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Feed status · checked 2026-07-09
Pony Express
Based on the feed this agency publishes
down 0.4 since 2026-07-08
Ahead of 57% of all tracked agencies and 56% of small agencies. Operates in Virginia.
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 v1.1, validator 8.0.1.
Checked for changes 13 minutes ago; last changed 8 days ago.
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 23 day(s). When the calendar runs out, trip planners stop showing this agency. Fixing it now is calmer than after riders notice.
⏱ One export setting.worth about +57 points
Agencies here usually clear this within about 1 week (based on 61 observed fixes).
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
10 of 10 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.
⏱ A column in stops.txt; your scheduling software likely has it.worth about +25 points
Set wheelchair_accessible on every trip (most small-agency fleets are 100% accessible, so this is often a single default).Likely your export tool
20 of 20 trips don't say whether the vehicle is wheelchair accessible. Even with accessible stops, riders need to know the bus itself can take them.
⏱ Often one default setting in your export.worth about +15 points
Agencies here usually clear this within about 1 week (based on 5 observed 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.
Close the loop on each fix. Read the guide, make the change in your tool, and let the next run verify it — the scorecard shows the fix; the agency publishes it.
Re-export with a validity window that reaches at least 60 days out. · Read the fix guide
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.
Prove it cleared. The next scorecard run re-checks this automatically and, once it is gone, mints a dated receipt. Self-check a feed before you publish.
Set wheelchair_boarding to 1 (accessible) or 2 (not accessible) for every stop. A field survey can start with the busiest stops. · Read the fix guide
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.
Prove it cleared. The next scorecard run re-checks this automatically and, once it is gone, mints a dated receipt. Self-check a feed before you publish.
Set wheelchair_accessible on every trip (most small-agency fleets are 100% accessible, so this is often a single default). · Read the fix guide
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.
Prove it cleared. The next scorecard run re-checks this automatically and, once it is gone, mints a dated receipt. Self-check a feed before you publish.
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.
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 MobilityData validator flagged 3 kinds of issue across 43 instances (0 error, 0 warning, 43 informational).
Service data runs out in 23 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.
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.
Skip to route and stop dataBasemap: OpenFreeMap, © OpenStreetMap contributors. Routes and stops: this agency's GTFS feed.
- Green Route (green)
- Red Route (red)
| Route | Type | Line color |
|---|---|---|
| Green Route | Bus | green |
| Red Route | Bus | red |
This feed has 10 stops.
List every stop
- Pine Grove
- Maddox Blvd & Deep Hole Rd
- Main St & Church St
- Beebe Rd & Ridge Rd
- Veteran's Memorial Park
- Pony Centre
- Museum of Chincoteague
- Community Center
- High School
- Curtis Merritt Harbor
Over time
Overall score across the last 9 checks — down 0.4 since 2026-07-08.
Show the numbers
| Check | Score | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-30 | 70.3 | first check |
| 2026-07-01 | 69.9 | down 0.4 |
| 2026-07-02 | 69.4 | down 0.5 |
| 2026-07-04 | 68.6 | down 0.8 |
| 2026-07-05 | 68.2 | down 0.4 |
| 2026-07-06 | 67.8 | down 0.4 |
| 2026-07-07 | 67.4 | down 0.4 |
| 2026-07-08 | 66.9 | down 0.5 |
| 2026-07-09 | 66.5 | down 0.4 |
What changed since your last check
- Correctness no change
- Freshness down 1.7
- 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.
Subscribe to this feed’s changes (Atom) to hear about grade drops in a reader, with no sign-up.
What changed over time
On 2026-06-30 this feed started at grade C. On 2026-07-01 the grade moved from C to D. On 2026-07-02 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.
- 2026-07-02 Feed entered the expiry window (30 days of service left).
- 2026-07-01 Grade went C to D.
Everything we checked
- Warning20 instances
20 of 20 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)
- Warning20 instances
20 of 20 trips have no headsign.
Riders at the stop can't tell which direction a bus is going.
Fix: Populate trip_headsign to match what the bus displays. (Usually a bulk edit in your scheduling software.)
Validator rule: scorecard_missing_headsigns · Read the fix guide · See GTFS Best Practices (opens GTFS Best Practices on an external site)
- Warning10 instances
10 of 10 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)
- Warning1 instance
Service data runs out in 23 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
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)
- Info1 instance
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).
3 stop name(s) use abbreviations or symbols a screen reader may mispronounce, with no spoken form set ("Maddox Blvd & Deep Hole Rd", "Main St & Church St", "Beebe Rd & Ridge Rd").
Consider: Add tts_stop_name with the spoken form, e.g. 'Main Street and Second Avenue', for the affected stops.
NTD certification readiness Needs attention
This feed is close to NTD-ready. Service data runs out in 23 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 23 days; renew before you certify.
- agency_id matches your NTD ID Not checked yet
- Setting your GTFS agency_id to your five-digit NTD ID is an optional way to line a feed up with its National Transit Database record. FTA links the two on your P-50 form, so it is not a required feed change. We don't have your NTD ID on file, so this is not checked yet.
In plain words: if you report to the federal transit database, you have to publish a working, up-to-date feed and confirm it once a year. This box is a heads-up on whether yours looks ready; it is not the official sign-off.
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). Aligning agency_id with your NTD ID lets the feed line up with your NTD record; the July 2025 final rule links the two on the P-50 form rather than requiring that feed change, and 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
This feed is close to the conformance mark. Service data runs out in 23 days; renew to qualify. States wheelchair access on 0% of stops and 0% of trips; the mark needs 90% of each.
- Valid Met
- Passes validation with no errors.
- Current Not yet
- Service data runs out in 23 days; renew to qualify.
- Accessible Not yet
- States wheelchair access on 0% of stops 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 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 23 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
A data-quality lens, not a compliance determination. Each category shows this feed's score and the standards it relates to: the FTA National Transit Database GTFS requirement, the MobilityData grading scheme, and the Google Transit gate. Read the full standards crosswalk.
- Correctness 98 / 100
- GTFS Schedule best practices, checked by the MobilityData validator. MobilityData grading: stop locations, route names and colors. Google Transit: a feed must pass validation to stay in Maps.
- Freshness 38 / 100
- The FTA National Transit Database expectation of a valid, current feed. Google Transit: an expired calendar drops the agency from Maps.
- Rider experience 45 / 100
- GTFS Best Practices for rider-facing fields. MobilityData grading: 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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Cite this record
This page updates on every check. The record below does not: it is the dated file this grade came from, published at https://gtfsscorecard.org/data/artifacts/pony-express-828/2026-07-09.json and never overwritten, pinning the grade, category scores, rubric version, validator version, and the scored feed's sha256 as they stood on 2026-07-09. Use it in a board packet, an NTD narrative, or a research citation instead of linking the live page, whose content will differ on your next visit.
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