Fix: the VehiclePositions realtime feed failed during sampling

Code: scorecard_rt_vehicle_positions_unreachable

What this means

The scorecard tried to sample your GTFS-Realtime VehiclePositions feed and it

failed to return usable data during the sampling window.

Why it matters

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

live. A trip planner has no way to tell the difference between "on time" and

"we haven't heard from this feed in a while."

How to fix it

• Check the VehiclePositions endpoint with your AVL vendor. It should

return a fresh GTFS-Realtime protobuf on every request, not a stale cache,

an error page, or an empty response.

• Confirm the URL itself hasn't changed. A vendor migration or a renewed

certificate sometimes moves the endpoint without updating what's on file.

• Check for a rate limit or an IP block if the feed works in a browser but

not from an automated request.

How long it usually takes

Usually a vendor support ticket. If the fix is just a stale certificate or a

changed URL, it can be same-day.

Authoritative rule

This scores GTFS-Realtime, which the GTFS Validator does not check (it validates GTFS Schedule), so the expectation comes from the GTFS-Realtime reference's message definition. Read the relevant GTFS-Realtime reference section. (opens on an external site)