Pioneer Valley Transit Authority (PVTA)

Top things to fix

Score by category

Over time

Overall score across the last 20 checks — down 0.3 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 0.3 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.

What changed over time

On 2026-06-19 this feed started at grade F. On 2026-06-26 feed renewed to a current calendar. On 2026-06-21 it cleared feed_expiration_date30_days. On 2026-06-26 it cleared expired_calendar, feed_expiration_date7_days, scorecard_feed_expiring_soon, trip_coverage_not_active_for_next7_days. As of 2026-07-09 it holds grade F.

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

• 2026-06-26 Feed renewed to a current calendar.

Everything we checked

• Error170 instances

  Equal shape distance diff coordinates (flagged by the MobilityData validator).

  See the linked rule for what this affects.

  Fix: Review the rule documentation for 'equal_shape_distance_diff_coordinates' at https://gtfs-validator.mobilitydata.org/rules.html and check the flagged rows in your feed. (Varies.)

  Validator rule: equal_shape_distance_diff_coordinates · See MobilityData GTFS Validator rules (opens the validator rules on an external site)

• Error65 instances

  Trip distance exceeds shape distance (flagged by the MobilityData validator).

  See the linked rule for what this affects.

  Fix: Review the rule documentation for 'trip_distance_exceeds_shape_distance' at https://gtfs-validator.mobilitydata.org/rules.html and check the flagged rows in your feed. (Varies.)

  Validator rule: trip_distance_exceeds_shape_distance · See MobilityData GTFS Validator rules (opens the validator rules on an external site)

• Error1 instance

  The trip updates realtime feed failed during sampling.

  When this feed is down, riders see scheduled times presented as if they were live.

  Fix: Check the trip updates endpoint with your AVL vendor; it should return a fresh GTFS-Realtime protobuf on every request. (Usually a vendor support ticket.)

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

  Validator rule: scorecard_rt_trip_updates_unreachable · Read the fix guide · See GTFS-Realtime reference (opens the GTFS-Realtime reference on an external site)

• Error1 instance

  The vehicle positions realtime feed failed during sampling.

  When this feed is down, riders see scheduled times presented as if they were live.

  Fix: Check the vehicle positions endpoint with your AVL vendor; it should return a fresh GTFS-Realtime protobuf on every request. (Usually a vendor support ticket.)

  Agencies here usually clear this within about 1 week (based on 9 observed fixes).

  Validator rule: scorecard_rt_vehicle_positions_unreachable · Read the fix guide · See GTFS-Realtime reference (opens the GTFS-Realtime reference on an external site)

• Error1 instance

  The service alerts realtime feed failed during sampling.

  When this feed is down, riders see scheduled times presented as if they were live.

  Fix: Check the service alerts endpoint with your AVL vendor; it should return a fresh GTFS-Realtime protobuf on every request. (Usually a vendor support ticket.)

  Agencies here usually clear this within about 1 week (based on 5 observed fixes).

  Validator rule: scorecard_rt_service_alerts_unreachable · Read the fix guide · See GTFS-Realtime reference (opens the GTFS-Realtime reference on an external site)

• Warning6468 instances

  Equal shape distance same coordinates (flagged by the MobilityData validator).

  See the linked rule for what this affects.

  Fix: Review the rule documentation for 'equal_shape_distance_same_coordinates' at https://gtfs-validator.mobilitydata.org/rules.html and check the flagged rows in your feed. (Varies.)

  Validator rule: equal_shape_distance_same_coordinates · See MobilityData GTFS Validator rules (opens the validator rules on an external site)

• Warning483 instances

  Trip distance exceeds shape distance below threshold (flagged by the MobilityData validator).

  See the linked rule for what this affects.

  Fix: Review the rule documentation for 'trip_distance_exceeds_shape_distance_below_threshold' at https://gtfs-validator.mobilitydata.org/rules.html and check the flagged rows in your feed. (Varies.)

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

• Warning371 instances

  Equal shape distance diff coordinates distance below threshold (flagged by the MobilityData validator).

  See the linked rule for what this affects.

  Fix: Review the rule documentation for 'equal_shape_distance_diff_coordinates_distance_below_threshold' at https://gtfs-validator.mobilitydata.org/rules.html and check the flagged rows in your feed. (Varies.)

  Validator rule: equal_shape_distance_diff_coordinates_distance_below_threshold · See MobilityData GTFS Validator rules (opens the validator rules on an external site)

• Warning196 instances

  196 of 1885 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)

• Warning169 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)

• Warning78 instances

  78 of 78 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 84 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)

• Warning22 instances

  Some trips serve fewer than two stops.

  A trip with one stop can't be ridden; planners ignore it and it may signal an export problem.

  Fix: Check the flagged trips in your scheduling software; remove them or restore their missing stops. (Worth a vendor question if it appears often.)

  Validator rule: unusable_trip · See MobilityData GTFS Validator rules (opens the validator rules on an external site)

• Warning1 instance

  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)

• Warning1 instance

  This feed models stations or entrances but has no pathways.txt.

  Trip planners can't guide riders through the station, and there is no step-free route information for wheelchair users.

  Fix: Add pathways.txt connecting entrances, platforms, and any elevators, with a level for each. (Worth it for multi-level or large stations; flat stops don't need it.)

  Validator rule: scorecard_station_no_pathways · Read the fix guide · See GTFS Schedule reference (opens the GTFS Schedule reference on an external site)

• Info1 instance

  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)

Beyond the grade

Opportunities that do not change your grade today: fare detail, on-demand service, and deeper accessibility data.

• The feed publishes fare products but no rider_categories.txt defining who qualifies for each fare.

  Consider: Add rider_categories.txt for the fares you already offer, then reference those categories from your fare products.

• 12 route badge(s) pair a color and text color below the WCAG 4.5:1 contrast bar (45, 46, UMG, G1, G1, and more).

  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.

• 1481 stop name(s) use abbreviations or symbols a screen reader may mispronounce, with no spoken form set ("Plainfield / Wason", "Bay / Aster", "Springfield / Medical Ctr Drive (across)", and more).

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

• This feed models stations or entrances but has no pathways.txt and levels.txt.

  Consider: Add pathways.txt connecting entrances, platforms, and elevators, and levels.txt for each floor, so the step-free route is described.

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 3770 changes

  For example: 'stop_lat': ' 42.477045' -> '42.477045'

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