The Mobility Database
The Mobility Database catalogs is a repository of 1800+ mobility datasets across the world. It has over 150 updated datasets previously unavailable on TransitFeeds (OpenMobilityData).
We're in the first phase of building a sustainable, central hub for mobility data internationally.
What about TransitFeeds?
The data on TransitFeeds is becoming increasingly out of date and cannot be updated, which is negatively impacting travelers. That’s why we’re encouraging users to use the Mobility Database catalogs repository instead, which they can actively contribute to and improve.
We will discuss the transition process in greater depth before committing to a specific date to remove access to transitfeeds.com. No decision has been made yet. If you want to participate in a discussion about the deprecation of transitfeeds.com, let us know in the catalogs GitHub repo. We commit to giving 6 months notice once the decision is finalized.
Frequently Asked Questions
What about the TransitFeeds user interface?
We plan to develop a new user interface as part of the Mobility Database, since this is critical for making data discoverable and fostering collaboration on data quality improvements. In order to ensure the community has access to more up-to-date data as soon as possible, we've focused on providing a catalog of data without an interface as a first step. How quickly we scale the architecture to build the user interface depends on how much engagement and contribution we get from the community in this phase.
What about the TransitFeeds API?
You can still use it! If you already have an API key, you do not need to make any changes to your API keys or configuration. Your systems will be unaffected by this change until the to-be-determined deprecation date, when the API will no longer be available. Creating a new and improved version of the API is a part of the roadmap.
New API keys cannot be generated, so if you're a new user, we recommend using the operations in the Mobility Database catalogs to filter for the data you want instead.
Why would I use the Mobility Database catalogs repository?
The Mobility Database catalogs has over 100 data sources that were inaccurate on TransitFeeds, and over 150 new sources. It's a more accurate and comprehensive resource for ensuring your data is discoverable and for scraping the data you need. In the future, the MobilityData team will scale the catalogs to be a sustainable piece of data infrastructure for the mobility industry worldwide, which you can learn more about here.
Right now, this is what you're able to do with the Mobility Database catalogs:
Add and update sources so you know consumers are discovering the right data
Get as accurate GTFS and GTFS Realtime data as possible, so you're providing travelers with the right information
Get the latest dataset for GTFS and GTFS Realtime sources via a script so your users are getting the right data
Filter GTFS and GTFS Realtime sources by bounding box so you can get data by a specific location
Search via a CSV so you can find the source URL you want and do your own analysis
Why are you making this change?
The mobility community has created several hubs for international GTFS sources over the years (including the GTFS Data Exchange and legacy TransitFeeds site). There have been consistent issues with sustaining these platforms in the long term, and creating community processes so it's clear how decisions are made and how stakeholders across the mobility industry can contribute to the platform.
That's the need we're working to meet with the Mobility Database, so more stakeholders can trust the longevity of this platform and it can become an increasingly valuable source for creating and improving mobility data as a community.
As TransitFeeds becomes increasingly stale and difficult to maintain, it becomes more critical that the consumers have up-to-date data to share with travelers and make planning decisions. The catalogs will be a starting point for providing up-to-date data the community can easily leverage and contribute to while we explore longer term solutions for the architecture that require more community investment.
What's coming next?
You can add ideas and vote on our current roadmap. We anticipate an influx of new feedback as we transition away from TransitFeeds and intend to adapt our plan to the emerging needs of the community. How quickly we scale the Mobility Database architecture depends on how much engagement and contribution we get from the community in this phase.