Public API resources

The public API is Transiter's main API and is used to query transit data from Transiter. It's a read-only API and designed to be reachable from the internet.

Transiter's other API is the private admin API which is used to manage the Transiter deployment.

The public API is based on the following resource hierarchy:

System
|- Agency
|- Alert
|- Feed
|- Route
|   |- Trip
|- Shape
|- Stop
|- Transfer
|- Vehicle

For each resource there is a protobuf message type, a list endpoint, and a get endpoint. In the HTTP API, the structure of the response is based on the protobuf message type.

The URLs in the HTTP API are determined by the resource hierarchy; thus:

• List all systems has URL /systems,
• Get system with ID <system_id> has URL /systems/<system_id>,
• List all routes in the system has URL /systems/<system_id>/routes,
• Get route has URL /systems/<system_id>/routes/<route_id>,

and so on.

The following table summarizes all of the resources and their types. The right-most column describes the source of the resource. The public API is a read-only API so all of the resources come from somewhere else.

Resource	List endpoint	Get endpoint	Source
Agency	ListAgencies	GetAgency	GTFS static
Alert	ListAlerts	GetAlert	GTFS realtime
Feed	ListFeeds	GetFeed	System configuration
Route	ListRoutes	GetRoute	GTFS static
Shape	ListShapes	GetShape	GTFS static
Stop	ListStops	GetStop	GTFS static
System	ListSystems	GetSystem	System configuration
Transfer	ListTransfers	GetTransfer	GTFS static
Trip	ListTrips	GetTrip	GTFS realtime
Vehicle	ListVehicles	GetVehicle	GTFS realtime

Many resources refer to other resources across the hierarchy. For example, each route has an agency it is attached to. Each stop has a list of service maps, and each service map contains a set of routes. In these situations the resource message contains a reference to the other resource. The Route message contains an agency reference, in the form of an Agency.Reference message. These reference messages contain at least enough information to uniquely identify the resource. However they also contain additional information that is considered generally useful. For example, the Stop.Reference message contains the stop's name. What counts as "considered generally" is obviously subjective and open to change.

Agency

The Agency resource.

This resource corresponds to the agency.txt table in the GTFS static specification. Most of the fields in the resource come directly from the agency.txt table. Transiter adds some additional related fields (routes, alerts).

Field	Type	Description
id	string	ID of the agency. This is the agency_id column in agency.txt.
resource	Resource	Generic metadata about the agency resource.
system	System.Reference	System corresponding to this agency. This is the parent resource in Transiter's resource hierarchy.
name	string	Name of the agency. This is the agency_name column in agency.txt.
url	string	URL of the agency. This is the agency_url column in agency.txt.
timezone	string	Timezone of the agency. This is the agency_timezone column in agency.txt.
language	string	Language of the agency. This is the agency_lang column in agency.txt.
phone	string	Phone number of the agency. This is the agency_phone column in agency.txt.
fare_url	string	URL where tickets for the agency's services ban be bought. This is the agency_fare_url column in agency.txt.
email	string	Email address of the agency. This is the agency_email column in agency.txt.
routes	Route.Reference	List of routes operating under this agency. These are determined using the agency_id column in routes.txt.
alerts	Alert.Reference	List of active alerts for the agency. These are determined using the informed_entity field in the GTFS realtime alerts message.

Agency.Reference

Reference type for the agency resource.

Field	Type	Description
id	string	Same as the parent message.
resource	Resource	Same as the parent message.
system	System.Reference	Same as the parent message.
name	string	Same as the parent message.

Alert

The Alert resource.

This resource corresponds to the alert message in the GTFS realtime specification.

Field	Type	Description
id	string	ID of the alert. This corresponds to the ID field in the feed entity message corresponding to the alert.
resource	Resource	Generic metadata about the alert resource.
system	System.Reference	System corresponding to this alert. This is the parent resource in Transiter's resource hierarchy.
cause	Alert.Cause	Cause of the alert. This corresponds to the cause field in the realtime alert message.
effect	Alert.Effect	Effect of the alert. This corresponds to the effect field in the realtime alert message.
current_active_period	Alert.ActivePeriod	The current active period, if the alert is currently active. If the alert is not active this is empty.
all_active_periods	Alert.ActivePeriod	All active periods for this alert. Transiter guarantees that these active periods have no overlap.
header	Alert.Text	Header of the alert, in zero or more languages. This corresponds to the header_text field in the realtime alert message.
description	Alert.Text	Description of the alert, in zero or more languages. This corresponds to the description_text field in the realtime alert message.
url	Alert.Text	URL for additional information about the alert, in zero or more languages. This corresponds to the url field in the realtime alert message.

