Feed status · checked 2026-10-07
Lake Champlain Ferries
Based on the feed source on file; publisher ownership is not verified
Service mode Ferry
down 0.4 since 2026-10-06
Cataloged in Vermont.
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 3 hours ago; last changed 68 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
Lake Champlain Ferries’s published feed lists 2 ferry routes, 369 scheduled trips and 6 stops. Its service dates run from 2026-07-30 through 2026-11-25. The published file last changed on 2026-08-06.
Top things to fix
Set wheelchair_boarding to 1 (accessible) or 2 (not accessible) for every terminal. A field survey can start with the busiest terminals.Likely your team
6 of 6 terminals 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 6 stops in the feed.
⏱ A column in stops.txt; your scheduling software likely has it.worth about +25 points in its category
Set wheelchair_accessible on every trip. If every vehicle is accessible, this may be one default; otherwise use the value for each trip.Likely your export tool
369 of 369 trips don't say whether the vehicle is wheelchair accessible. Even with accessible terminals, riders need to know the vessel itself can take them.
Fixing this covers all 369 trips in the feed.
⏱ A default or per-trip field in your export.worth about +15 points in its category
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.
⏱ A small file for most flat-fare systems.worth about +15 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.
- Vermont 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.
Trillium produces and hosts this feed as a service. These changes are made on their side: send the fix list to your Trillium contact and they apply it and republish.
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
- Finding
- Fix 03 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_wheelchair_boarding_unknown
Make the change. Trillium produces and hosts this feed as a service. These changes are made on their side: send the fix list to your Trillium contact and they apply it and republish.
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_accessible_unknown
Make the change. Trillium produces and hosts this feed as a service. These changes are made on their side: send the fix list to your Trillium contact and they apply it and republish.
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 03 · Read the fix guide for scorecard_no_fare_data
Make the change. Trillium produces and hosts this feed as a service. These changes are made on their side: send the fix list to your Trillium contact and they apply it and republish.
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 49 days.
- Published accessibility data
- Accessibility information is stated for 0% of terminals and 0% of trips. This measures published data, not whether terminals or vessels are physically usable.
- Fare information
- No fare information is published in the feed.
- 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.
Ungraded capability read
Ferry data profile
A ferry-specific view of what this GTFS feed publishes. Schedule measurements use ferry routes and trips only; fare and realtime facts are labeled as whole-feed. Unknown values are not treated as no.
- Ferry service
- 2 routes · 369 trips
- Terminal structure
- 4 ferry boarding locations; no parent-station hierarchy is published.
- Terminal access
- Not applicable: no ferry boarding location is linked to a parent station, so stop_access is not permitted here.
- Published accessibility
- Unknown: none of the 4 ferry boarding locations publish wheelchair_boarding. Unknown: none of the 369 ferry trips publish wheelchair_accessible. This reports published values, not verified physical usability.
- Bicycles
- Unknown: none of the 369 ferry trips publish bikes_allowed.
- Cars
- Unknown: none of the 369 ferry trips publish cars_allowed.
- Fares
- Whole feed: no applied fare data is published. This is not evidence that ferry service is free.
- Realtime
- Whole feed: no GTFS-Realtime endpoints are configured in this scorecard.
Descriptive only. This profile does not change the grade or verify vessels, terminal facilities, vehicle carriage, fares, or accessibility in the real world. Field meanings follow the GTFS Schedule reference.
Send Trillium a fix request
This feed is produced and hosted by Trillium. Copy this and send it to your Trillium contact; they make the change and republish the feed. Each fix names the validator notice and a guide link.
Score by category
The MobilityData validator flagged 5 kinds of issue across 417 instances (0 error, 371 warning, 46 informational).
Service data covers the next 49 days.
0% of terminals state wheelchair accessibility (0% marked accessible, 0% marked not accessible). This measures what the feed publishes, not whether a terminal is physically usable. Fare data is not published.
0% of terminals state accessibility (0% marked accessible). Reflects what the feed states, not verified physical usability.
Not scored yet. Nothing here counts against the grade.
Routes and terminals
Each route is drawn once, using the longest shape its trips follow; terminals are the dots.
This feed has 6 terminals.
The route and terminal data is ready below. Load the map only when you want the geographic view. It uses additional data.
Basemap: OpenFreeMap, © OpenStreetMap contributors. Routes and terminals: this agency's GTFS feed.
- Grand Isle, VT – Plattsburgh, NY (teal)
- Charlotte, VT – Essex, NY (green)
| Route | Type | Line color |
|---|---|---|
| Grand Isle, VT – Plattsburgh, NY | Ferry | teal |
| Charlotte, VT – Essex, NY | Ferry | green |
List every terminal
- Grand Isle, VT Dock
- Plattsburgh, NY Dock
- Charlotte, VT Dock
- Essex, NY Dock
- Port Kent, NY Dock
- Burlington, VT Dock
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 | 72.5 | first check |
| 2026-10-07 | 72.1 | down 0.4 |
What changed since your last check
- Correctness no change
- Freshness down 1.6
- 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) | 13010f8417f0 | 2026-11-25 | Current rubric: see the trend above |
| 2026-08-06 to 2026-08-07 (2 checks) | 13010f8417f0 | 2026-11-25 | C, 76.7 under rubric 1.3, an earlier scoring contract; not comparable with today’s grade |
| 2026-06-19 to 2026-07-10 (21 checks) | d8b858dceab8 | 2026-11-26 | C, 76.7 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
9 findings, ordered by severity.
