6. Issues, challenges & workarounds

Whilst GTFS should be a standard, many of the data elements are still in the hands of the transport provider. Below a list of (my) findings over time and where to raise an 'issue'

Adding/updating Datasource

Unpacking never ends, unable to continue

• check logs, preferably via portainer as HA logs donot show the unpacking output
• check config/gtfs2 folder and verify if the .sqlite is (still) growing in size (should be Mb's), some processes take 2-4hrs depending on size Extracting breaks along the process, known issues:
• feed_into.txt incomplete: use the service call to get the data, tickbox to remove feed_info.
• corrupt zip, sometimes the zip does not (fully) extract. Likely to be related to the gtfs provider and often resolved in time (if someone complains with the provider)
• zip/source is not complying (see logs output) to the pygtfs-library used for unpacking > report issue with your gtfs data provider

Static gtfs: route/stop setup

• routes show A > B (outward) but stop selection shows inversed B > A :
• none of the routes donot seem to work 'outbound' or 'inbound': providers are not always consistent on the direction of the route and sometimes not using this (why?), try other direction in the configuration
• In quite a few cases, the direction of the route is not in line with expectations. Try to swap start and end for the same route & direction > report issue with your gtfs data provider
• The endpoint has too many stop_id, try to use an endpoint earlier/later on the route

Realtime gtfs

• only a few realtime providers also add vehicle positions with lat/lon -> these are not always up to date > report issue with your gtfs data provider
• format incorrect of incomming feed, gtfs2 accepts protobuf and json only > report issue with your gtfs data provider, they should adhere to standards
• realtime source are inconsistent available, e.g. few refreshes are fine .. then nothing .. then fine again, often related to timeout from provider > report issue with your gtfs data provider

Issue unclear If you have not found answer to your issue, please raise an ISSUE