PTD GTFS Schedules

Description

PTD GTFS Schedules turns the GTFS feed of a transport operator or authority into timetables on their WordPress site. Import the feed once, add a block to a page, and the timetables stay current as the feed is updated.

What it shows

• Lines: every line of the network, grouped by transport mode (trams, buses, night lines etc.), optionally in tabs. Each line links to its own page.
• Line pages: the directions of a line, a diagram of its route with the stops and the variants some trips take (detours, short workings, trips starting or ending elsewhere), and the timetable of the chosen stop. Departures that have left are greyed out and the next one is highlighted.
• Stop timetables: all departures from a stop on a given day, for every line or for one.
• Departure boards: the next departures from a stop, updating themselves while the page is open.

For riders

• The next departure at a glance: departures that have left are greyed out and the next one is highlighted, and both move on as time passes.
• No surprises about where a trip goes: trips that end early or take another way are marked with a letter, explained under the timetable: “a – to City Stadium A”.
• Only the stops they can use: stops where nobody can get on or off are left out, and riders see where to signal the driver (stops on request) and where they can only get on or only get off.
• A clear picture of the route: the diagram shows where branches leave the route, where they come back and where some trips end.
• For everyone: every icon and diagram has a text equivalent for screen readers, and the pages work without JavaScript.
• Language support: English, Ukrainian and Polish.

For editors and admins

• Blocks for the block editor and shortcodes for any page.
• Import from the feed’s address or from an uploaded .zip file, then user can configure automatical update every night or week.
• Imports run in short steps with progress shown, so large feeds work on shared hosting too. Visitors keep seeing the old schedule until the new one is fully imported.
• A stop finder in the admin gives ready-to-paste shortcodes.
• WP-CLI command for imports from the server.

Shortcodes

• [ptd_gtfs_lines]: the list of lines. Options: modes="tram,bus", layout="destinations", tabs="yes", night="mixed", heading="3".
• [ptd_gtfs_line]: the line page. Put it, or the Line timetable block, on one page: every list of lines links there.
• [ptd_gtfs_timetable stop="123"]: the timetable of a stop; add route="7" for one line only.
• [ptd_gtfs_departures stop="123" limit="8"]: the next departures from a stop.

Supported GTFS

The plugin reads agency.txt, stops.txt, routes.txt, trips.txt, stop_times.txt, calendar.txt and calendar_dates.txt, including extended route types, times after midnight and stations with several platforms. Trips described only with frequencies.txt are not shown yet, and the times are the scheduled ones (no GTFS Realtime).

Feedback

Something does not work, or a feature is missing? Open an issue on GitHub or write to contact@publictransitdata.net.

External services

The plugin does not use any service of its own. It downloads the GTFS feed only from the address that the site’s administrator enters in its settings, when an import runs: by hand, or automatically if automatic updates are switched on. No data about the site or its visitors is sent with the request.

Departure boards update themselves through the site’s own REST API; nothing is requested from other sites.

Credits

Icons from other projects, both under the MIT licence:

• The arrow: @icons by Valentin Fossati (https://github.com/Voxybuns/at-icons).
• The “on request” hand: Tabler Icons (https://tabler.io/icons).