Transport for Los Angeles, US

About Transport for Los Angeles, US

LA Metro provides real-time transit data APIs for the Los Angeles area, primarily through GTFS-realtime endpoints accessed via Swiftly. These endpoints cover VehiclePositions (updated every 5 seconds) and TripUpdates (updated every 10 seconds), available in Google Protocol Buffer binary format and JSON. Access requires an API key obtained through Swiftly's key request form. Separate agency keys are provided for bus (lametro) and rail (lametro-rail) services.

A beta Bus Cancellations feed is also available, offering three endpoints: a summary count of currently scheduled cancellations, a full list of canceled service, and cancellations filtered by line. This data is updated roughly every 5 minutes and covers only scheduled cancellations (such as operator call-outs), not unplanned disruptions like breakdowns. It is limited to lines run by Metro-operated divisions, excluding lines run by contracted services.

These APIs are intended for developers building transit-related applications or tools that need real-time vehicle position, trip update, or service cancellation data for the LA Metro bus and rail system.

Key features

• GTFS-realtime vehicle positions and trip updates via Swiftly
• VehiclePositions updated every 5 seconds, TripUpdates every 10 seconds
• Protocol Buffer (protobuf) and JSON feed formats
• Bus cancellations API (beta) with summary, all, and per-line endpoints
• Scheduled bus cancellation data updated roughly every 5 minutes

Frequently asked questions