Alert.ActivePeriod

The active period message describes a period when an alert is active. It corresponds the the time range message in the GTFS realtime specification.

Field	Type	Description
starts_at	int64	Unix timestamp of the start time of the active period. If not set, the alert be interpreted as being always active up to the end time.
ends_at	int64	Unix timestamp of the end time of the active period. If not set, the alert be interpreted as being indefinitely active.

Alert.Cause

Cause is the same as the cause enum in the GTFS realtime specification, except UNKNOWN_CAUSE has value 0 instead of 1 to satisfy protobuf3 requirements.

Name	Number	Description
UNKNOWN_CAUSE	0
OTHER_CAUSE	2
TECHNICAL_PROBLEM	3
STRIKE	4
DEMONSTRATION	5
ACCIDENT	6
HOLIDAY	7
WEATHER	8
MAINTENANCE	9
CONSTRUCTION	10
POLICE_ACTIVITY	11
MEDICAL_EMERGENCY	12

Alert.Effect

Effect is the same as the effect enum in the GTFS realtime specification, except UNKNOWN_EFFECT has value 0 instead of 1 to satisfy protobuf3 requirements.

Name	Number	Description
UNKNOWN_EFFECT	0
NO_SERVICE	1
REDUCED_SERVICE	2
SIGNIFICANT_DELAYS	3
DETOUR	4
ADDITIONAL_SERVICE	5
MODIFIED_SERVICE	6
OTHER_EFFECT	7
STOP_MOVED	9
NO_EFFECT	10
ACCESSIBILITY_ISSUE	11

Alert.Reference

Reference type for the agency resource.

Field	Type	Description
id	string	Same as the parent message.
resource	Resource	Same as the parent message.
system	System.Reference	Same as the parent message.
cause	Alert.Cause	Same as the parent message.
effect	Alert.Effect	Same as the parent message.

Alert.Text

The text message describes an alert header/description/URL in a specified language. It corresponds the the translation message in the GTFS realtime specification.

Field	Type	Description
text	string	Content of the text.
language	string	Language of this text.

ChildResources

Description of a collection of child resources for a resource. This message only exists to support API discoverability.

Field	Type	Description
count	int64	Number of child resources.
path	string	Full path of the child resources. For example, for routes this is systems/<system_id>/routes and for trips it is systems/<system_id>/routes/<route_id>/trips.
url	string	URL of the endpoint to list child resources. This is populated if the X-Transiter-Host HTTP header is provided in the request. See the deployment documentation for more information.

Feed

The feed resource.

Each feed is defined in the system configuration file. Feeds are included in the public API because there are non-admin use-cases for this resource. For example, an app might publish the staleness of realtime data by checking the last successful feed update time.

More detailed information on a feed -- its full configuration, and the current status of its periodic updates -- can be retrieved through the admin API's GetSystemConfig endpoint.

Field	Type	Description
id	string	ID of the feed, as specified in the system configuration file.
resource	Resource	Generic metadata about the feed resource.
system	System.Reference	System corresponding to this feed. This is the parent resource in Transiter's resource hierarchy.
last_update_ms	int64	Unix milliseconds timestamp of when the last update of this feed finished. There are three outcomes for each update: successful (new data is retrieved from the transit agency and persisted), skipped (the transit agency returned the same data as the last update, so there is nothing to do), and failed (something went wrong, e.g. the transit agency's feed is unavailable).
last_successful_update_ms	int64	Unix milliseconds timestamp of when the last successful update of this feed finished.
last_skipped_update_ms	int64	Unix milliseconds timestamp of when the last skipped update of this feed finished.
last_failed_update_ms	int64	Unix milliseconds timestamp of when the last failed update of this feed finished.

Feed.Reference

Reference type for the feed resource.

Field	Type	Description
id	string	Same as the parent message.
resource	Resource	Same as the parent message.
system	System.Reference	Same as the parent message.

Resource

This message contains generic metadata that applies to all resources.

Field	Type	Description
path	string	Full path of the resource. For example, for systems this is systems/<system_id> and for routes it is systems/<system_id>/routes/<route_id>.
url	string	URL of the resource. This is populated if the X-Transiter-Host HTTP header is provided in the request. See the deployment documentation for more information about this header.

Route

The Route resource.

This resource corresponds to the route type in the GTFS static specification. Most of the fields in the resource come directly from the routes.txt table. Transiter adds some additional related fields (agency, alerts) and computed fields (estimated headway, service maps).

