# transitland-mcp-server [Health: Active]
**Category:** 💻 Developer Tools
**Repository:** https://github.com/cyanheads/transitland-mcp-server
**GitHub Stars:** 1
**Views:** 0
**Installs:** 0
**Upvotes:** 0
**Directory Page:** https://allmcps.com/mcp/transitland-mcp-server
## Description
Global transit via Transitland v2 — operators, GTFS/GTFS-RT/GBFS feeds, routes, stops, departures.
## Claude Desktop Quick Installation
Install path detected from listing signals. Uses `bunx` (confidence: high):
```json
"mcpServers": {
"transitland-mcp-server": {
"command": "bunx",
"args": ["@cyanheads/transitland-mcp-server@latest"]
}
}
```
## Documentation & README
@cyanheads/transitland-mcp-server
Global transit data via the Transitland v2 registry — operators, GTFS/GTFS-RT/GBFS feeds with license terms, routes, stops, and real-time-aware departures via MCP. STDIO or Streamable HTTP.
6 Tools • 2 Resources
[](./CHANGELOG.md) [](./LICENSE) [](https://github.com/users/cyanheads/packages/container/package/transitland-mcp-server) [](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/) [](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@cyanheads/transitland-mcp-server) [](https://www.typescriptlang.org/) [](https://bun.sh/)
[](https://github.com/cyanheads/transitland-mcp-server/releases/latest/download/transitland-mcp-server.mcpb) [](https://cursor.com/en/install-mcp?name=transitland-mcp-server&config=eyJjb21tYW5kIjoibnB4IiwiYXJncyI6WyIteSIsIkBjeWFuaGVhZHMvdHJhbnNpdGxhbmQtbWNwLXNlcnZlciJdLCJlbnYiOnsiVFJBTlNJVExBTkRfQVBJX0tFWSI6InlvdXItYXBpLWtleSJ9fQ==) [](https://vscode.dev/redirect?url=vscode:mcp/install?%7B%22name%22%3A%22transitland-mcp-server%22%2C%22command%22%3A%22npx%22%2C%22args%22%3A%5B%22-y%22%2C%22%40cyanheads%2Ftransitland-mcp-server%22%5D%2C%22env%22%3A%7B%22TRANSITLAND_API_KEY%22%3A%22your-api-key%22%7D%7D)
[](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@cyanheads/mcp-ts-core)
---
## Tools
Six tools mirroring the Transitland resource hierarchy — operators → feeds → routes → stops → departures:
| Tool | Description |
|:---|:---|
| `transitland_find_operators` | Find transit operators/agencies by name, point/radius, bounding box, country/region, or Onestop ID. The entry point for "what transit runs here?" |
| `transitland_get_operator` | Fetch the full operator record by Onestop ID — agencies, places served, published feeds, and source tags (Wikidata QID, US NTD ID, social handles) |
| `transitland_find_feeds` | Discover GTFS, GTFS-Realtime, and GBFS feeds — fetch URLs, license terms, and last-fetch freshness. Where to legally get a place's open transit data, and on what terms |
| `transitland_find_routes` | Find routes by point/radius, bounding box, operator, Onestop ID, or GTFS mode. Returns name, mode, brand color, and operating agency |
| `transitland_find_stops` | Find stops/stations by point/radius, bounding box, Onestop ID, or operator network. Returns coordinates, location type, accessibility, and timezone |
| `transitland_get_departures` | Departures from a stop, each flagged `realtime` true/false — live GTFS-Realtime predictions distinguished from static schedule, per departure |
Transitland does not geocode place names. Turn a city or address into coordinates with a geocoding MCP server (e.g. [`openstreetmap-mcp-server`](https://github.com/cyanheads/openstreetmap-mcp-server)'s `openstreetmap_geocode`) first, then pass `lat`/`lon` or a `bbox`. Geocoding is intentionally not built in — this server resolves coordinates to transit, not names to coordinates.
### `transitland_find_operators`
Find operators near a place or by name — the entry point that resolves a location to the agencies serving it.
