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Trips

A trip is a sequence of two or more stops within a specific time. You define trips in the trips.txt file with this structure:

trips.txt
route_id
service_id
trip_id
trip_headsign
block_id

 

Example of a simple trips.txt file:

route_id,service_id,trip_id,trip_headsign,block_id

A,WE,AWE1,Downtown,1

A,WE,AWE2,Uptown,2

Headsign information

The trip_headsign field should contain text that appears on the vehicle or signage that identifies a specific line variant to passengers. It shouldn’t duplicate the values in the route_short_name or route_long_name.

A headsign typically has information about a trip destination. However, if it’s similar to other passenger signage, you can also use a direction like “inbound or outbound.”

It’s not mandatory, but we recommend you provide a trip_headsign. If you don’t, we use the name of the last stop as the trip_headsign in routing results. However, this practice may change and you shouldn't rely on it as a long-term solution.

Circular trips

A circular or loop trip follows a circular path. The guidelines for headsigns apply to circular trips. For example, you must provide headsign information that shows passengers the direction in which the vehicle is going.

To indicate a change of direction, provide stop_headsigns in the stop_times.txt file. The stop_headsign describes the direction for trips that depart from the stop for which it's defined. You can add stop_headsigns to each stop to allow you to change the headsign information along a trip.

Important: Do not define a trip where a bus goes between 2 endpoints as a circular or loop trip in the stop_times.txt file. Instead, split the trip into 2 separate trip directions.

Examples of circular trip modeling

Circular trip with changing headsign for each stop

Trip_id,arrival_time,departure_time,stop_id,stop_sequence,stop_headsign

trip_1,06:10:00,06:10:00,stop_A,1,”B”

trip_1,06:15:00,06:15:00,stop_B,2,”C”

trip_1,06:20:00,06:20:00,stop_C,3,”D”

trip_1,06:25:00,06:25:00,stop_D,4,”E”

trip_1,06:30:00,06:30:00,stop_E,5,”A”

trip_1,06:35:00,06:35:00,stop_A,6,””

 

Circular trip with two headsigns

Trip_id,arrival_time,departure_time,stop_id,stop_sequence,stop_headsign

trip_1,06:10:00,06:10:00,stop_A,1,”outbound”

trip_1,06:15:00,06:15:00,stop_B,2,”outbound”

trip_1,06:20:00,06:20:00,stop_C,3,”outbound”

trip_1,06:25:00,06:25:00,stop_D,4,”inbound”

trip_1,06:30:00,06:30:00,stop_E,5,”inbound”

trip_1,06:35:00,06:35:00,stop_F,6,”inbound”

trip_1,06:40:00,06:40:00,stop_A,7,””

Pickup & drop-off types

By default, pickups and drop offs are assumed to be regularly scheduled pickups and drop
offs.

The pickup_type field in the stop_times.txt file indicates whether: 

  • Passengers are picked up at a stop as part of the normal schedule
  • A pickup at the stop is unavailable 
  • Passengers must call the agency or notify the driver to arrange a pickup at a particular stop

The drop_off_type field in the stop_times.txt file indicates whether:

  • Passengers are dropped off at a stop as part of the normal schedule
  • A drop off at the stop is unavailable
  • Passengers must call the agency or notify the driver for drop off at a particular stop

Valid values are:

  • 0 or empty: Regularly scheduled pickup or drop off
  • 1: No pickup or drop off available

Important: While pickup_type and drop_off_type of 2 or 3 is part of the GTFS spec, Google Maps does not currently support these types.

Non-revenue, or deadhead, trips that don’t provide passenger service should be marked with pickup_type and drop_off_type value of 1 for all stop_times rows.

On revenue trips, internal “timing points” for monitoring operational performance and other places, like garages where a passenger cannot board, should be marked with pickup_type / drop_off_type = 1.

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