Lowell Regional Transit Authority (LRTA)

Top things to fix

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Score by category

Over time

Overall score across the last 9 checks — down 0.4 since 2026-07-08.

What changed since your last check

• Correctness— no change
• Freshness▼ down 1.6
• Rider experience— 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.

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What changed over time

On 2026-06-30 this feed started at grade D. On 2026-07-01 feed entered the expiry window (30 days of service left). As of 2026-07-09 it holds grade D.

A plain-language history of this feed, newest first.

• 2026-07-01 Feed entered the expiry window (30 days of service left).

Everything we checked

• Warning1059 instances

  1059 of 1059 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)

• Warning886 instances

  886 of 886 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)

• Warning59 instances

  Some stops exist in the feed but no trip ever stops at them.

  Riders may walk to a stop where no bus 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.)

  Agencies here usually clear this within about 1 week (based on 11 observed fixes).

  Validator rule: stop_without_stop_time · Read the fix guide · See MobilityData GTFS Validator rules (opens the validator rules on an external site)

• Warning5 instances

  Some service calendars in the feed have already expired.

  Expired calendars are dead weight and can hide real schedule problems from your staff and vendors.

  Fix: Remove past service periods the next time you export the feed. (One setting in most export tools.)

  Agencies here usually clear this within about 1 week (based on 61 observed fixes).

  Validator rule: expired_calendar · Read the fix guide · See MobilityData GTFS Validator rules (opens the validator rules on an external site)

• Warning1 instance

  Service data runs out in 22 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.)

  Agencies here usually clear this within about 1 week (based on 61 observed fixes).

  Validator rule: scorecard_feed_expiring_soon · Read the fix guide · See GTFS Best Practices (opens GTFS Best Practices 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)

• Warning1 instance

  This feed describes flexible (demand-responsive) service but has no booking_rules.txt.

  Riders can see the service area but not how or when to reserve a trip, so they can't actually 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.)

  Validator rule: scorecard_flex_no_booking_rules · Read the fix guide · 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.)

  Validator rule: unknown_column · Read the fix guide · See MobilityData GTFS Validator rules (opens the validator rules on an external site)

• Info8 instances

  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.)

  Agencies here usually clear this within about 1 week (based on 6 observed fixes).

  Validator rule: unknown_file · Read the fix guide · See MobilityData GTFS Validator rules (opens the validator rules on an external site)

• Info2 instances

  Service window outside feed period (flagged by the MobilityData validator).

  See the linked rule for what this affects.

  Fix: Review the rule documentation for 'service_window_outside_feed_period' 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 17 observed fixes).

  Validator rule: service_window_outside_feed_period · 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.

• 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).

• 5 route badge(s) pair a color and text color below the WCAG 4.5:1 contrast bar (1, 13, 2, 17, 4).

  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.

• 711 stop name(s) use abbreviations or symbols a screen reader may mispronounce, with no spoken form set ("Billerica Rd & Chelmsford St", "Burnham Rd & Florence St", "Main St & North St", and more).

  Consider: Add tts_stop_name with the spoken form, e.g. 'Main Street and Second Avenue', for the affected stops.