Feed status · checked 2026-08-01
South Shore Line
Based on the feed this agency publishes
Service mode Rail
unchanged since 2026-07-31
Catalogued in Indiana.
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 v1.3, validator 8.0.1.
Checked for changes 69 minutes ago; last changed 41 days ago.
Measured 4 of 4 score categories from the agency's own feed.
How we measured this
Confidence in this measurement: high.
- All four score categories were measured this run.
- Realtime was sampled in one bounded window of 9 snapshots.
- The feed was downloaded from the agency's own URL.
Confidence describes how much the pipeline could measure this run, not the feed itself. It never changes the grade.
Top things to fix
Check with your AVL vendor that every vehicle assignment flows into TripUpdates, including school-day and tripper runs.
2 of 2 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.
⏱ A vendor data-mapping question.worth about +41 points in its category
Drop the short name from route_long_name and keep the long name descriptive, like 'Downtown via 5th Ave'.
Some route long names repeat the route's short name inside them. Apps show both names together, so riders see the number twice, like '5 5 Downtown'.
⏱ One field per flagged route.worth about +4 points in its category
Review the rule documentation for 'service_extends_far_in_the_future' at https://gtfs-validator.mobilitydata.org/rules.html and check the flagged rows in your feed.
Service extends far in the future (flagged by the MobilityData validator). See the linked rule for what this affects.
⏱ Varies.
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.
- Feed evidence
- 2 of 2 trips scheduled during the sampling window had no live predictions.
- Next action
- Check with your AVL vendor that every vehicle assignment flows into TripUpdates, including school-day and tripper runs.
- 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
- Feed evidence
- Some route long names repeat the route's short name inside them.
- Next action
- Drop the short name from route_long_name and keep the long name descriptive, like 'Downtown via 5th Ave'.
- 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
- Feed evidence
- Service extends far in the future (flagged by the MobilityData validator).
- Next action
- Review the rule documentation for 'service_extends_far_in_the_future' at https://gtfs-validator.mobilitydata.org/rules.html and check the flagged rows in your feed.
- 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.
Check with your AVL vendor that every vehicle assignment flows into TripUpdates, including school-day and tripper runs. · Read the fix guide
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.
Drop the short name from route_long_name and keep the long name descriptive, like 'Downtown via 5th Ave'.
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.
Review the rule documentation for 'service_extends_far_in_the_future' at https://gtfs-validator.mobilitydata.org/rules.html and check the flagged rows in your feed.
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 1613 days.
- Published accessibility data
- Accessibility information is stated for 100% 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
- Live-arrival data covered 0% of scheduled trips in the sampled window.
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.
Score by category
The MobilityData validator flagged 5 kinds of issue across 7 instances (0 error, 2 warning, 5 informational).
Service data covers the next 1613 days.
100% of stops state wheelchair accessibility (86% marked accessible, 14% marked not accessible). This measures what the feed publishes, not whether a stop is physically usable. Fare data is published.
100% of stops state accessibility (86% 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 (Monon).
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.
8 stop name(s) use abbreviations or symbols a screen reader may mispronounce, with no spoken form set ("Van Buren St.", "Museum Campus/11th St.", "57th St. (Hyde Park)", 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.
Sampled 9 times: 3 of 3 configured feeds healthy; 0.0% of scheduled trips had live predictions; vehicle position plausibility was not measurable.
Routes and stops
Each route is drawn once, using the longest shape its trips follow; stops are the dots.
This feed has 21 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.
- Monon (red)
- Lakeshore (orange)
| Route | Type | Line color |
|---|---|---|
| Monon Monon Corridor | Rail | red |
| Lakeshore Lakeshore Corridor | Rail | orange |
List every stop
- Millennium Station
- Gary/Chicago Airport
- Gary Metro Center
- Miller
- Portage/Ogden Dunes
- Dune Park
- Beverly Shores
- 11th St. (Michigan City)
- Carroll Ave. (Michigan City)
- Hudson Lake
- South Bend Airport
- Van Buren St.
- South Hammond
- Munster Ridge Station
- Munster Dyer Station
- Museum Campus/11th St.
- 57th St. (Hyde Park)
- 63rd St.
- Hegewisch
- Hammond Gateway
- East Chicago
Over time
Overall score across the last 2 checks — unchanged since 2026-07-31.
Show the numbers
| Check | Score | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-07-31 | 89.7 | first check |
| 2026-08-01 | 89.7 | no change |
What changed since your last check
- Correctness no change
- Freshness no change
- Rider experience no change
- Realtime quality no change
What changed in this feed
Overall grade and score held steady since 2026-07-31.
Same feed file as 2026-07-31; the published zip did not change.
Changed counts
- down 2 of 2 trips scheduled during the sampling window had no live predictions. (3 → 2) (scorecard_rt_trip_coverage)
Subscribe to this feed’s changes (Atom) to hear about grade drops in a reader, with no sign-up.
Everything we checked
6 findings, ordered by severity.
Show every finding
- Warning2 instances
Some route long names repeat the route's short name inside them.
Apps show both names together, so riders see the number twice, like '5 5 Downtown'.
Fix: Drop the short name from route_long_name and keep the long name descriptive, like 'Downtown via 5th Ave'. (One field per flagged route.)
Finding code: route_long_name_contains_short_name · See MobilityData GTFS Validator rules (opens the validator rules on an external site)
- Warning2 instances
2 of 2 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.)
Finding code: scorecard_rt_trip_coverage · Read the fix guide · See GTFS-Realtime reference (opens the GTFS-Realtime reference on an external site)
- Info2 instances
Service extends far in the future (flagged by the MobilityData validator).
See the linked rule for what this affects.
Fix: Review the rule documentation for 'service_extends_far_in_the_future' at https://gtfs-validator.mobilitydata.org/rules.html and check the flagged rows in your feed. (Varies.)
Finding code: service_extends_far_in_the_future · See MobilityData GTFS Validator rules (opens the validator rules on an external site)
- Info1 instance
The feed has a stretch of two weeks or more with no service running.
A long gap can mean dates were left out of the calendar. Apps then show no trips on those days.
Fix: Check whether the gap is real, like a seasonal break; if not, add the missing dates to the calendar. (A review of your calendar dates.)
Finding code: big_gap_in_service · Read the fix guide · See MobilityData GTFS Validator rules (opens the validator rules on an external site)
- Info1 instance
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 · See MobilityData GTFS Validator rules (opens the validator rules 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.)
Finding code: unknown_column · Read the fix guide · See MobilityData GTFS Validator rules (opens the validator rules on an external site)
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 1613 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 139 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 Awarded
This feed earns the conformance mark: valid, current, and stating wheelchair access on nearly every stop and trip.
- Valid Met
- Passes validation with no errors.
- Current Met
- Service data covers the next 1613 days.
- Accessible Met
- States wheelchair access on 100% of stops and 100% of trips.
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.
Realtime reliability
The realtime feed responded on 100.0% of 200 checks over the last 34 days, with 4s median lag.
Sampled on a schedule between full scores, so this tracks uptime and freshness over time rather than at a single moment.
Clears the Google and Apple Maps four-week coverage bar. This feed has 1613 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 94 / 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 100 / 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 100 / 100
- GTFS Best Practices for rider-facing fields. MobilityData grading covers stop names and headsigns.
- Realtime quality 59 / 100
- 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/south-shore-line/2026-08-01.json and never overwritten, pinning the grade, category scores, rubric version, validator version, reader archive profile, and the scored feed's sha256 as they stood on 2026-08-01. Use it in a board packet, a regulatory filing, or a research citation instead of linking the live page, whose content will differ on your next visit.
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