Add optional carriage_positions.txt specification#22
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Defines optimal carriage positioning for transfers and platform exits. Enables trip planners to recommend which carriage to board for minimal walking time at destinations. Fields: - from_stop_id: boarding platform - to_stop_id: destination stop/facility - recommended_carriage: 1-indexed from front - carriage_count: total positions (can be logical) - front_car_position: left/right platform side - facility_type: elevator/escalator/stairs (optional) Placed after pathways.txt as it complements station navigation.
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timMillet
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gcamp
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Address PR review feedback by specifying stop_id references. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
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This proposal adds a new optional file carriage_positions.txt that defines optimal carriage positioning for transfers and platform exit access. It enables trip planners to recommend which carriage passengers should board to minimize walking time at transfer points and alighting stations.
Motivation
There is at least one example of this type of public data in production, but it does not use a standardized format: Île-de-France Mobilités publishes carriage positioning data for the Paris métro, and Transit ingests this information from IDFM.
While pathways.txt handles navigation within stations, it does not address where to stand on the platform before boarding. This file complements pathways by providing carriage-level boarding recommendations, including information about where passengers should board a vehicle to most easily access stairs, escalators, and elevators at transfer points and alighting stations.
Transit also supports displaying this information based upon crowdsourced data collected through its own app. Receiving carriage position information directly from producers in a standardized format within GTFS would improve data reliability and be beneficial to the entire ecosystem.
Proposed Solution
Add a
carriage_positions.txtcontaining the recommended carriage for boarding, based on a carriage count, for each from/to stop id pair.Type of change
GTFS Schedule Functional Change
Proposed Discussion Period
Testing Details
Proposal Update Tracker