onebusaway-mcp-server

<div align="center">
  <h1>@cyanheads/onebusaway-mcp-server</h1>
  <p><b>Query stops, routes, real-time arrivals, vehicle positions, and schedules from OneBusAway transit APIs via MCP. STDIO or Streamable HTTP.</b>
  <div>15 Tools • 2 Resources</div>
  </p>
</div>

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**Public Hosted Server:** [https://onebusaway.caseyjhand.com/mcp](https://onebusaway.caseyjhand.com/mcp)

</div>

---

## Tools

15 tools covering the full OneBusAway transit data surface — discovery, real-time operations, schedules, alerts, and block schedules:

| Tool | Description |
|:---|:---|
| `onebusaway_list_agencies` | List all transit agencies on this OneBusAway instance with IDs, contact info, and geographic coverage |
| `onebusaway_find_stops` | Find bus stops near a lat/lon within a configurable radius, optionally filtered by stop code |
| `onebusaway_search_stops` | Search stops by name or code string to resolve a human-readable name to a stop ID |
| `onebusaway_get_stop` | Fetch details for a specific stop by agency-prefixed ID |
| `onebusaway_find_routes` | Find transit routes near a lat/lon, optionally filtered by name or number |
| `onebusaway_search_routes` | Search routes by name or number to resolve a route short name to a route ID |
| `onebusaway_get_route` | Fetch details for a specific route by agency-prefixed ID |
| `onebusaway_list_routes_for_agency` | List all routes operated by an agency |
| `onebusaway_get_arrivals` | Real-time arrivals and departures at a stop — GPS-tracked predictions, schedule deviation, vehicle positions, and active alerts |
| `onebusaway_get_trip` | Real-time status and full stop sequence for an active trip |
| `onebusaway_get_vehicles` | Real-time positions of all active vehicles for an agency, optionally filtered to one route |
| `onebusaway_get_schedule_for_stop` | Full-day departure schedule for a stop by route and direction |
| `onebusaway_get_schedule_for_route` | Full-day schedule for a route — all trips and stop sequences |
| `onebusaway_get_alert` | Fetch full service alert detail by situation ID — summary, description, reason, affected stops/routes, consequence, and active time windows |
| `onebusaway_get_block` | Fetch the full-day block schedule for a vehicle by block ID — all trips in order with stop times, useful for fleet tracking |

### `onebusaway_find_stops`

Find bus stops near a geographic location.

- Configurable search radius (default 300m, max ~1600m before results degrade)
- Optional stop code filter (the number printed on the sign, e.g. `75403`)
- Returns stop ID, code, name, direction, served route IDs, and wheelchair boarding status
- `limitExceeded` flag signals when more stops exist beyond the returned set
- Stop IDs returned here feed directly into `onebusaway_get_arrivals`

---

### `onebusaway_get_arrivals`

Real-time arrivals and departures at a stop.

- Configurable time window (`minutesBefore`, `minutesAfter` — defaults 5/35)
- `predicted` boolean distinguishes GPS-tracked estimates from schedule-only projections
- Schedule deviation in seconds (positive = late, negative = early)
- Vehicle position and stops-away count when available
- Active service alert summaries included inline
- `tripId` on each arrival feeds `onebusaway_get_trip` for vehicle tracking

---

### `onebusaway_get_trip`

Real-time status and stop sequence for a specific trip.

- Journey phase (`in_progress`, `layover_before`, `layover_during`)
- Vehicle GPS position, heading, and schedule deviation
- Full stop sequence with GTFS arrival/departure times and distance along trip
- Optional `serviceDateMs` for looking up trips from a prior service day

---

### `onebusaway_get_vehicles`

Real-time positions of all active vehicles for an agency.

- Returns GPS coordinates, heading, schedule deviation, and current trip for every active vehicle
- Optional `routeId` filter (applied client-side after fetching all agency vehicles)
- Phase and `predicted` flag distinguish actively-reporting vehicles from stale entries

---

### `onebusaway_search_routes`

Search for routes by name or number across the instance.

