gtfs.co

A minimalist web application for searching and downloading GTFS (General Transit Feed Specification) feeds from US transit agencies.

Features

• Live Search: Search agencies by name, city, or state with real-time results
• Agency Pages: Direct access via gtfs.co/[ntd-id] format
• Feed Filtering: Filter by transit mode and service type
• Bulk Downloads: Download all feeds for an agency or filtered selection
• Clean URLs: Pretty URLs like gtfs.co/40028/mb-do for individual feeds
• Direct Downloads: One-click downloading without page navigation

Tech Stack

• Frontend: HTML, CSS, Vanilla JavaScript
• Database: Supabase (PostgreSQL)
• Hosting: Netlify
• Icons: Lucide
• Analytics: Umami

Project Structure

gtfs-co/
├── index.html          # Landing page with search
├── agency.html         # Agency detail page
├── feed.html           # Feed download page
├── styles.css          # Unified styles
├── script.js           # Search functionality
├── agency.js           # Agency page logic
├── feed.js             # Feed download logic
├── sync-node.js        # Data sync script
├── netlify.toml        # Routing configuration
└── .gitignore          # Git ignore file

Setup

Prerequisites

• Node.js (for data sync)
• Supabase account
• Netlify account
• GitHub repository

Database Setup

1. Create a Supabase project
2. Run the table creation SQL:

CREATE TABLE gtfs_agencies (
    id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
    ntd_id TEXT,
    agency_name TEXT,
    city TEXT,
    state TEXT,
    url TEXT,
    weblink TEXT,
    mode TEXT,
    tos TEXT,
    reporter_type TEXT,
    organization_type TEXT,
    service_area_population INTEGER,
    service_area_sq_miles DECIMAL,
    voms INTEGER,
    npt_id TEXT,
    legacy_ntd_id TEXT,
    reporter_acronym TEXT,
    doing_business_as_name TEXT,
    primary_uza_name TEXT,
    uza_name_list TEXT,
    created_at TIMESTAMP WITH TIME ZONE DEFAULT NOW(),
    updated_at TIMESTAMP WITH TIME ZONE DEFAULT NOW()
);

-- Create search index
CREATE INDEX idx_gtfs_agencies_search ON gtfs_agencies USING GIN (
    to_tsvector('english', COALESCE(agency_name, '') || ' ' || 
                           COALESCE(city, '') || ' ' || 
                           COALESCE(state, ''))
);

-- Create index on ntd_id
CREATE INDEX idx_gtfs_agencies_ntd_id ON gtfs_agencies (ntd_id);

-- Enable RLS and create policies
ALTER TABLE gtfs_agencies ENABLE ROW LEVEL SECURITY;

CREATE POLICY "Allow public read" ON gtfs_agencies FOR SELECT USING (true);
CREATE POLICY "Allow public insert" ON gtfs_agencies FOR INSERT WITH CHECK (true);
CREATE POLICY "Allow public delete" ON gtfs_agencies FOR DELETE USING (true);

Environment Configuration

Update Supabase credentials in JavaScript files:

• script.js
• agency.js
• feed.js
• sync-node.js

Data Sync

Populate the database with USDOT API data:

node sync-node.js

This fetches ~1,554 records from https://data.transportation.gov/resource/2u7n-ub22.json and processes JSON weblinks into clean URLs.

Deployment

1. Push to GitHub
2. Connect Netlify to your repository
3. Deploy with build settings:
   • Build command: (leave blank)
   • Publish directory: .

The netlify.toml handles routing:

• /:ntdid/:mode → feed.html (direct downloads)
• /:ntdid → agency.html (agency pages)

API Reference

Data Source

• USDOT National Transit Database: https://data.transportation.gov/resource/2u7n-ub22.json
• Documentation: https://dev.socrata.com/foundry/data.transportation.gov/5ti2-5uiv

URL Patterns

• Search: gtfs.co
• Agency: gtfs.co/40028 (Lee County)
• Feed: gtfs.co/40028/mb-do (Lee County Motor Bus - Directly Operated)

Development

Local Development

1. Clone repository
2. Open with live server (VS Code Live Server, etc.)
3. Test search and navigation

Data Updates

Re-run the sync script to refresh data:

node sync-node.js

The script automatically handles:

• JSON weblink parsing
• Duplicate removal (if unique constraints exist)
• Progress tracking
• Error handling

Analytics

Umami analytics configured for:

• Page views
• Search interactions
• Download events

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create feature branch
3. Test thoroughly
4. Submit pull request

License

GPL-3.0 License - see LICENSE file for details

Acknowledgments

• USDOT: For providing the National Transit Database API
• Transit Agencies: For maintaining GTFS feeds
• GTFS Community: For establishing the specification

Support

For issues or questions:

• Open GitHub issue
• Check GTFS.org documentation
• Review USDOT API documentation