LA Metro Real Time API

What you can build

• Spot a cancelled bus before the shift starts

  Read canceled_service/line/{line} for the lines your staff ride. When a trip inside their commute window is cancelled, the operator proposes a late-start allowance or an open-shift offer and cites the trip.

  With Shift Coverage, No-Show Response

• Hold a shuttle for the next rail trip

  Poll Trip Updates for lametro-rail at your nearest station. When the next arrival slips past the shuttle time, the operator proposes a later departure and shows the update it used.

  With Shuttle Timing

• Count cancellations in the morning brief

  Each morning the operator reads canceled_service_summary and lists the lines with cancellations, with counts per line, in the brief.

  With Morning Brief

Requirements

• A Swiftly API key and the agencyKey for the mode you watch: lametro for bus, lametro-rail for rail
• A protobuf or JSON reader; Swiftly serves both formats
• Metro line numbers for the cancellations feed and GTFS route ids for the realtime feeds
• Acknowledgement of Metro as the provider; the terms bar use inside advertisements

Authentication

A free Swiftly API key, requested through the form linked from Metro's Real Time APIs page, for the GTFS-realtime feeds. The Bus Cancellations endpoints and the GTFS files need no key.

Limits

• The cancellations feed lists scheduled cancellations only, such as operator call-outs; a bus that breaks down mid-trip does not appear
• Lines run by contracted services are excluded from cancellations: 96, 125, 128, 130, 167, 177, 205, 218, 232, 256, 266, 501, 577, 603, 605
• The cancellations API is beta; Metro says its URLs and field names may change
• Polling faster than 5 seconds for positions or 10 seconds for trip updates gives limited value; Metro does not guarantee accuracy or timeliness

Questions and answers

Where does the API key come from?

From Swiftly, not from Metro. Metro's Real Time APIs page links Swiftly's API Key Request Form and Swiftly's API documentation; endpoint paths and the key header are defined there. The Bus Cancellations endpoints and the GTFS downloads answer without a key.

How often does each feed update?

Vehicle Positions every 5 seconds and Trip Updates every 10 seconds, per Metro. Bus cancellations refresh roughly every 5 minutes. Rail GTFS updates daily, Tuesday to Saturday mornings; the bus GTFS weekly-updated-service branch updates weekly, and Metro runs major shake-ups in June and December.

Does the cancellations feed list every cancelled bus?

No. It covers scheduled cancellations only, for example when an operator calls out sick and the assigned trips are dropped. Unplanned events such as breakdowns are not included, and lines run by contracted services are excluded.