diff --git a/partridge/__version__.py b/partridge/__version__.py
index a82b376..d47b037 100644
--- a/partridge/__version__.py
+++ b/partridge/__version__.py
@@ -1 +1 @@
-__version__ = "1.1.1"
+__version__ = "1.1.1a0" ## modified partridge published by praneethd7 on 2022-12-15 
diff --git a/partridge/geo.py b/partridge/geo.py
index 0e019f8..c83541f 100644
--- a/partridge/geo.py
+++ b/partridge/geo.py
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
     raise
 
 
-DEFAULT_CRS = {"init": "EPSG:4326"}
+DEFAULT_CRS = "EPSG:4326"
 
 
 def build_shapes(df: pd.DataFrame) -> gpd.GeoDataFrame:
@@ -32,8 +32,7 @@ def build_stops(df: pd.DataFrame) -> gpd.GeoDataFrame:
     if df.empty:
         return gpd.GeoDataFrame(df, geometry=[], crs=DEFAULT_CRS)
 
-    df["geometry"] = df.apply(lambda s: Point(s.stop_lon, s.stop_lat), axis=1)
-
+    df = gpd.GeoDataFrame(df, crs=DEFAULT_CRS, geometry=gpd.points_from_xy(df.stop_lon,df.stop_lat))
     df.drop(["stop_lon", "stop_lat"], axis=1, inplace=True)
 
-    return gpd.GeoDataFrame(df, crs={"init": "EPSG:4326"})
+    return df
diff --git a/partridge/gtfs.py b/partridge/gtfs.py
index 62b91c5..9dcfab9 100644
--- a/partridge/gtfs.py
+++ b/partridge/gtfs.py
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ def _read_csv(self, filename: str) -> pd.DataFrame:
         with open(path, "rb") as f:
             encoding = detect_encoding(f)
 
-        df = pd.read_csv(path, dtype=np.unicode, encoding=encoding, index_col=False)
+        df = pd.read_csv(path, dtype=np.str_, encoding=encoding, index_col=False)
 
         # Strip leading/trailing whitespace from column names
         df.rename(columns=lambda x: x.strip(), inplace=True)
diff --git a/partridge/utilities.py b/partridge/utilities.py
index f9419ef..d6d0f74 100644
--- a/partridge/utilities.py
+++ b/partridge/utilities.py
@@ -67,4 +67,4 @@ def detect_encoding(f: BinaryIO, limit: int = 2500) -> str:
 def empty_df(columns: Optional[Iterable[str]] = None) -> pd.DataFrame:
     columns = [] if columns is None else columns
     empty: Dict = {col: [] for col in columns}
-    return pd.DataFrame(empty, columns=columns, dtype=np.unicode)
+    return pd.DataFrame(empty, columns=columns, dtype=np.str_)
diff --git a/tests/test_readers.py b/tests/test_readers.py
index 1ae03f3..e001e1c 100644
--- a/tests/test_readers.py
+++ b/tests/test_readers.py
@@ -22,8 +22,8 @@ def test_load_geo_feed():
     assert isinstance(feed.stops, gpd.GeoDataFrame)
     assert {"LineString"} == set(feed.shapes.geom_type)
     assert {"Point"} == set(feed.stops.geom_type)
-    assert feed.shapes.crs == {"init": "EPSG:4326"}
-    assert feed.stops.crs == {"init": "EPSG:4326"}
+    assert feed.shapes.crs == "EPSG:4326"
+    assert feed.stops.crs == "EPSG:4326"
     assert ["shape_id", "geometry"] == list(feed.shapes.columns)
     assert [
         "stop_id",
diff --git a/tests/test_utilities.py b/tests/test_utilities.py
index 9adf434..3c6264b 100644
--- a/tests/test_utilities.py
+++ b/tests/test_utilities.py
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ def test_empty_df():
     actual = empty_df(["foo", "bar"])
 
     expected = pd.DataFrame(
-        {"foo": [], "bar": []}, columns=["foo", "bar"], dtype=np.unicode
+        {"foo": [], "bar": []}, columns=["foo", "bar"], dtype=np.str_
     )
 
     assert actual.equals(expected)