MBTAPI

A Node.js library for interacting with the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority's MBTA-Realtime v2 API

Note: This library is neither maintained by nor affiliated with the MBTA

Quick Links: Installation • Usage • Available Methods • Resources • License & Credits

Installation

To use MBTAPI in your project, install it with NPM:

npm install --save mbtapi

Usage

In your Node application code, you can then require the mbtapi module. Before you can make API requests, you must use the module to create the API client using your own API key:

var mbtapi = require('mbtapi').create({
  apiKey: 'yourAPIkeyGoesHere'
});

Once you have required and created the MBTAPI client, you can make requests against the API using any of the available request methods.

MBTAPI is a Promise-based library, so each method returns a JavaScript Promise object. The results of the API request can be accessed throuh the .then method:

mbtapi.routes().then(function( results ) {
  results.mode.forEach(function( mode ) {
    var modeName = mode.mode_name;
    var routeCount = mode.route.length;
    console.log( routeCount + ' ' + modeName + ' routes' );
  });
});

This logs out

5 Subway routes
3 Subway routes
12 Commuter Rail routes
189 Bus routes
3 Boat routes

Available API Requests

// Return a complete list of routes for which data can be requested.
mbtapi.routes().then(function( routes ) {
  // ...
});

// Return a list of routes that serve a particular stop, specified by a
// stop_id value e.g. "Back Bay" or "70065".
mbtapi.routesByStop( '70065' ).then(function( routes ) {
  // ...
});

// Returns a list of all stops served by a route, specified by a route_id
// value such as "Orange" or "88"
mbtapi.stopsByRoute( 'Orange' ).then(function( stops ) {
  // ...
});

// Returns a list of all stops near a specified latitude & longitude
mbtapi.stopsByLocation( 42.352913, -71.064648 ).then(function( stops ) {
  // ...
});

// Returns scheduled arrivals and departures at a particular stop
mbtapi.scheduleByStop( 2681 ).then(function( schedule ) {
  // ...
});

// Returns scheduled arrivals and departures for a particular route
mbtapi.scheduleByRoute( 'CR-Providence' ).then(function( schedule ) {
  // ...
});

// Returns scheduled arrivals and departures for a number of routes
mbtapi.scheduleByRoutes([ 'Red', 'Orange', '88', '90' ]).then(function( schedules ) {
  // ...
});

// Returns scheduled arrivals and departures for a particular trip
mbtapi.scheduleByTrip( '25385462' ).then(function( schedule ) {
  // ...
});

// Returns arrival/departure predictions, plus vehicle locations and alert
// headers, for a stop
mbtapi.predictionsByStop( '70099' ).then(function( predictions ) {
  // ...
});

// Returns arrival/departure predictions, plus vehicle locations and alert
// headers, for a route
mbtapi.predictionsByRoute( 'Green-D' ).then(function( predictions ) {
  // ...
});

// Returns arrival/departure predictions, plus vehicle locations and alert
// headers, for a number of routes
mbtapi.predictionsByRoutes([
  'Green-B', 'Green-C', 'Green-D', 'Green-E'
]).then(function( predictions ) {
  // ...
});

// Returns arrival/departure predictions, plus vehicle location, for a trip
mbtapi.predictionsByTrip( '28192827' ).then(function( predictions ) {
  // ...
});

// Returns vehicle locations for a route
mbtapi.vehiclesByRoute( 'Red' ).then(function( vehicles ) {
  // ...
});

// Returns vehicle locations for a number of routes
mbtapi.vehiclesByRoutes([
  'Green-B', 'Green-C', 'Green-D', 'Green-E'
]).then(function( vehicles ) {
  // ...
});

// Returns vehicle location for a trip
mbtapi.vehiclesByTrip( 'CR-Providence-CR-Weekday-807' ).then(function( vehicles ) {
  // ...
});

// Returns a list of all alerts, with all details
mbtapi.alerts().then(function( alerts ) {
  // ...
});

// Returns a list of all alerts applicable to a route, with all details
mbtapi.alertsByRoute( '90' ).then(function( alerts ) {
  // ...
});

// Returns a list of all alerts for a stop, with all details
mbtapi.alertsByStop( 'place-portr' ).then(function( alerts ) {
  // ...
});

// Returns the full alert object for a given alert ID
mbtapi.alertById( 2579 ).then(function( alert ) {
  // ...
});

// Returns a list of all alert headers, with all details
mbtapi.alertHeaders().then(function( alerts ) {
  // ...
});

// Returns a list of all alert headers for a route, with all details
mbtapi.alertHeadersByRoute( '90' ).then(function( alerts ) {
  // ...
});

// Returns a list of all alert headers for a stop, with all details
mbtapi.alertHeadersByStop( 'place-portr' ).then(function( alerts ) {
  // ...
});

// Returns the current server time on the MBTA API server
mbtapi.serverTime().then(function( serverTime ) {
  console.log( serverTime.server_dt ); // e.g. "1459895929"
});

API Resources

For more information about the MBTA Realtime v2 API, see the MBTA Realtime developer portal

In order to use the API, you need to register for an API key. Also check out the Realtime API v2 documentation, which has in-depth information about each API endpoint's parameters and response.

License & Credits

This library's code © 2015 K. Adam White, released under the MIT License

Use of the MBTA API is subject to the Mass DoT Developers License Agreement

Contributions to the library are welcome: please open an issue if you encounter any problems!