stop_without_stop_time: stop that no trip serves Warning
A stop in stops.txt appears in no row of stop_times.txt. Why a stop without departures misleads riders, and how to remove it or have trips serve it.
What this rule means
A stop or platform in stops.txt (location_type empty or 0) only makes sense if at least one trip calls there, that is if its stop_id appears in stop_times.txt. When no row of stop_times.txt cites it, the validator raises this notice. Stations, entrances and generic nodes (location_type 1 to 4) are out of scope: trips never call at them directly. Severity: warning.
Why it matters
A warning does not block a delivery in GTFS Express. But a stop with no departures shows on app maps without any timetable, and a journey planner may walk a rider to it to wait for a bus that never comes. For reusers, it skews the count of stops served.
Common causes
- A route was removed or shortened and its end stops stayed.
- A stop was replaced by a new
stop_idwhen it moved. - Stops of a temporary diversion stayed after the works ended.
- Stops were created ahead of a service that has not started yet.
How to fix it
If the stop is no longer served, delete it from stops.txt. Check first that no other file cites it, transfers.txt or pathways.txt for instance, otherwise the deletion creates a foreign key error. If the stop should be served, add it to the relevant trips in stop_times.txt, with its times and a stop_sequence in the right place.
In GTFS Express, the validation report lists the stops involved and "Fix one by one" opens each in the editor; the reader's map shows where it lies relative to the lines. Each deletion or addition is a retouch in the draft, then "Re-validate" runs the check again.
Example
Stop POOL_TEMP served a diversion that has ended:
stop_id,stop_name,stop_lat,stop_lon,location_type
POOL,Swimming Pool,49.8812,2.3104,0
POOL_TEMP,Swimming Pool (temporary),49.8818,2.3121,0No trip cites it in stop_times.txt and no other file references it, so its row is deleted.
See also the guide Add a stop to a GTFS feed and the list of rules.