MBTA Transit Skill#

Query real-time MBTA (Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority) transit data: next departures, service alerts, and live vehicle positions for subway, bus, commuter rail, and ferry.

What This Skill Does#

• Next departures — Get upcoming departures from any MBTA stop, with route, destination, and predicted time
• Service alerts — Check active disruptions, delays, or closures for a stop or route
• Vehicle positions — See where trains/buses are right now on a given route
• Stop search — Find stop IDs by name
• Route listing — Browse all MBTA routes by type

Environment Variables#

VariableRequiredDescriptionMBTA_API_KEYOptionalHigher rate limits (1000 req/min vs 20). Free at https://api-v3.mbta.com/

Script: scripts/mbta.py#

Commands#

stops <search_term> — Find stops by name

bash

python3 scripts/mbta.py stops "South Station"
python3 scripts/mbta.py stops "Harvard"
python3 scripts/mbta.py stops "Kenmore"

Returns: Stop IDs, names, platform info, city.

departures <stop_id_or_name> [limit] — Next departures

bash

python3 scripts/mbta.py departures place-sstat 10
python3 scripts/mbta.py departures "Back Bay" 5
python3 scripts/mbta.py departures place-north

Returns: Departure times, route names, destinations.

alerts [--stop <id>] [--route <id>] — Active service alerts

bash

python3 scripts/mbta.py alerts --route Red
python3 scripts/mbta.py alerts --stop place-sstat
python3 scripts/mbta.py alerts --route Orange --stop place-dwnxg
python3 scripts/mbta.py alerts   # all active alerts

Returns: Alert header, effect type, severity, description, last updated.

vehicles <route_id> — Live vehicle positions

bash

python3 scripts/mbta.py vehicles Red
python3 scripts/mbta.py vehicles Orange
python3 scripts/mbta.py vehicles "Green-D"
python3 scripts/mbta.py vehicles 1   # Route 1 bus

Returns: Vehicle label, current stop/status, heading, occupancy, last update time.

routes [--type <0-4>] — List routes

bash

python3 scripts/mbta.py routes
python3 scripts/mbta.py routes --type 1   # Subway/Heavy Rail
python3 scripts/mbta.py routes --type 2   # Commuter Rail
python3 scripts/mbta.py routes --type 3   # Bus

Route types: 0=Light Rail, 1=Heavy Rail, 2=Commuter Rail, 3=Bus, 4=Ferry

Natural Language Requests This Handles#

• "When's the next Red Line train from South Station?" → departures place-sstat 5 (filter mentally to Red Line)

• "Are there any delays on the Orange Line?" → alerts --route Orange

• "What's the next commuter rail departure from Back Bay?" → departures place-bbsta 10

• "Where are the Green Line D trains right now?" → vehicles Green-D

• "Find the stop ID for Kenmore Station" → stops Kenmore

• "Any service alerts near Downtown Crossing?" → alerts --stop place-dwnxg

• "How crowded is the Blue Line?" → vehicles Blue (shows occupancy when available)

Common Stop IDs (Quick Reference)#

StationStop IDSouth Stationplace-sstatNorth Stationplace-northBack Bayplace-bbstaDowntown Crossingplace-dwnxgPark Streetplace-pktrmHarvardplace-harsqKendall/MITplace-knnclAlewifeplace-alfclAirportplace-aportKenmoreplace-kenclCopleyplace-coeclBoylstonplace-boyls

Common Route IDs#

RouteIDRed LineRedOrange LineOrangeBlue LineBlueGreen-B/C/D/EGreen-B, Green-C, Green-D, Green-ESilver Line 1741Silver Line 2742

Tips for the AI Agent#

1. Always use stop IDs over names when you have them — more reliable
2. Search for stop IDs first if you only have a station name: stops "Name"
3. Parent station IDs (e.g., place-sstat) cover all platforms — use these for departures
4. Predictions may be empty at night or when service isn't running
5. Alerts with no filter returns ALL system alerts — often noisy; filter by route or stop when possible
6. Vehicle tracking isn't available for all routes (some buses don't report positions)
7. For commuter rail departures, stop IDs are usually the station name like Back Bay

References#

See references/API.md for full MBTA V3 API documentation, including all filter parameters, response formats, and complete lists of stop/route IDs.