Real-time data is essential for modern transit operations, and GTFS-RT feeds have become a valuable tool for communicating service changes to passengers quickly and efficiently. They’re a critical component of rider-facing systems, enabling timely alerts, detour notices, and trip updates. But while GTFS-RT excels at real-time dissemination, it’s not designed to be a complete operational record and when not integrated into the CAD/AVL and reporting ecosystem, that gap creates long-term challenges.
For some agencies, disruption management happens outside the CAD environment—handled by a third party using GTFS-RT feeds or manual processes. These tools solve the immediate rider experience but often lack the ability to push those changes back into the CAD system. That disconnect means detours and disruptions may never be captured in the historical data, leaving your reporting systems to reflect an incomplete or inaccurate version of what actually occurred.
Take a midday detour managed through GTFS-RT. Riders are informed. The change is executed. But if it’s not mirrored in your CAD system or automatically fed into your reporting tools, your on-time performance and route adherence data may show the trip as noncompliant. Metrics get skewed. Trends become misleading. And to fix it? Staff must manually review and update data after the fact— a process that’s not only inefficient but vulnerable to human error and missed updates.
Without full integration between CAD/AVL, disruption management, and reporting systems, agencies are forced into workarounds that drain resources and still fall short of delivering a clear picture of performance. Key data points slip through the cracks, which can affect internal planning, public accountability, and even funding. When reports to the National Transit Database (NTD) don’t reflect actual service, you risk underreporting performance and jeopardizing funding opportunities.
GTFS-RT is a critical piece of the puzzle, but it’s not the whole picture. To fully realize the value of real-time service changes, agencies need an integrated ecosystem where all operational events, planned or unplanned, are captured, logged, and reflected in historical data.
With full integration, you gain complete, accurate data to support performance monitoring, no matter the operational scenario. You eliminate manual reconciliation, reduce errors, and build trust in the numbers that drive decisions and justify funding.
Integrated data tells the full story of your service. Because when your systems aren’t aligned, your data can’t support the mission you’re working to achieve.
Learn more about the benefits of an integrated CAD/AVL system from Clever Devices by exploring the other articles in this series:
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