- Filter by `search` (operator/agency name), `lat`+`lon`+`radius`, `bbox`, `onestop_id`, or `adm0_name`/`adm1_name` (country/region)
- Returns each operator's Onestop ID, name, the places it serves, the feeds it publishes (a `GTFS_RT` entry signals real-time departures may be available), and its Wikidata QID for cross-referencing
- At least one filter required — an unfiltered query is rejected with a recovery hint rather than returning a global dump
- Pagination via the `after` cursor; `enrichment.totalCount` and a truncation notice report capped results
---
### `transitland_get_operator`
Fetch the complete operator record when you already hold an ID — no search round-trip.
- Accepts an Onestop ID (`o-9q9-bart`) or an internal integer ID
- Returns agencies (each with the places it serves), published feeds, and source tags: Wikidata QID, US NTD ID, and general social handle
- Idempotent single-record lookup; mirrored by the `transitland://operator/{onestop_id}` resource
---
### `transitland_find_feeds`
The open-data catalog — where to get a place's transit data and whether you may redistribute it.
- Pass `operator_onestop_id` (from `transitland_find_operators`) to list exactly the feeds an operator publishes — the reliable path to a specific agency's feeds
- Also filter by `spec` (`gtfs`, `gtfs-rt`, `gbfs`, `mds`), `search`, or `fetch_error` (data-quality auditing)
- Each feed returns its fetch URL, real-time endpoints when present, and license terms — redistribution, commercial use, derived products, and attribution as explicit `yes`/`no`/`unknown` (never inferred from a blank registry field), plus SPDX identifier and attribution text where known
- Freshness: last-fetch timestamp, content hash, and the calendar window the current data covers
- `authorizationRequired` flags feeds whose download needs a separate key/registration
---
### `transitland_find_routes`
Find scheduled (GTFS static) route definitions by geography, operator, or mode.
- Filter by `lat`+`lon`+`radius`, `bbox`, `operator_onestop_id`, `onestop_id`, `route_type` (GTFS mode), or `search`
- Returns short/long name, the route's GTFS `route_type` mapped to a human-readable mode (bus, subway, rail, ferry, tram, …), brand color, the operating agency's Onestop ID, and the source feed's Onestop ID
- These are route definitions, not live vehicle positions
- At least one filter required; pagination via the `after` cursor
---
### `transitland_find_stops`
Locate stops and stations — the step before departures.
- Filter by `lat`+`lon`+`radius`, `bbox`, `onestop_id`, or `served_by_onestop_ids` (operator/route network)
- Returns coordinates, GTFS `location_type` with a label (stop, station, entrance, node, boarding area), wheelchair accessibility, timezone, and the parent station's Onestop ID for child platforms
- Departures attach to platform-level stops (`location_type` 0) — a station may return none; use its child platforms
- Pass a returned stop Onestop ID to `transitland_get_departures`
---
### `transitland_get_departures`
Departures from a stop, with the live-vs-scheduled distinction made structural.
- Resolve a stop to its Onestop ID with `transitland_find_stops` first
- Every departure carries a `realtime` flag — `true` for a live GTFS-Realtime prediction, `false` for a static scheduled time — plus a `scheduleRelationship` (`STATIC`, `SCHEDULED`, `ADDED`, `CANCELED`, `UNSCHEDULED`, `DUPLICATED`) so a timetable entry is never mistaken for a live arrival and cancellations are visible
- Returns scheduled and (when real-time) estimated times with delay in seconds, route, headsign, mode, trip, direction, and accessibility
- Top-level `realtimeAvailable` reports whether the stop's feed publishes GTFS-RT at all
- Widen `next_seconds` (up to 24h) or set `use_service_window: true` when a stop returns nothing — some feeds only expose times inside their declared service window
## Resources and prompts
| Type | Name | Description |
|:---|:---|:---|
| Resource | `transitland://operator/{onestop_id}` | Operator record by Onestop ID — agencies, places served, published feeds, and source tags. Mirrors `transitland_get_operator`. |
| Resource | `transitland://feed/{onestop_id}` | Feed record by Onestop ID — spec, fetch URL, license terms, and latest-fetch freshness. The open-data catalog entry for one feed. |
All resource data is also reachable via tools (`transitland_get_operator`, `transitland_find_feeds`), so tool-only clients lose nothing. Stops and routes have no resource — they're discovered in bulk by geography, not referenced by a single stable URI. No prompts: the domain is operational data lookup, with workflow guidance carried in the tool descriptions (geocode-first, operator-then-feeds, stop-then-departures).
