Fix: trips do not state wheelchair accessibility

Published: 3 July 2026. Last reviewed: 3 July 2026.

Code: scorecard_wheelchair_accessible_unknown

What this means

Your trips.txt does not set wheelchair_accessible for some or all trips, so the feed says "unknown" for whether the vehicle on that trip can carry a wheelchair user. Unknown is the default when the field is left blank.

This is the vehicle-side companion to the stop-side check (scorecard_wheelchair_boarding_unknown). An accessible stop does not help if the rider cannot tell whether the bus that serves it is accessible too.

Why it matters

A rider who uses a wheelchair needs to know both ends are covered: a stop they can board at and a vehicle that can take them. Trip planners do not guess. With the field blank they show no information, which a rider reads as "do not rely on this trip." Most small-agency fleets are fully accessible, so leaving the field blank understates a service the agency already provides.

How to fix it

Set wheelchair_accessible on every trip to 1 (accessible) or 2 (not accessible). 0 or blank means unknown.

• If your whole fleet is accessible, which is common for small agencies, this is usually a single default in your export settings rather than a per-trip edit. Look for a fleet-level or agency-level accessibility default.
• If accessibility varies by vehicle or route, set the field on the trips that differ. Tools that model vehicles or blocks can often derive the trip value from the assigned vehicle.
• In a post-export step you can fill wheelchair_accessible on trips.txt directly if your tool has no field for it.

How long it usually takes

Often one default setting in your export, applied on the next run. If accessibility varies across the fleet it is a short pass to mark the exceptions.

Authoritative rule

The linked GTFS Schedule reference defines the field or data this scorecard finding checks. Read the relevant GTFS Schedule reference section. (opens on an external site)