) use abbreviations or symbols a screen reader may mispronounce, with no spoken form set ("North End Ave & Warren St - Arrival", "North End Ave & Warren St", "Murray St & Broadway", and more).
Consider: Add tts_stop_name with the spoken form, e.g. 'Main Street and Second Avenue', for the affected stops.
Opportunities to strengthen the data, not deductions from the sub-score above. States what the second accessibility lens can check from the feed, not verified physical usability.
Fares are applied to trips.
Not scored yet. Nothing here counts against the grade.
Routes and stops
Each route is drawn once, using the longest shape its trips follow; stops are the dots.
This feed has 34 stops.
The route and stop data is ready below. Load the map only when you want the geographic view. It uses additional data.
Basemap: OpenFreeMap, © OpenStreetMap contributors. Routes and stops: this agency's GTFS feed.
- Free Downtown Connection (red)
| Route | Type | Line color |
|---|---|---|
| Free Downtown Connection | Bus | red |
List every stop
- Battery Pl & First Pl
- Battery Pl & Third Pl
- Battery Pl & Third Pl
- State St & Whitehall St
- Battery Pl / Washington St
- Battery Pl & Washington St
- Battery Pl & West St
- Murray St & Broadway
- Murray St & Greenwich St (temp @ Broadway)
- Murray St & North End Ave
- North End Ave & Murray St
- North End Ave & Warren St - Arrival
- North End Ave & Warren St
- Pearl St & Fulton St
- South End Ave & Albany St
- South End Ave & Gateway Plz
- South End Ave & Rector Pl
- South End Ave & Rector Pl
- West Thames St & South End Ave
- West Thames St & South End Ave
- South St & Peck Slip
- State St at Bridge St
- Vesey St & North End Ave
- Warren St & Greenwich St
- Warren St & Church St
- Water St & Broad St
- Water St & Broad St
- Water St & Fletcher St
- Water St & Fulton St
- Water St & Old Slip
- Water St & Pine St
- Water St & Wall St
- Water St & Gouverneur
- State St & Whitehall St
Over time
Overall score across the last 2 checks — down 0.4 since 2026-10-06.
Show the numbers
| Check | Score | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-06 | 77.6 | first check |
| 2026-10-07 | 77.2 | down 0.4 |
What changed since your last check
- Correctness no change
- Freshness down 1.7
- Rider experience no change
Feed history
Every check on record for this feed, grouped by the published file, newest first. A new file means the published zip changed. Grades from earlier rubric versions are shown with their rubric and are not comparable with today’s grade or the trend above.
| Checked | Published file | Service dates through | Grade at the time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-06 to 2026-10-07 (2 checks) | 5b7f8a3b6b2c | 2026-10-31 | Current rubric: see the trend above |
| 2026-08-06 to 2026-09-13 (4 checks) | 5b7f8a3b6b2c | 2026-10-31 | B, 87.2 under rubric 1.3, an earlier scoring contract; not comparable with today’s grade |
| 2026-06-19 to 2026-07-10 (21 checks) | 5b7f8a3b6b2c | 2026-10-31 | A, 92.2 under rubric 1.1, an earlier scoring contract; not comparable with today’s grade |
What changed in this feed
Overall score fell 0.4 points since 2026-10-06.
Same feed file as 2026-10-06; the published zip did not change.
Subscribe to this feed’s changes (Atom) to hear about grade drops and export changes in a reader, with no sign-up.
Everything we checked
2 findings, ordered by severity.
Show every finding
- Warning34 instances
34 of 34 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.)
Finding code: scorecard_wheelchair_boarding_unknown · Read the fix guide for scorecard_wheelchair_boarding_unknown · See GTFS Schedule reference (opens the GTFS Schedule reference on an external site)
- Warning1 instance
Service data runs out in 24 day(s).
When the calendar runs out, trip planners stop showing this agency. Fixing it now is calmer than after riders notice.
Fix: Re-export with a validity window that reaches at least 60 days out. (One export setting.)