Field	Type	Description
id	string	ID of the route. This is the route_id column in routes.txt.
resource	Resource	Generic metadata about the route resource.
system	System.Reference	System corresponding to this route. This is the parent resource in Transiter's resource hierarchy.
short_name	string	Short name of the route. This is the route_short_name column in routes.txt.
long_name	string	Long name of the route. This is the route_long_name column in routes.txt.
color	string	Color of the route. This is the route_color column in routes.txt.
text_color	string	Text color of the route. This is the route_text_color column in routes.txt.
description	string	Description of the route. This is the route_desc column in routes.txt.
url	string	URL of a web page about the route. This is the route_url column in routes.txt.
sort_order	int32	Sort order of the route. This is the route_sort_order column in routes.txt.
continuous_pickup	Route.ContinuousPolicy	Continuous pickup policy. This is the continuous_pickup column in routes.txt.
continuous_drop_off	Route.ContinuousPolicy	Continuous dropoff policy. This is the continuous_dropoff column in routes.txt.
type	Route.Type	Type of the route. This is the route_type column in routes.txt.
agency	Agency.Reference	Agency this route is associated to. This is determined using the agency_id column in routes.txt.
alerts	Alert.Reference	Active alerts for this route. These are determined using the informed_entity field in the GTFS realtime alerts message.
estimated_headway	int32	An estimate of the interval of time between consecutive realtime trips, in seconds. If there is insufficient data to compute an estimate, the field will be empty. The estimate is computed as follows. For each stop that has realtime trips for the route, the list of arrival times for those trips is examined. The difference between consecutive arrival times is calculated. If there are N trips, there will be N-1 such arrival time diffs. The estimated headway is the average of these diffs across all stops.
service_maps	Route.ServiceMap	List of service maps for this route.

Route.ContinuousPolicy

Enum describing possible policies for continuous pickup or drop-off.

Name	Number	Description
ALLOWED	0	Continuous pickup or drop-off allowed.
NOT_ALLOWED	1	Continuous pickup or drop-off not allowed.
PHONE_AGENCY	2	Must phone the agency to arrange continuous pickup or drop-off.
COORDINATE_WITH_DRIVER	3	Must coordinate with driver to arrange continuous pickup or drop-off.

Route.Reference

Reference type for the route resource.

Field	Type	Description
id	string	Same as the parent message.
resource	Resource	Same as the parent message.
system	System.Reference	Same as the parent message.
color	string	Same as the parent message.

Route.ServiceMap

Message describing the service maps view in routes.

See the service maps documentation for more information on this message and the associated field.

Field	Type	Description
config_id	string	Config ID of the service map, as specified in the system configuration file.
stops	Stop.Reference	Ordered list of stops at which this route calls. This list may be empty, in which case the route has no service in the service map.

Route.Type

Enum describing possible route types. This corresponds to possible values of the route_type column in routes.txt.

Name	Number	Description
LIGHT_RAIL	0
SUBWAY	1
RAIL	2
BUS	3
FERRY	4
CABLE_TRAM	5
AERIAL_LIFT	6
FUNICULAR	7
TROLLEY_BUS	11
MONORAIL	12
UNKNOWN	100

Shape

The Shape resource.

This resource corresponds to the shape type in the GTFS static specification.

Field	Type	Description
id	string	Unique ID for the shape.
points	Shape.ShapePoint	Ordered list of points that make up the shape.

Shape.Reference

Reference type for the shape resource.

Field	Type	Description
id	string	Same as the parent message.
resource	Resource	Same as the parent message.

Shape.ShapePoint

A point within the shape.

Field	Type	Description
latitude	double	Latitude of the point.
longitude	double	Longitude of the point.
distance	double	Distance from the start of the shape to this point.

Stop

The Stop resource.

This resource corresponds to the stop type in the GTFS static specification. Most of the static fields in the resource come directly from the stops.txt table. Transiter adds some additional related fields (transfers, alerts, stop times) and computed fields (service maps).