## 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, with typed per-tool error contracts and agent-facing recovery hints
- 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 — runs locally or on Cloudflare Workers from the same codebase
Transitland-specific:
- Direct HTTP client for the Transitland v2 REST API — no SDK dependency, a flat query-param contract over a handful of GET endpoints
- Onestop IDs (`o-`/`f-`/`r-`/`s-`) are the identifier spine — surfaced in every result, accepted on input alongside internal integer IDs
- Feed-version history sliced to the latest version (the raw endpoint returns the entire fetch log — 167 entries for BART), so a feed lookup returns current freshness, not a multi-year history
- Coverage polygons and route/stop geometry omitted by default — a compact country/region/city place summary instead
Agent-friendly output:
- The real-time distinction is structural — a per-departure `realtime` boolean and `scheduleRelationship`, plus a top-level `realtimeAvailable`, so an agent branches on data, never on parsing a timestamp
- License terms surfaced honestly — blank registry fields normalize to `unknown`/null and are never inferred as permissive; the schema descriptions tell agents to confirm against the license URL before redistributing
- The pagination `meta.next` URL embeds the API key in plaintext; the service discards it and surfaces only the opaque integer `after` cursor, so the key never reaches tool output or logs
- Empty results return data plus an actionable notice (geocode-first, widen the window, try a child platform) rather than an error
## Getting started
Add the following to your MCP client configuration file. A Transitland API key is required — see [Prerequisites](#prerequisites) for how to get one.
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"transitland-mcp-server": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "bunx",
"args": ["@cyanheads/transitland-mcp-server@latest"],
"env": {
"MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE": "stdio",
"MCP_LOG_LEVEL": "info",
"TRANSITLAND_API_KEY": "your-api-key"
}
}
}
}
```
Or with npx (no Bun required):
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"transitland-mcp-server": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@cyanheads/transitland-mcp-server@latest"],
"env": {
"MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE": "stdio",
"MCP_LOG_LEVEL": "info",
"TRANSITLAND_API_KEY": "your-api-key"
}
}
}
}
```
Or with Docker:
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"transitland-mcp-server": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "docker",
"args": [
"run", "-i", "--rm",
"-e", "MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE=stdio",
"-e", "TRANSITLAND_API_KEY=your-api-key",
"ghcr.io/cyanheads/transitland-mcp-server:latest"
]
}
}
}
```
For Streamable HTTP, set the transport and start the server:
```sh
MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE=http MCP_HTTP_PORT=3010 TRANSITLAND_API_KEY=your-api-key bun run start:http
# Server listens at http://localhost:3010/mcp
```
### Prerequisites
- [Bun v1.4.0](https://bun.sh/) or higher (or Node.js v24+).
- A Transitland v2 API key — register at the [Transitland developer portal](https://www.transit.land/documentation). The free tier is rate-limited; the Pro tier raises the quota.
### Installation
1. **Clone the repository:**
```sh
git clone https://github.com/cyanheads/transitland-mcp-server.git
```
2. **Navigate into the directory:**
```sh
cd transitland-mcp-server
```
3. **Install dependencies:**
```sh
bun install
```
4. **Configure environment:**
```sh
cp .env.example .env
# edit .env and set TRANSITLAND_API_KEY
```
## Configuration
All configuration is validated at startup via Zod schemas in `src/config/server-config.ts`. A missing `TRANSITLAND_API_KEY` fails at startup with a banner naming the variable, not at the first tool call.
