Relax Mixed Case constraint on "customer-facing text strings"?

[severo]

Introduce yourself

Hi, I'm Sylvain Lesage, I'm one of the maintainers of a GTFS in La Paz, Bolivia (https://mobilitydatabase.org/feeds/gtfs/mdb-3491 / https://github.com/datosbolivia/gtfs)

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The reference currently reads:

All customer-facing text strings (including stop names, route names, and headsigns) should use Mixed Case (not ALL CAPS), following local conventions for capitalization of place names on displays capable of displaying lower case characters (e.g. “Brighton Churchill Square”, “Villiers-sur-Marne”, “Market Street”).

(in https://gtfs.org/documentation/schedule/reference/#file-requirements)

But I faced an issue in La Paz (https://files.mobilitydatabase.org/mdb-3491/mdb-3491-202608210055/report_8.0.1.html - see mixed_case_recommended_field warning: stop_name is YATIÑA UTA - UPEA). I put the stop name ALL CAPS because I understand we have to show the same capitalization as what is in the field:

The stop_name should match the agency's rider-facing name for the location as printed on a timetable, published online, or represented on signage

https://gtfs.org/documentation/schedule/reference/#stopstxt

What is the recommendation in this case? Could we help GTFS producers understand the priority between the two rules:

• All customer-facing text strings (including stop names, route names, and headsigns) should use Mixed Case (not ALL CAPS)
• The stop_name should match the agency's rider-facing name for the location as printed on a timetable, published online, or represented on signage

[doconnoronca]

All caps is more difficult to read on a phone or computer screen. All caps is normal on a giant sign like in your image, but would you use it if you where typing out instructions?

I would say the wording should match, but the case doesn't need to match.

[jfabi]

I would also look toward Mi Teleférico's website, which shows station names in mixed caps in various places, though "UPEA" is of course an acronym that is best left in all-caps in most localities.

It's still common, in many agencies, for even wayfinding signage to be written in all-caps. This is typically the case for us at the @mbta, though our pathways information is changed to mixed case for legibility.

[severo]

OK, thanks. Do you think it's worth mentioning this priority in the reference?

[severo]

fixed in our GTFS feed: https://gtfs-validator-results.mobilitydata.org/96f084f4-32d0-4b73-ba01-bdd7f8909756/report.html