Field	Type	Description
id	string	ID of the stop. This is the stop_id column in stops.txt.
resource	Resource	Generic metadata about the stop resource.
system	System.Reference	System corresponding to this stop. This is the parent resource in Transiter's resource hierarchy.
code	string	Code of the stop. This is the stop_code column in stops.txt.
name	string	Name of the stop. This is the stop_name column in stops.txt.
description	string	Description of the stop. This is the stop_desc column in stops.txt.
zone_id	string	Zone ID of the stop. This is the zone_id column in stops.txt.
latitude	double	Latitude of the stop. This is the stop_lat column in stops.txt.
longitude	double	Longitude of the stop. This is the stop_lon column in stops.txt.
url	string	URL of a webpage about the stop. This is the stop_url column in stops.txt.
type	Stop.Type	Type of the stop. This is the platform_type column in stops.txt.
parent_stop	Stop.Reference	Parent stop. This is determined using the parent_station column in stops.txt.
child_stops	Stop.Reference	Child stops. This are determined using the parent_station column in stops.txt.
timezone	string	Timezone of the stop. This is the stop_timezone column in stops.txt.
wheelchair_boarding	bool	If there is wheelchair boarding for this stop. This is the wheelchair_boarding column in stops.txt.
platform_code	string	Platform code of the stop. This is the platform_code column in stops.txt.
service_maps	Stop.ServiceMap	List of service maps for this stop.
alerts	Alert.Reference	Active alerts for this stop. These are determined using the informed_entity field in the GTFS realtime alerts message.
stop_times	StopTime	List of realtime stop times for this stop. A stop time is an event at which a trip calls at a stop.
transfers	Transfer	Transfers out of this stop. These are determined using the from_stop_id field in the GTFS static transfers.txt file.
headsign_rules	Stop.HeadsignRule	List of headsign rules for this stop. See the message type for more information.

Stop.HeadsignRule

Message describing a headsign rule.

This message is currently only used for the New York City subway. The data in it comes from the MTA's subway stations feed.

Field	Type	Description
stop	Stop.Reference	Stop the rule is for.
priority	int32	Priority of the rule (lower is higher priority).
track	string	NYCT track.
headsign	string	Headsign for trains arriving on the track.

Stop.Reference

Reference type for the stop resource.

Field	Type	Description
id	string	Same as the parent message.
resource	Resource	Same as the parent message.
system	System.Reference	Same as the parent message.
name	string	Same as the parent message.

Stop.ServiceMap

Message describing the service maps view in stops.

See the service maps documentation for more information on this message and the associated field.

Field	Type	Description
config_id	string	Config ID of the service map, as specified in the system configuration file.
routes	Route.Reference	List of routes which call at this stop. This list may be empty, in which case the stop has no service in the service map.

Stop.Type

Enum describing the possible stop types

Name	Number	Description
STOP	0
STATION	1
ENTRANCE_OR_EXIT	2
GENERIC_NODE	3
BOARDING_AREA	4
PLATFORM	5

StopTime

Message describing a realtime stop time.

A stop time is an event in which a trip calls at a stop. This message corresponds to the GTFS realtime StopTimeUpdate message.

Field	Type	Description
stop	Stop.Reference	The stop.
trip	Trip.Reference	The trip.
destination	Stop.Reference	The last stop the trip calls at. Only populated for StopTime messages returned in Stops. For Trip messages, the destination can be determined from the list of stop times in the message.
vehicle	Vehicle.Reference	Vehicle corresponding to this trip, if set. Only populated for StopTime messages returned in Stops. For Trip messages, the vehicle is contained in the message itself.
arrival	StopTime.EstimatedTime	Arrival time.
departure	StopTime.EstimatedTime	Departure time.
future	bool	If this stop time is in the future. This field is not based on the arrival or departure time. Instead, a stop time is considered in the future if it appeared in the most recent GTFS realtime feed for its trip. When this stop time disappears from the trip, Transiter marks it as in the past and freezes its data.
stop_sequence	int32	Stop sequence.
headsign	string	Headsign.
track	string	Track, from the NYCT realtime extension.

StopTime.EstimatedTime

Message describing the arrival or departure time of a stop time. This corresponds to the GTFS realtime StopTimeEvent message.

Field	Type	Description
time	int64	Time of arrival.
delay	int32	Delay from the scheduled time.
uncertainty	int32	Measure of the uncertainty of the data in this message.

System

The System resource.

Field	Type	Description
id	string	ID of the system as specified in the install request.
resource	Resource	Generic metadata about the system resource.
name	string	Name of the system as specified in the system configuration file.
status	System.Status	Status of the system.
agencies	ChildResources	The system's agencies.
feeds	ChildResources	The system's feeds.
routes	ChildResources	The system's routes.
stops	ChildResources	The system's stops.
transfers	ChildResources	The system's transfers.

System.Reference

Reference type for the system resource.

Field	Type	Description
id	string	Same as the parent message.
resource	Resource	Same as the parent message.

System.Status

Enum describing the possible statuses of a system.

Name	Number	Description
UNKNOWN	0	Unknown status, included for protobuf reasons.
INSTALLING	1	The system is currently being installed through an asynchronous install request.
ACTIVE	2	The system was successfully installed and is now active.
INSTALL_FAILED	3	The system was added through an asynchronous install request, but the install failed.
UPDATING	4	The system is currently being updated through an asynchronous update request.
UPDATE_FAILED	5	An asynchronous update of the system failed.
DELETING	6	The system is in the process of being deleted through an asynchronous delete request.

