TransLoc Introduces Architect for Transit Agencies - Free GTFS Builder
TransLoc debuted its newest product, Architect, a free and easy-to-use web application for managing and sharing transit data in General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) format. This launch follows a successful beta-testing period with 20 participating transit agencies selected from a pool of 150 applicants.
“We believe Architect is universally valuable to agencies, riders and third parties like software developers, all of whom rely on this data as the core of their passenger-facing information”
As the standard format for public transportation data, GTFS plays an integral role in the transit-rider relationship. GTFS helps agencies—and ultimately riders—by syncing data, such as schedules, route shapes and transit stop details and amenities, with third-party applications. Without GTFS, an agency’s transit data is unavailable via web or mobile applications like TransLoc Rider, Google Transit or Apple Maps; riders rely on these apps to display transit routes and schedules, or to track transit fleets in real-time. TransLoc Architect enables transit agencies of any size to build and manage their GTFS feed faster and easier than ever before — for free.
“The type of data Architect helps harness is the fundamental currency driving our transportation future. Without free tools like Architect, many transit agencies simply wouldn’t have the resources to leverage this valuable information and riders would ultimately suffer,” said Doug Kaufman, CEO of TransLoc, “The future of transportation is not in infrastructure, it’s in the data. We’ve created the most advanced and easiest to use web-based GTFS manager to make sure agencies and riders everywhere have access to the data they need.”
GTFS creation and management – simplified
TransLoc Architect is a free web application designed to help transit agencies efficiently manage GTFS, a time and resource–intensive process for agencies of all sizes. By enabling agencies to easily create and update their GTFS feeds in an intuitive map-based viewer, TransLoc Architect makes maintaining clean, error-free GTFS information simple, while improving on outdated software and vastly improving efficiency over time-intensive manual methods. Put simply, Architect is a modern approach to a complex and essential function of future-forward transit agencies.
The creation and maintenance of GTFS has typically required some level of technical expertise or expensive software, but Architect tackles a complex, laborious process with a visual, intuitive platform that anyone could use, from layperson to expert.
“We believe Architect is universally valuable to agencies, riders and third parties like software developers, all of whom rely on this data as the core of their passenger-facing information,” added Kaufman. “That’s why we made Architect truly free, and have support and services teams that are responsive, knowledgeable and willing to walk each Architect user through free training.”
What transit agencies are saying about Architect
In 2016, over 150 transit agencies volunteered as beta testers of Architect to create, manage, and publish GTFS feeds. The users are praising its ability to solve major challenges that transit agencies of all sizes face when managing GTFS:
“Using Architect has removed a lot of the barriers to entry for so many transit agencies, and has empowered people who would have never considered themselves capable of creating or maintaining a GTFS feed,” said Jaime McKay, manager of direct services for the Center for Mobility Equity. “Architect's easy-to-use interface allows people to produce an advanced result using a simple tool, and enables nearly any transit enthusiast to solve problems in-house.”
"Since we began submitting GTFS data in 2008, we’ve always used simple Excel spreadsheets. Over the years, the GTFS specifications evolved to be more complex, making data management slow and time consuming, but a necessity in order to get the right information to riders,” said Maria Smith, marketing officer for Mountain Line Transit Authority. “Using Architect has been easier than any other map drawing tool I’ve tried before. I was able to set up our trips, easily fix any stop locations and set up the calendar with ease. Within a week, we had all of our 19 bus routes in the system and an accurate feed provided to Google. We now have a Trip Planner that our riders can use and rely on. With our GTFS finally under control, I can move on to the realm of live data and other tools and mobile applications to further benefit our riders."