Introduction to GTFS and OTP

OTP (OpenTripPlanner: http://docs.opentripplanner.org/en/v1.5.0/)  is a tool that finds itineraries combining transit, pedestrian, bicycle, and car segments through networks built from widely available, open standard OpenStreetMap and GTFS (General Transit Feed Specification) data. This service can be accessed directly via its web API (Geojson).

GTFS is a standardized data format for storing public transit routes, stops, fees, and schedules. It can be used to visualize the public transit system, routing using public transport and/or other means of transport, perform spatial analysis (isochrones), reveal patterns, and conduct time-based analysis.
During a 3 part blog, we will first introduce both GTFS and OTP. The second part will enable you to get set up and start playing with OTP by using GTFS data. Finally we will show you how to tune and customize OTP.

As already described, the topic "GTFS data powered by OpenTripPlanner" will thus be divided as follows: 

1. Introduction to GTFS and OTP 
2. Getting started with OTP
3. Tuning OTP

At the end of these blogs, you will have a basic understanding of how GTFS data is structured and what are the possibilities that OTP provides. 

Also, you will be able to launch OTP with Docker and use OTP’s API to query and exploit GTFS data.