Transfer

The Transfer resource.

This resource corresponds to the transfer table in the GTFS static specification.

Field	Type	Description
id	string	Unique ID for the transfer. This is generated by Transiter because in the GTFS static spec transfers do not have IDs.
resource	Resource	Generic metadata about the transfer resource.
system	System.Reference	System corresponding to this transfer. This is the parent resource in Transiter's resource hierarchy.
from_stop	Stop.Reference	Beginning stop of the transfer. This is determined using the from_stop_id column in transfers.txt.
to_stop	Stop.Reference	Ending stop of the transfer. This is determined using the to_stop_id column in transfers.txt.
type	Transfer.Type	Type of the transfer.
min_transfer_time	int32	Minimum time required for the transfer, in seconds. This is the min_transfer_time column in transfers.txt.

Transfer.Type

Types of transfers. The supported types are described in the documentation for the transfer_type column in the GTFS static transfers.txt table.

Name	Number	Description
RECOMMENDED	0
TIMED	1
REQUIRES_TIME	2
NOT_POSSIBLE	3

Trip

The Trip resource.

This resource corresponds to the trip update type in the GTFS static specification.

Field	Type	Description
id	string	ID of the trip.
resource	Resource	Generic metadata about the trip resource.
route	Route.Reference	Route corresponding to this trip. This is the parent resource in Transiter's resource hierarchy. It is determined using the route_id field in the GTFS realtime feed.
started_at	int64	Time the trip started at.
vehicle	Vehicle.Reference	Vehicle corresponding to the trip.
direction_id	bool	Direction ID of the trip.
stop_times	StopTime	Stop times of the trip.
shape	Shape.Reference	Shape of the trip.
alerts	Alert.Reference	Active alerts for this trip. These are determined using the informed_entity field in the GTFS realtime alerts message.

Trip.Reference

Reference type for the trip resource.

Field	Type	Description
id	string	Same as the parent message.
resource	Resource	Same as the parent message.
route	Route.Reference	Same as the parent message.
destination	Stop.Reference	The last stop this trip calls at. This field is only populated in trip references in StopTime messages. It is deprecated in favor of the destination field on the StopTime message itself, and will be removed in v2.
vehicle	Vehicle.Reference	Vehicle corresponding to this trip. This field is only populated in trip references in StopTime messages. It is deprecated in favor of the destination field on the StopTime message itself, and will be removed in v2.
direction_id	bool	Same as the parent message.

Vehicle

The Vehicle resource.

This resource corresponds to the vehicle position type in the GTFS static specification.

Field	Type	Description
id	string	A unique ID for the vehicle.
trip	Trip.Reference	A reference to the vehicle's trip.
latitude	double	The vehicle's current latitude.
longitude	double	The vehicle's current longitude.
bearing	float	The vehicle's current bearing.
odometer	double	The vehicle's current odometer reading.
speed	float	The vehicle's current speed.
stop_sequence	int32	The stop sequence index of the vehicle's current stop.
stop	Stop.Reference	A reference to the vehicle's current stop.
current_status	Vehicle.CurrentStatus	The vehicle's current status.
updated_at	int64	The timestamp of the last update to the vehicle's position.
congestion_level	Vehicle.CongestionLevel	The vehicle's current congestion level.
occupancy_status	Vehicle.OccupancyStatus	The vehicle's current occupancy status.
occupancy_percentage	int32	The percentage of seats occupied.

Vehicle.CongestionLevel

Corresponds to CongestionLevel.

Name	Number	Description
UNKNOWN_CONGESTION_LEVEL	0
RUNNING_SMOOTHLY	1
STOP_AND_GO	2
CONGESTION	3
SEVERE_CONGESTION	4

Vehicle.CurrentStatus

Corresponds to VehicleStopStatus.

Name	Number	Description
INCOMING_AT	0
STOPPED_AT	1
IN_TRANSIT_TO	2

Vehicle.OccupancyStatus

Corresponds to OccupancyStatus.

Name	Number	Description
EMPTY	0
MANY_SEATS_AVAILABLE	1
FEW_SEATS_AVAILABLE	2
STANDING_ROOM_ONLY	3
CRUSHED_STANDING_ROOM_ONLY	4
FULL	5
NOT_ACCEPTING_PASSENGERS	6

Vehicle.Reference

Reference type for the vehicle resource.

Field	Type	Description
id	string	Same as the parent message.
resource	Resource	Same as the parent message.

Other types