🚌 CATA Bus MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides live and static schedule data for the Centre Area Transportation Authority (CATA) bus system in State College, PA.

🌟 Features

Real-time vehicle positions - Track buses live on their routes
Trip updates - Get delay information and predicted arrivals
Service alerts - Stay informed about detours and disruptions
Static schedule data - Access routes, stops, and scheduled times
Fast in-memory storage - No database required, pure Python performance

🚀 Quick Start

Installation

# Clone the repository git clone https://github.com/yourusername/catabus-mcp.git cd catabus-mcp # Install dependencies pip install -e .

Running the Server

# Run in stdio mode (for MCP clients) python -m catabus_mcp.server # Run in HTTP mode (for testing) python -m catabus_mcp.server --http

The HTTP server will be available at http://localhost:7000

🛠️ Available Tools

Tool	Description	Parameters
`list_routes`	Get all bus routes	None
`search_stops`	Find stops by name/ID	`query: string`
`next_arrivals`	Get upcoming arrivals at a stop	`stop_id: string` , `horizon_minutes?: int`
`vehicle_positions`	Track buses on a route	`route_id: string`
`trip_alerts`	Get service alerts	`route_id?: string`

💻 API Examples

Using with cURL (HTTP mode)

# List all routes curl -X POST http://localhost:7000/mcp \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{"method":"list_routes_tool","params":{}}' # Search for stops curl -X POST http://localhost:7000/mcp \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{"method":"search_stops_tool","params":{"query":"HUB"}}' # Get next arrivals curl -X POST http://localhost:7000/mcp \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{"method":"next_arrivals_tool","params":{"stop_id":"PSU_HUB","horizon_minutes":30}}'

Integration with ChatGPT

Install the MCP client in ChatGPT
Add this server configuration:

{ "name": "catabus", "command": "python", "args": ["-m", "catabus_mcp.server"], "description": "CATA bus schedule and realtime data" }

Ask questions like:
- "When is the next N route bus from the HUB?"
- "Are there any service alerts for the V route?"
- "Show me all buses currently on the W route"

Integration with Claude Desktop

Add to your Claude Desktop configuration:

{ "mcpServers": { "catabus": { "command": "python", "args": ["-m", "catabus_mcp.server"] } } }

🧪 Development

Running Tests

# Install dev dependencies pip install -e ".[dev]" # Run tests pytest # Run with coverage pytest --cov=catabus_mcp

Code Quality

# Format code black src/ # Lint ruff check src/ # Type checking mypy src/catabus_mcp/

📊 Data Sources

This server uses official CATA data feeds:

Static GTFS: https://catabus.com/wp-content/uploads/google_transit.zip
GTFS-Realtime Vehicle Positions: https://realtime.catabus.com/InfoPoint/GTFS-Realtime.ashx?Type=VehiclePosition
GTFS-Realtime Trip Updates: https://realtime.catabus.com/InfoPoint/GTFS-Realtime.ashx?Type=TripUpdate
GTFS-Realtime Alerts: https://realtime.catabus.com/InfoPoint/GTFS-Realtime.ashx?Type=Alert

Data is cached locally and updated:

Static GTFS: Daily
Realtime feeds: Every 15 seconds

🏗️ Architecture

catabus-mcp/ ├── src/catabus_mcp/ │ ├── ingest/ # Data loading and polling │ │ ├── static_loader.py │ │ └── realtime_poll.py │ ├── tools/ # MCP tool implementations │ │ ├── list_routes.py │ │ ├── search_stops.py │ │ ├── next_arrivals.py │ │ ├── vehicle_positions.py │ │ └── trip_alerts.py │ └── server.py # FastMCP server └── tests/ # Test suite

⚡ Performance

Warm cache response time: < 100ms for all queries
Memory usage: ~50MB with full GTFS data loaded
Rate limiting: Respects CATA's 10-second minimum between requests

📝 License

MIT License - See LICENSE file

🙏 Attribution

Transit data provided by Centre Area Transportation Authority (CATA). This project is not affiliated with or endorsed by CATA.

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please:

Fork the repository
Create a feature branch
Write tests for new functionality
Ensure all tests pass
Submit a pull request

📞 Support

Issues: GitHub Issues
Discussions: GitHub Discussions

🎯 Roadmap

Add trip planning capabilities
Support for accessibility features
Historical data analysis
Geospatial queries (nearest stop)
Multi-agency support

✅ Manual Acceptance Checklist

pip install -e . completes without errors
python -m catabus_mcp.server starts successfully
Static GTFS data loads on startup
Realtime polling begins automatically
list_routes_tool returns CATA routes
search_stops_tool finds stops by query
next_arrivals_tool returns predictions with delays
vehicle_positions_tool shows bus locations
trip_alerts_tool displays active alerts
Tests pass with pytest
Type checking passes with mypy

Version: 0.1.0
Status: Production Ready
Last Updated: 2024

Deploy Server

A

security – no known vulnerabilities

A

license - permissive license

A

quality - confirmed to work

How are these scores calculated?

Related Resources

GitHub Repository

Need Help?

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