Loading GTFS Feeds¶

This guide covers all the ways to load and work with GTFS data.

GtfsFeed vs LazyGtfsFeed¶

Transit Parser provides two ways to load GTFS feeds:

Feature	GtfsFeed	LazyGtfsFeed
Load time	Parses everything	Instant
Memory	All data in memory	On-demand
Best for	Small-medium feeds	Large feeds

GtfsFeed (Eager Loading)¶

from transit_parser import GtfsFeed

# All files are parsed immediately
feed = GtfsFeed.from_path("/path/to/gtfs/")

LazyGtfsFeed (Lazy Loading)¶

from transit_parser import LazyGtfsFeed

# No parsing happens yet
feed = LazyGtfsFeed.from_path("/path/to/gtfs/")

# Counts are fast (reads file metadata)
print(feed.stop_time_count)

# Data is parsed on first access
stop_times = feed.stop_times

Loading Methods¶

From Directory¶

feed = GtfsFeed.from_path("/path/to/gtfs/")

The directory should contain the GTFS CSV files: - agency.txt (required) - stops.txt (required) - routes.txt (required) - trips.txt (required) - stop_times.txt (required) - calendar.txt (conditionally required) - calendar_dates.txt (conditionally required) - shapes.txt (optional)

From ZIP File¶

feed = GtfsFeed.from_zip("/path/to/gtfs.zip")

From Bytes¶

with open("/path/to/gtfs.zip", "rb") as f:
    data = f.read()

feed = GtfsFeed.from_bytes(data)

Accessing Data¶

Agencies¶

for agency in feed.agencies:
    print(f"ID: {agency.id}")
    print(f"Name: {agency.name}")
    print(f"URL: {agency.url}")
    print(f"Timezone: {agency.timezone}")

Stops¶

for stop in feed.stops:
    print(f"ID: {stop.id}")
    print(f"Name: {stop.name}")
    print(f"Code: {stop.code}")
    print(f"Coordinates: ({stop.latitude}, {stop.longitude})")

Routes¶

for route in feed.routes:
    print(f"ID: {route.id}")
    print(f"Short name: {route.short_name}")
    print(f"Long name: {route.long_name}")
    print(f"Type: {route.route_type}")  # 0=tram, 1=subway, 2=rail, 3=bus...

Trips¶

for trip in feed.trips:
    print(f"ID: {trip.id}")
    print(f"Route: {trip.route_id}")
    print(f"Service: {trip.service_id}")
    print(f"Headsign: {trip.headsign}")

Stop Times¶

for st in feed.stop_times:
    print(f"Trip: {st.trip_id}")
    print(f"Stop: {st.stop_id}")
    print(f"Sequence: {st.stop_sequence}")
    print(f"Arrival: {st.arrival_time}")
    print(f"Departure: {st.departure_time}")

Calendar¶

for cal in feed.calendars:
    print(f"Service: {cal.service_id}")
    print(f"Mon-Fri: {cal.monday}-{cal.friday}")
    print(f"Sat-Sun: {cal.saturday}-{cal.sunday}")
    print(f"Dates: {cal.start_date} to {cal.end_date}")

Calendar Dates¶

for cd in feed.calendar_dates:
    print(f"Service: {cd.service_id}")
    print(f"Date: {cd.date}")
    print(f"Exception: {cd.exception_type}")  # 1=added, 2=removed

Shapes¶

for shape in feed.shapes:
    print(f"ID: {shape.id}")
    print(f"Points: {len(shape.points)}")
    for lat, lon, seq in shape.points:
        print(f"  {seq}: ({lat}, {lon})")

Writing GTFS¶

To Directory¶

feed.to_path("/path/to/output/")

To ZIP File¶

feed.to_zip("/path/to/output.zip")

To Bytes¶

data = feed.to_bytes()

Count Properties¶

Get entity counts without loading all data:

feed.agency_count
feed.stop_count
feed.route_count
feed.trip_count
feed.stop_time_count
feed.calendar_count
feed.calendar_date_count
feed.shape_count

Converting Lazy to Eager¶

lazy = LazyGtfsFeed.from_path("/path/to/gtfs/")

# Convert to regular GtfsFeed
eager = lazy.materialize()