Routes MCP - Real-time Transit for Israel

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that provides real-time public transit information for Israel, combining Google Routes API, Google Places API, and GTFS data with curlbus for accurate arrival times.

Features

• Get transit routes between any two addresses in Israel
• Hebrew-localized times and addresses
• Real-time bus/train arrival information via curlbus
• Automatic city detection using Google Places API
• GTFS-based stop code matching for accurate real-time data
• Configurable number of routes returned

Google API Setup

1. Create a Google Cloud Project

1. Go to Google Cloud Console
2. Create a new project or select an existing one

2. Enable Required APIs

Enable these APIs in your Google Cloud project:

1. Routes API

   • Go to Routes API
   • Click "Enable"

2. Places API (New)

   • Go to Places API (New)
   • Click "Enable"

3. Create API Key

1. Go to API Keys
2. Click "Create Credentials" → "API Key"
3. Copy your API key
4. (Optional) Restrict the key to only Routes API and Places API for security

Installation

Prerequisites

• Install uv package manager
• Python 3.8+

Setup

git clone <your-repo-url>
cd routes_mcp

Configuration

Claude Desktop

Add to your Claude Desktop configuration file (claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "routes-israel": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": ["--directory", "/path/to/routes_mcp", "run", "server.py"],
      "env": {
        "GOOGLE_API_KEY": "your_google_api_key_here",
        "MAX_ROUTES": "2"
      }
    }
  }
}

Cursor

Add to your Cursor configuration file. The location depends on your OS:

macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Cursor/User/globalStorage/storage.json Linux: ~/.config/Cursor/User/globalStorage/storage.json
Windows: %APPDATA%\Cursor\User\globalStorage\storage.json

Add this configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "routes-israel": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": ["--directory", "/path/to/routes_mcp", "run", "server.py"],
      "env": {
        "GOOGLE_API_KEY": "your_google_api_key_here",
        "MAX_ROUTES": "2"
      }
    }
  }
}

Note: If the file doesn't exist, create it with the above content.

Other MCP Clients

Other MCP clients use the same protocol and similar configuration.

Manual Python Installation

If you prefer traditional pip:

pip install fastmcp httpx pydantic

Then use:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "routes-israel": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["/path/to/routes_mcp/server.py"],
      "env": {
        "GOOGLE_API_KEY": "your_google_api_key_here",
        "MAX_ROUTES": "2"
      }
    }
  }
}

Environment Variables

Variable	Required	Default	Description
GOOGLE_API_KEY	✅ Yes	-	Your Google API key with Routes and Places API enabled
MAX_ROUTES	No	2	Maximum number of routes to return (for performance)

Usage

The server provides one tool: get_route

Example

Get transit routes from "תל אביב" to "ירושלים"

Response Format

{
  "routes": [
    [
      {
        "operator": "אגד",
        "route_number": "405",
        "departure_stop": "תחנה מרכזית תל אביב/קומה 3/רציף 16",
        "arrival_stop": "תחנה מרכזית ירושלים/יעקב פת/רציף 15",
        "departure_time": "17:16",
        "arrival_time": "17:47",
        "real_time_data": {
          "arrivals": ["13 min", "28 min"],
          "next_arrival": "13 min",
          "status": "success"
        }
      }
    ]
  ]
}

How It Works

1. Google Routes API: Gets transit directions with Hebrew localization
2. Google Places API: Extracts origin city from place_id for accurate GTFS matching
3. GTFS API: Finds exact stop codes based on city and station names
4. Curlbus Integration: Gets real-time arrival data using GTFS stop codes
5. Optimization: Only fetches real-time data for the first step of each route

Development

Running the Server

GOOGLE_API_KEY="your_key" uv run server.py

Testing Individual Components

# Test Google Routes API
curl -X POST -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -H 'X-Goog-Api-Key: your_key' \
  -H 'X-Goog-FieldMask: routes.legs.steps.transitDetails,routes.geocodingResults' \
  -d '{"languageCode":"he-IL","origin":{"address":"address1"},"destination":{"address":"address2"},"travelMode":"TRANSIT"}' \
  'https://routes.googleapis.com/directions/v2:computeRoutes'

# Test Google Places API
curl -X GET -H 'X-Goog-Api-Key: your_key' \
  -H 'X-Goog-FieldMask: addressComponents' \
  'https://places.googleapis.com/v1/places/PLACE_ID?languageCode=he'

Logs

Monitor logs for debugging:

tail -f /tmp/routes_mcp.log

Architecture

• Google Routes API: Provides transit routing with Hebrew localization
• Google Places API: Converts place_id to city names for GTFS matching
• GTFS API: Israeli public transit stop database for accurate matching
• Curlbus: Real-time arrival data from Israeli transit operators
• Optimization: Limits to first 2 routes, real-time data only for first transit step

API Rate Limits & Performance

• Routes limited to MAX_ROUTES (default: 2) for faster responses
• Real-time data only fetched for first transit step per route
• Timeouts: 8s for GTFS lookup, 3s for real-time data
• All external API calls are properly timed out to prevent hanging