BTS Celebrates Bus Month with National Transit Map (NTM) tutorial

The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) is honoring #busmonth and the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) monumental #billions4buses by sharing a tutorial using the National Transit Map (NTM) Routes dataset to highlight the importance and role of buses in American society.

Through the NTM Routes dataset tutorial, we:

The BTS National Transit Map is a national, openly available map of fixed-guideway and fixed-route transit service in America that allows the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) to demonstrate the importance and role of transit in American society. It is gleaned from General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) Schedule data that describes a transit agency’s scheduled operations. NTM is a National Geospatial Data Asset within the National Transportation Atlas Database, a set of nationwide geographic databases of transportation facilities, networks, and associated infrastructure.

Throughout the month of July, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is celebrating buses by sharing information across their social media channels about dozens of bus grants. Nearly $1.7 billion in 2023 grants will support 130 projects in 46 states and territories nationwide. The projects will result in approximately 1,700 new buses on the nation’s streets, as well as modernized facilities and worker training to facilitate the industry’s transition to zero-emission bus transit.

Bus. Used for short- and long-distance bus routes.Why are routes missing from the NTM? When does NTM anticipate more data coverage?What is the anticipated data coverage under the FTA requirement?