Better public transport data for better-connected communities
A new study
[https://data.europa.eu/en/publications/reports/availability-and-homogenisation-needs-public-transport-data]
on the European Data Portal [https://data.europa.eu/en] examines the
availability and consistency of scheduled public transport data in
General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) format across the EU. GTFS
is an open, machine-readable standard covering operators, stops,
routes, trips and timetables, which helps transport authorities and
developers to reuse data more easily across borders. Reliable public
transport data helps journey planners operate efficiently, supports
transport research and enables authorities to understand how well
communities are connected.

The researchers analysed nearly 1 000 feeds collected from national
access points in 18 EU Member States. Together, these feeds contained
over 130 000 routes and more than 2.4 million stops with valid
coordinates. The findings reveal that, while a large amount of public
transport data is available, it is still fragmented. Data coverage
differs considerably between countries, with stops, routes and
services not always identified or classified in the same way. This
makes it difficult to combine and compare transport data across
national borders.

Bringing transport data together with population and geographical data
provides a clearer picture of how well different communities are
served by public transport. It can also help identify gaps in access 
and give transport planners a stronger evidence base for
decision-making. The report highlights several promising practices,
including consistent stop identifiers in Germany, Croatia and Austria,
and extensive accessibility-related station data in Austria. 

Explore the full study and its recommendations
[https://data.europa.eu/en/publications/reports/availability-and-homogenisation-needs-public-transport-data]
to learn how more harmonised open data could support better-connected
and more accessible communities across Europe.

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Publication Date/Time
2026-10-05T09:00:00+00:00
A new study maps the availability and harmonisation needs of public
transport data across the EU