Overview

Transitland brings together many sources of transit data to build a directory of operators and feeds that can be edited by transit enthusiasts and developers.

This documentation site primarily describes Transitland v2. Some components of Transitland v1 are deprecated but still active, including the Transitland v1 Datastore API

Transitland Architecture

Here is a diagram of the overall Transitland v1 and v2 technical architecture (last updated September 2023):

diagram of Transitland v2 technical architecture

Comparing the APIs

Transitland v1 and v2 provide a range of APIs. All are powered by the same underlying database cluster. Each has a different set of capabilities and constraints:

APIStatusRoot EndpointAPI Key RequiredCostUses
Transitland v2 Map Vector Tilesproductionhttps://transit.land/api/v2/tiles/free (with rate limits)Powers the map. Build your own web maps of stop locations and route geometries. In Mapbox Vector Tile (MVT) format.
Transitland v2 REST APIproductionhttps://transit.land/api/v2/rest/free (with rate limits)Fast and easy queries for accessing common data.
Transitland v2 GraphQL APIproductionhttps://transit.land/api/v2/querypaidThe most flexible API for performing a wide variety of queries and analyses. May be slower than v2 REST API for certain queries. May require support for advanced uses.
Transitland v1 Datastore APIdeprecatedhttps://transit.land/api/v1free (with rate limits)Original API for exploring data and powering apps. Has some performance limitations.

Signing up for an API Key

Transitland APIs all require an API key to access. To get an API key, follow these steps:

  1. Open to the sign-up page
  2. If you already have an Interline account (you will have one if you use Interline OSM Extracts) click Sign in in the upper right corner.
  3. Pick a free or paid subscription plan.
  4. Press the Order button and watch your email inbox (or your spam folder) for a notification.
  5. You may retrieve your API key at any time by signing into your Interline account. If it's your first time signing in, press Sign in using your Interline account and then press Forgot password? to set an initial password.
  6. If you selected a Professional plan, Interline staff will be in touch to process payment. You will be able to get started using your new API key at the Free plan rates, in the meantime. Once payment is received, the limits will be increased on that API key.
  7. Use your API key by adding it to any Transitland API request using a query parameter or header using one of the following keys:
    • apikey our recommended default
    • api_key
    • api_token
    • access_token

Here is an example request: https://transit.land/api/v2/feeds?api_key=xxx where xxx is replaced with your API key.

How to Participate

Transitland welcome many types of participation:

  • Please help us to expand the coverage of existing public feeds in the Transitland Atlas.
  • Use Transitland APIs to power your own maps, apps, trip planning tools, analyses, and other projects. Share your creations with us by posting to Transitland's "show & tell" discussion board on GitHub.
  • Share Transitland with your favorite transit agency — whether it's one you ride, you work for, or one you just really like.
  • If you have further questions, see the support options.