| Variable | Description | Default |
|:---|:---|:---|
| `TRANSITLAND_API_KEY` | **Required.** Transitland v2 API key, sent as the `apikey` query parameter. | — |
| `TRANSITLAND_BASE_URL` | Transitland REST API base URL. Override to pin a specific deployment or a self-hosted instance. | `https://transit.land/api/v2/rest` |
| `MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE` | Transport: `stdio` or `http`. | `stdio` |
| `MCP_HTTP_PORT` | Port for the HTTP server. | `3010` |
| `MCP_HTTP_ENDPOINT_PATH` | HTTP endpoint path where the MCP server is mounted. | `/mcp` |
| `MCP_AUTH_MODE` | Authentication mode: `none`, `jwt`, or `oauth`. | `none` |
| `MCP_LOG_LEVEL` | Log level (`debug`, `info`, `notice`, `warning`, `error`). | `info` |
| `LOGS_DIR` | Directory for log files (Node.js only). | `/logs` |
| `STORAGE_PROVIDER_TYPE` | Storage backend: `in-memory`, `filesystem`, `supabase`, `cloudflare-kv/r2/d1`. | `in-memory` |
| `OTEL_ENABLED` | Enable [OpenTelemetry instrumentation](https://github.com/cyanheads/mcp-ts-core/tree/main/docs/telemetry) (spans, metrics, completion logs). | `false` |
See [`.env.example`](https://github.com/cyanheads/transitland-mcp-server/blob/HEAD/.env.example) for the full list of optional overrides.
## Running the server
### Local development
- **Build and run:**
```sh
# One-time build
bun run rebuild
# Run the built server
bun run start:stdio
# or
bun run start:http
```
- **Run checks and tests:**
```sh
bun run devcheck # Lint, format, typecheck, security, changelog sync
bun run test # Vitest test suite
bun run lint:mcp # Validate MCP definitions against spec
```
### Docker
```sh
docker build -t transitland-mcp-server .
docker run --rm -e TRANSITLAND_API_KEY=your-key -p 3010:3010 transitland-mcp-server
```
The Dockerfile defaults to HTTP transport, stateless session mode, and logs to `/var/log/transitland-mcp-server`. OpenTelemetry peer dependencies are installed by default — build with `--build-arg OTEL_ENABLED=false` to omit them.
## Project structure
| Directory | Purpose |
|:---|:---|
| `src/index.ts` | `createApp()` entry point — registers tools and resources, inits the Transitland service. |
| `src/config` | Server-specific environment variable parsing and validation with Zod. |
| `src/mcp-server/tools` | Tool definitions (`*.tool.ts`). Six tools across operators, feeds, routes, stops, and departures. |
| `src/mcp-server/resources` | Resource definitions (`*.resource.ts`). Operator and feed records. |
| `src/services/transitland` | Transitland v2 REST client — HTTP, `apikey` injection, cursor normalization, error classification, and per-endpoint typed methods. |
| `tests/` | Unit and integration tests mirroring `src/`. |
## Development guide
See [`CLAUDE.md`](https://github.com/cyanheads/transitland-mcp-server/blob/HEAD/CLAUDE.md) / [`AGENTS.md`](https://github.com/cyanheads/transitland-mcp-server/blob/HEAD/AGENTS.md) for development guidelines and architectural rules. The short version:
- Handlers throw, framework catches — no `try/catch` in tool logic
- Use `ctx.log` for request-scoped logging, `ctx.state` for tenant-scoped storage
- Register new tools and resources via the barrels in `src/mcp-server/*/definitions/index.ts`
- Wrap the Transitland API: validate raw → normalize to domain type → return output schema; never fabricate missing fields (especially license terms — blanks are `unknown`, not permissive)
## Contributing
Issues and pull requests are welcome. Run checks and tests before submitting:
```sh
bun run devcheck
bun run test
```
## License
Apache-2.0 — see [LICENSE](https://github.com/cyanheads/transitland-mcp-server/blob/HEAD/LICENSE) for details.
## Data & licensing
Transit data is provided by [Transitland](https://www.transit.land/terms) — an open registry aggregating GTFS, GTFS-Realtime, and GBFS feeds from thousands of operators worldwide. Products built on Transitland data must display the name "Transitland" with a link to [transit.land/terms](https://www.transit.land/terms), clearly visible to end users.
Transitland aggregates feeds from thousands of operators, each of which may carry its own license and attribution requirements. Review the per-feed license terms at [transit.land/terms](https://www.transit.land/terms) and comply with each source feed's requirements before redistributing or publishing data obtained through this server.