1. Area: General

Question: Why can't I log in?

Answer: there are separate usernames and passwords for different facilities:

n NaPTAN submissions (i.e. uploading)

n NaPTAN & NPTG downloading

n National Gazetteer editing

n NaPTAN Viewer use

Check you have selected the correct web page / URL and username/password for the work you are doing.

Requests for access to these facilities can be made directly via the JourneyWeb website by clicking on one of the links on the www.journeyweb.org.uk/ng.htm page:

n Link for existing users to request additional access to NaPTAN and NPTG facilities

n Link for new users to request access to NaPTAN and NPTG facilities

2. Area: National Gazetteer

Question: How often is the NPTG Download data updated?

Answer: Data from the NPTG databases is processed on a weekly cycle, to produce a new version of the data download file ng.zip. This is usually performed each Tuesday morning, with the new data made available for download from the JourneyWeb website by close of business that day.

NPTG and NaPTAN data is also uploaded to the Transport Direct portal every two weeks. To view the scheduled dates visit www.journeyweb.org.uk/ng.htm and click on 'Link to Portal Scheduled Load Dates'.

Question: How can I view the National Gazetteer?

Answer: Start from www.journeyweb.org.uk/ng.htm – 'NaPTAN and National Gazetteer'. Select View Live Data, Gazetteer, then select the area you require and click on 'show Snapshot of Gazetteer'.

Question: What is the definition of a locality?

Answer: A locality is a named area in which someone would claim to live or work when talking to someone outside the local area. Such named areas are also likely to be present on road direction signs. Further details are in the 'NPTG Guidance Notes' and 'Localities and their Stops Guidance' documents on the JourneyWeb web site, and the detailed NaPTAN & NPTG Schema Guide on the naptan.org.uk web site.

Question: How do I register to get a username for National Gazetteer download?

Answer: On the JourneyWeb site, navigate to the NaPTAN and National Gazetteer Downloads page and click on 'Register Here' to self-register. You will be able to download National Gazetteer and NaPTAN data.

Question: In the National Gazetteer what do the codes Lo, Add, US etc. mean?

Answer: The codes are no longer in use but are retained for historical purposes. There are 11 different codes:

Add	A new entry in the National Gazetteer
Lo	Locality
Pa	Parish
Isl	Island
U	Urban Area
US	Urban SubArea
Co	Community
LOC	Scottish Locality
PAR	Scottish Parish
RED	Scottish Registered Electoral District
DWD	Scottish District Ward

Question: How are new NatGazIDs created?

Answer: They are generated automatically when new locations are added to the Gazetteer using the on-line NPTG Edit facility. NatGazIDs start with the letter E (ES in Scotland) or N meaning 'Existing' or 'New'; this is of historical interest only and has no practical effect.

3. Area: National Gazetteer Editing

Question: How do I register to get a username for NPTG editing?

Answer: Request access to these facilities directly via the JourneyWeb website by clicking on one of the links on the www.journeyweb.org.uk/ng.htm page:

n Link for existing users to request additional access to NaPTAN and NPTG facilities

n Link for new users to request access to NaPTAN and NPTG facilities

4. Area: National Gazetteer Editing, Localities List

Question: (Step 1) What characters can I have in a locality name?

Answer: "A" to "Z", "0" to "9", "-". You cannot have a slash "/" character.

Question: (Step 1) Why do the grid references not match my Ordnance Survey map?

Answer: The National Gazetteer uses "Eastings and Northings"; not OS Grid References. These values are shown as "X & Y" on multimap.com and “E & N” on streetmap.co.uk

Question: (Step 1) My coordinates are accurate to only 1000m (e.g. 377000, 163000) & we've been told to make them accurate to 1m (e.g. 377122, 163047) - how do I make them more accurate?

Answer: Using the NaPTAN Viewer select 'ID NaPTAN' or 'ID Locality'; then click at any point on the map to return its Easting & Northing in the message window, accurate to 1m.

Multimap.co.uk will give you coordinates accurate to 100m but no closer. Streetmap.co.uk will give you coordinates accurate to 5m.

Question: (Step 1) When I try to make a locality inactive I get an error message. What does it mean?

Answer: The locality is being referred to by a stop or an exchange point. You can check if there is an associated stop via the NaPTAN Viewer or other methods. To make the locality inactive you must ask the local authority owning the stop to associate it with a different locality. If there is no associated stop then it is referred-to by an exchange point and you can ask the Thales helpdesk to remove the exchange point association.

Question: (Step 1) How can I add a new locality?

Answer: In the NPTG Editing facility, select an existing locality in the desired District and click on NEW. Edit the template with the new Name, Easting and Northing and click the ADD button.

The new locality will be included (in alphabetical order) with a new NatGazID assigned. See also the question "How are new NatGazIDs created?"

Question: (Step 2A) Why can't I see a locality in order to assign it as a child of a parent?

Answer: The locality is already assigned as a child of another parent.

Question: (Step 2B) Why can't I see a primary name in order to associate it with an alternate name?

Answer: The primary name locality is already associated with another alternate name.

