Communication is key to maintaining rider trust through disruptions, staffing shortages, and other challenges to delivering reliable service. Data standards can help small agencies stay nimble by investing in a baseline of high-quality, consistent information. This session seeks to educate transit professionals, particularly those representing small and rural agencies, on best practices for building and maintaining static and real-time General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) data, the transit industry data standard. The session builds upon that education by demonstrating how high-quality GTFS can lay the foundation to provide riders with real-time information to riders. Lastly, the session touches on how to efficiently procure tools to support agency teams in initiatives like improving rider communication.