NTD Reporting Use Case Development

[chrisyamas]

Background

Following our productive discussion at the August 2025 Contributors Group meeting, we identified several opportunities and challenges the TIDES use case of NTD reporting. This discussion will be a forum for identifying how TIDES can most effectively support the streamlining of NTD reporting processes.

Problem Statement

Transit agencies face significant challenges with NTD reporting:

• Manual processes requiring extensive staff time
• Data quality concerns and "guesswork"
• Multiple disconnected data sources (APC, CAD/AVL, farebox)
• Different teams using same data with inconsistent results
• Difficulty detecting missed trips vs. system failures
• Complex fare allocation across modes
• Time-consuming validation and reconciliation

Objectives

1. Document current NTD reporting practices across agencies
2. Define TIDES data requirements for all NTD metrics
3. Develop implementation guidance and sample code
4. Establish data quality and validation standards
5. Create pathways for automated reporting
6. Build reusable tools for the community

Proposed Working Group Members

• Robert Allenson (TransTrack)
• Rubén Morgan (Cleveland RTA)
• Gabriel Sanchez Martinez
• Sonovi (Port Authority)
• Joseph Gallagher (FTA)
• Campbell Jung (AC Transit)
• [Additional members TBD]

Working Group Timeline

• October 2025: Conduct agency practices survey
• November 2025: Define technical requirements
• December 2025: Develop implementation guidance
• January - February 2026: Finalize documentation and tools

Key Technical Areas

• Data completeness standards
• Processing levels (raw/cleaned/curated)
• Missing data handling/"smoothing" approaches
• Mode-specific calculations
• Validation and quality checks
• Vendor vs. agency responsibilities
• Integration with existing systems

Success Criteria

• Clear mapping of TIDES fields to NTD requirements
• Documented best practices for data quality
• Sample code/queries for common calculations
• Reduced manual effort for participating agencies
• Path toward automated NTD submission

Resources

• NTD Policy Manual
• NTD Reporting System Forms
  • Annual Service Form (S10)
  • Ridership Activity form (MR-20)
  • Weekly Reference form (WE-20)
• NTD Database File Dictionary
• August Contributors Meeting Notes

Next Steps

• Finalize working group membership
• Launch current practices survey
• Schedule first working group meeting (or meet asynchronously ?)
• Create shared repository for code samples?
• Develop initial validation tools

Open Questions

• What level of data completeness does FTA require for automated submission?
• How should agencies handle vendor-processed vs. raw data?
• What's the best approach for multi-modal fare allocation?