- Falls back gracefully: the Puget Sound instance returns 404 on the search endpoint — `onebusaway_find_routes` (lat/lon) or `onebusaway_list_routes_for_agency` are the alternatives
- Error contract surfaces this with structured recovery hints

---

### `onebusaway_get_schedule_for_stop` and `onebusaway_get_schedule_for_route`

Static schedule lookups — full-day timetables without real-time data.

- Date parameter (ISO 8601) defaults to today in the agency's timezone
- `onebusaway_get_schedule_for_stop`: all departures grouped by route and direction, with trip IDs for follow-up calls
- `onebusaway_get_schedule_for_route`: all trips for the route with full stop sequences and GTFS stop times

## Resources

| Type | Name | Description |
|:---|:---|:---|
| Resource | `onebusaway://stop/{stopId}` | Stop metadata — name, coordinates, served routes, and wheelchair accessibility |
| Resource | `onebusaway://route/{routeId}` | Route metadata — short name, description, agency, and schedule URL |

All resource data is also reachable via `onebusaway_get_stop` and `onebusaway_get_route`. Stop and route IDs use agency-prefixed format: `{agencyId}_{localId}` (e.g. `1_75403`, `1_100259`).

## Features

Built on [`@cyanheads/mcp-ts-core`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@cyanheads/mcp-ts-core):

- Declarative tool and resource definitions — single file per primitive, framework handles registration and validation
- Unified error handling — handlers throw, framework catches, classifies, and formats
- Pluggable auth: `none`, `jwt`, `oauth`
- Swappable storage backends: `in-memory`, `filesystem`, `Supabase`, `Cloudflare KV/R2/D1`
- Structured logging with optional OpenTelemetry tracing
- STDIO and Streamable HTTP transports

OneBusAway-specific:

- Wraps [`onebusaway-sdk`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/onebusaway-sdk) with typed error classification (`NotFound`, `RateLimited`, `ServiceUnavailable`)
- Defaults to the Puget Sound instance (`api.pugetsound.onebusaway.org`) — works with `ONEBUSAWAY_API_KEY=TEST` for development
- Configurable `ONEBUSAWAY_BASE_URL` for any OneBusAway-compatible instance (NYC, Washington DC, Tampa, etc.)
- Server-level instructions guide agents through stop ID format, recommended workflows, and OneBusAway's limitations (no trip planning)

Agent-friendly output:

- `predicted` boolean on every arrival and vehicle distinguishes GPS-tracked data from schedule-only projections — agents branch on data, not string parsing
- Schedule deviation in seconds on arrivals, trips, and vehicle positions — structured for countdown timer math
- Cross-tool linkage: `tripId` from arrivals feeds `onebusaway_get_trip`; `stopId` from searches feeds arrivals; `agencyId` from list feeds vehicles and route listing
- Structured error contracts with recovery hints (`onebusaway_search_routes` 404 → fallback to `onebusaway_find_routes` or `onebusaway_list_routes_for_agency`)

## Getting started

Add the following to your MCP client configuration file. `ONEBUSAWAY_API_KEY=TEST` works on the Puget Sound instance without registration.

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "onebusaway-mcp-server": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "bunx",
      "args": ["@cyanheads/onebusaway-mcp-server@latest"],
      "env": {
        "MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE": "stdio",
        "MCP_LOG_LEVEL": "info",
        "ONEBUSAWAY_API_KEY": "TEST"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

Or with npx (no Bun required):

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "onebusaway-mcp-server": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@cyanheads/onebusaway-mcp-server@latest"],
      "env": {
        "MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE": "stdio",
        "MCP_LOG_LEVEL": "info",
        "ONEBUSAWAY_API_KEY": "TEST"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

Or with Docker:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "onebusaway-mcp-server": {
      "type": "stdio",