What a journey planner needs
To suggest a trip from A to B, a planner needs a map of the walking, cycling and road network, the stops and timetables of public transport, live updates, and the location of shared vehicles. Each comes from a different source.
The data pipeline
- Collect. Download or subscribe to datasets from National Access Points.
- Convert and merge. Read NeTEx or GTFS timetables and combine them with street data such as OpenStreetMap.
- Update. Apply real-time changes from SIRI or GTFS Realtime so the plan reflects delays.
- Add shared mobility. Include live availability from GBFS feeds.
- Route. Search for the best combination of legs, using routing algorithms for public transport such as RAPTOR.
- Present. Show the result as an itinerary with times, changes and walking distances.
Why common formats and identifiers matter
To apply a delay to the right trip, the real-time feed must refer to the same trip and stop identifiers as the timetable. Common standards and consistent identifiers are what make it possible to combine many sources reliably. See static and dynamic data.
Open-source building blocks
OpenTripPlanner is an open-source multimodal trip planner that reads timetable data and street maps. Many services, public and commercial, build on similar components.
What can go wrong
- Stale or missing data leads to plans that do not match reality.
- Inconsistent identifiers break the link between timetable and real-time data.
- Unclear licences make it hard to reuse data legally. See metadata and licences.
Developers: see how to use transport data.
Frequently asked questions
Does MMTIS provide a journey planner?
No. MMTIS makes data available. Journey planners are built by public and private organisations on top of that data.
Which data does a planner need?
Timetables and stops, street and cycling networks, real-time updates and shared mobility availability.