Show every finding
- Warning369 instances
Missing bike allowance (flagged by the MobilityData validator).
See the linked rule for what this affects.
Fix: Review the rule documentation for 'missing_bike_allowance' at https://gtfs-validator.mobilitydata.org/rules.html and check the flagged rows in your feed. (Varies.)
Finding code: missing_bike_allowance · See MobilityData GTFS Validator rules (opens the validator rules on an external site)
- Warning369 instances
369 of 369 trips don't say whether the vehicle is wheelchair accessible.
Even with accessible terminals, riders need to know the vessel itself can take them.
Fix: Set wheelchair_accessible on every trip. If every vehicle is accessible, this may be one default; otherwise use the value for each trip. (A default or per-trip field in your export.)
Finding code: scorecard_wheelchair_accessible_unknown · Read the fix guide for scorecard_wheelchair_accessible_unknown · See GTFS Schedule reference (opens the GTFS Schedule reference on an external site)
- Warning6 instances
6 of 6 terminals 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 terminal. A field survey can start with the busiest terminals. (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)
- Warning2 instances
Some terminals exist in the feed but no trip serves them.
Riders may go to a terminal where no vessel is scheduled to arrive.
Fix: Remove retired stops from the export, or add them back to the trips that should serve them. (A review pass in your scheduling software.)
Finding code: stop_without_stop_time · Read the fix guide for stop_without_stop_time · 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.)
Finding code: scorecard_no_fare_data · Read the fix guide for scorecard_no_fare_data · See GTFS Best Practices (opens GTFS Best Practices on an external site)
- Warning1 instance
This feed offers flexible service that riders book ahead, but it has no booking_rules.txt.
Riders can see the service area but not how or when to book a trip. Without that, they can't use the service.
Fix: Add booking_rules.txt saying how far ahead and how to book (phone, app, or web). (A small file; one rule often covers the whole service.)
Finding code: scorecard_flex_no_booking_rules · Read the fix guide for scorecard_flex_no_booking_rules · See GTFS Schedule reference (opens the GTFS Schedule reference on an external site)
- Info34 instances
Some files contain columns that are not part of the GTFS spec.
Harmless to riders, but apps ignore these columns and they can hide typos in real column names.
Fix: Check the flagged column names for misspellings of standard GTFS fields; remove them if they are vendor extras. (A quick look at the flagged files.)
Finding code: unknown_column · Read the fix guide for unknown_column · See MobilityData GTFS Validator rules (opens the validator rules on an external site)
- Info8 instances
The feed includes a file that is not part of the GTFS spec.
Apps ignore files they don't know, and a stray file can hide a misspelled standard file name.
Fix: Check the flagged file name for a typo of a standard GTFS file. Remove it if it is a vendor extra. (A quick look at the flagged file.)
Finding code: unknown_file · Read the fix guide for unknown_file · See MobilityData GTFS Validator rules (opens the validator rules on an external site)
- Info4 instances
Some service dates fall outside the date window set in feed_info.txt.
feed_info.txt should span every day your service runs, so apps know when the data applies.
Fix: Widen feed_start_date and feed_end_date to cover all service dates, or fix the dates that fall outside. (Two fields in feed_info.txt, or one export setting.)
Finding code: service_window_outside_feed_period · Read the fix guide for service_window_outside_feed_period · 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.
Flex zones are published but no booking_rules.txt is present.
Consider: Add booking_rules.txt with how far ahead and how to reserve (phone, app, or web).
NTD GTFS readiness Ready
Published at a public URL, valid, current, and identified with agency_id: the four feed checks for RY2026 all hold here. Only your own D-10 and P-50 filings make 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 49 days.
- 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 369 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
One requirement remains for this feed to earn the conformance mark. States wheelchair access on 0% of terminals and 0% of trips; the mark needs 90% of each.
- Valid Met
- Passes validation with no errors.
- Current Met
- Service data covers the next 49 days.
- Accessible Not yet
- States wheelchair access on 0% of terminals 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 terminal and trip is wheelchair accessible.
A pass credential for a feed that is valid, current, and states wheelchair access on nearly every terminal and trip. Accessibility here measures what the feed publishes, not whether a terminal is physically usable. How the conformance mark works.
Can riders use it?
Checks beyond structural validation: places where the feed is valid but a rider still could not travel.
- 2 of 6 boardable stops are never served by any trip. Riders see these stops in apps and on the map but can never catch anything there, which erodes trust in the data. Remove stops no route serves, or add the trips that should call at them.
These do not change the grade. They catch trips with no rideable leg and stops no trip serves, the kind of gap a trip planner trips over.
Clears the Google and Apple Maps four-week coverage bar. This feed has 49 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
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 86 / 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 82 / 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 45 / 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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The report for Lake Champlain Ferries uses the same numbers as this page: grade C (72.1 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 Vermont
Other scorecards in Vermont, starting with the same kind of service at a similar size. Listed for comparison, not ranked.
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