5. Area: NaPTAN Data Downloads

Question: The NaPTAN downloads page on JourneyWeb has every local authority but what are the “National” entries?

Answer: They are “National” NaPTAN files for airports, ferry ports, rail stations, trams, metros and undergrounds. This data is the responsibility of DfT and Thales and is maintained by them. You may also see references in documents to a “National” file for National Express coaches but it is not used (all coach stops are listed in individual local authorities’ data).

Question: How do I register to get a username for download?

Answer: On the JourneyWeb site, navigate to the NaPTAN and National Gazetteer Downloads page and click on 'Register Here' to self-register. You will be able to download NaPTAN and National Gazetteer data.

Question: How can I get stop data for other Local Authorities?

Answer: You can download it from the JourneyWeb website at www.journeyweb.org.uk/ng.htm

Click on the Link to NaPTAN and National Gazetteer downloads.

Select options, e.g. Perform a on-off download, csv .zip format

Tick the area(s) required (also deselect any ticked which are not required)

You will then be asked to agree to some terms and conditions of use.

Open or save the data downloaded.

6. Area: NaPTAN Data Submission

Question: How do I submit NaPTAN data?

Answer: Use the NaPTAN data upload facility; do not send files by email. You will need a password and instructions; Request these directly via the JourneyWeb website by clicking on one of the links on the www.journeyweb.org.uk/ng.htm page:

n Link for existing users to request additional access to NaPTAN and NPTG facilities

n Link for new users to request access to NaPTAN and NPTG facilities

For security the upload password is different from the download password you may have.

Question: How long after submission of NaPTAN data will it be before it is made available on the JourneyWeb website?

Answer: Data submissions are processed into the NaPTAN database each working day so your data will usually be made available for download from the website by close of business the same day.

Question: I'm having trouble accessing the FTP site; I can log on but why can't I do anything else?

Answer: You probably have your FTP client set to use passive mode (PASV). The ftp site does not support this so deselect this option in your FTP client.

Question: My submission was rejected because an SMS code is being used by more than one stop, but it isn't. Why?

Answer: The SMS code was probably used by a stop included in an earlier submission but not in this submission. The stop still exists as a pending stop (see the question "What is a pending stop?"). You need to submit it as a deleted stop to enable the SMS code to be used for another stop.

Answer: The SMS code was used by a stop included in an earlier submission but not in this submission. SMS codes cannot be reused; you must specify a new smsnumber in your next submission.

Question: Now that we have V2, will NaPTAN continue to accept .csv and .xml data files?

Answer: NaPTAN V2 is much more rigorous and we may want to move to XML in due course, but not immediately. We will give notice if so.

7. Area: NaPTAN Data

Question: What do I put in the various stop name fields and how are they used?

Answer: For guidance on this and the use of the various fields, refer to the document "Transport Direct, A Simple Guide to the Key Features of NaPTAN" or for more detail the document "NPTG and NaPTAN Schema Guide". Both are available on the JourneyWeb website.

The CommonName should be a simple common name and different elements of the stop name should not be concatenated into this field.

The standard construction of stop names within Transport Direct is locality, street, common name, identifier. Street can be omitted if required. However, NaPTAN data may be used in other arrangements in other information systems.

Question: What are AREPs?

Answer: Adjacent Region Exchange Points - used by the portal to join up journeys when a bus route crosses from one Region into another. Each set of AREPs comprises a pair of NaPTAN stops, one for each direction. They are listed in a file included with the National Gazetteer download. AREPs are maintained centrally by DfT/Thales – any local authority that identifies an AREP that appears incorrect (e.g. the stop has been deleted or services no longer use the cross-border route) should notify Transport Direct through their regional data manager.

Question: If I change the status of a 'hail and ride' stop from ACT to DEL, do I remove the details of the hail and ride section or do I leave them?

Answer: You should still submit the HailAndRideSection data for HAR stops, regardless of the status of the stop.

Question: What are pending stops and deleted stops?

Answer: The NaPTAN specification states that stops should never be deleted from the NaPTAN database but instead flagged as deleted, in order to maintain integrity with data that may have been produced when the stops were "live". If an existing stop is not present in a new NaPTAN submission, the stop is marked as "Pending" (RecordStatus of PEN) until a decision is made by the supplying Authority whether the stop should be marked deleted. The deleted stop is also still viewable via the NaPTAN Viewer so that every stop in the database is visible to users.

Select destination and in the Types of Files box highlight Text Files (*,txt;*,csv;*,tab;*,asc)

Edit the Filename box, replacing .txt with .csv, then click Save All.

Ensure that it is comma delimited and column headings are included.

Click Finish.

Question: How is the AtcoCode made up?

Answer: The AtcoCode is made up from three components;

3 digit AtcoAreaCode of the administrative area responsible for managing the stop.

1 character flag - '0' denotes a StopPoint, 'G' denotes a group record (also known as a StopArea).

up to 8 alphanumeric characters for the local reference.

For example 0760BX1234

Question: What is the maximum size for a CommonName?

Answer: 48 characters, but a maximum of 24 is preferred. Similarly an Identifier can be 48 chars but 12 are preferred.

P78324018 Issue 3 - 27 February 2008