Finding code: scorecard_feed_expiring_soon · Read the fix guide for scorecard_feed_expiring_soon · See GTFS Best Practices (opens GTFS Best Practices on an external site)
NTD GTFS readiness Needs attention
This feed is close to NTD-ready. Service data runs out in 24 days; renew before you certify.
- Published Ready
- Published at a public URL.
- Valid Ready
- Passes validation with no errors.
- Current Needs attention
- Service data runs out in 24 days; renew before you certify.
- agency_id provided Ready
- agency.txt provides agency_id. For RY2026, keep one stable value for each NTD reporter represented in the feed and crosswalk each value on the P-50 form.
- agency_id equals your NTD ID (optional) Not checked yet
- This feed provides agency_id. For RY2026, keep one stable value for each NTD reporter represented in the feed and crosswalk it on the P-50 form. The value does not need to equal the five-digit NTD ID; we do not have that ID on file, so the optional equality comparison is not checked yet.
- shapes.txt covers your trips Ready
- All 76 trips have a shape in shapes.txt.
In plain words: if you report to the federal transit database, you have to publish a working, up-to-date feed, provide a stable agency_id for each represented reporter, and confirm the feed and P-50 crosswalk each year. This box is a heads-up; your filings are the official check.
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). For RY2026, each represented reporter needs a stable agency_id, unique within the feed and crosswalked to its five-digit NTD ID on P-50; the values do not need to be equal. FTA also 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
Two requirements remain for this feed to earn the conformance mark. Service data runs out in 24 days; renew to qualify. States wheelchair access on 0% of stops and 100% of trips; the mark needs 90% of each.
- Valid Met
- Passes validation with no errors.
- Current Not yet
- Service data runs out in 24 days; renew to qualify.
- Accessible Not yet
- States wheelchair access on 0% of stops and 100% 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.
At risk for the Google and Apple Maps four-week coverage bar. This feed has 24 days of service left. Maps needs at least four weeks (28 days) of upcoming service, so your agency will fall out of trip planners soon. Re-export with a longer calendar.
How this agency maps to the standards
The scorecard is a data-quality lens, not a compliance determination. Its universal references describe good GTFS and useful rider information. Useful references here are GTFS Schedule Best Practices, GTFS-Realtime Best Practices, MobilityData grading scheme, Google Transit publication guidance, FTA National Transit Database GTFS requirement. Read the full standards crosswalk.
- Correctness 100 / 100
- GTFS Schedule best practices, checked by the MobilityData validator. MobilityData grading covers stop locations, route names, and colors. Google Transit requires a feed to pass validation for publication. FTA NTD readiness also checks that the published feed is valid.
- Freshness 40 / 100
- GTFS Schedule best practices call for a dataset that stays current. An expired calendar can remove service from Google Transit and other rider trip planners. FTA NTD readiness also checks that the published feed is current.
- Rider experience 75 / 100
- GTFS Best Practices for rider-facing fields. MobilityData grading covers stop names and headsigns.
- Realtime quality Not yet published
- GTFS-Realtime best practices: a stable URL, high uptime, and frequent updates.
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For programs that support several agencies
This scorecard and the board one-pager for Downtown Alliance are free, and they stay free. If you support several agencies, as a state program, a technical-assistance center, a feed vendor, or a consultancy, you can buy the program report bundle. It puts this agency's board report in one archive with the reports for the other agencies you support, and each cover carries your program's name, logo, and accent color.
The report for Downtown Alliance uses the same numbers as this page: grade C (77.2 out of 100) as of the check on 2026-10-07, its category scores, its top fixes, and its score at each check.
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A purchase buys no influence over grades, methodology, or which agencies are listed. The grade on this page comes from the check on 2026-10-07, scored with rubric v1.4 and MobilityData gtfs-validator 8.0.1. Based on the feed source on file; publisher ownership is not verified. Read how the grade is calculated.
Similar feeds in New York
Other scorecards in New York, starting with the same kind of service at a similar size. Listed for comparison, not ranked.
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