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Compare walk / cycle / drive

compare_modes
Read-onlyIdempotent

Walk vs cycle vs drive between two places, in one call.

Instructions

Walk vs cycle vs drive between two places, in one call.

"Should I walk, bike or drive from A to B?" is three route() calls;
this is one. The ends resolve exactly once and every mode routes
between the same two coordinates, so the rows are comparable. Use it
when the user is choosing a mode; when the mode is already known,
route() or from_to() gives the fuller answer (export maps/gpx/text,
optional polyline).

Pass each of from/to as a free-text place name, a {"lat", "lon"} dict,
or a GERS id — mixed freely, exactly as from_to takes them.
Do not call geocode(), resolve_place(), or geocode_batch() first. modes
is an optional subset of ["walk", "cycle", "drive"]; omitted means all three
in that order (stored mode preferences are not consulted — every mode
asked for is computed). A mode outside that vocabulary, or an empty
list, returns {"error": "bad_request"}; duplicates collapse, order kept.

Returns {"from", "to", "modes", "fastest", "shortest", "summary"}.
"from"/"to" carry what each end resolved to (name/id when the input was
a name or GERS id, lat/lon always). "modes" is one compact row per
requested mode, in the requested order: {"mode", "distance_m",
"duration_s", "duration_min"} — no path, no export, no per-row
endpoints; with include_elevation=true a row also carries
"total_climb_m"/"total_descent_m" where the DEM covered the route
(never faked as 0). "fastest"/"shortest" name the mode with the lowest
duration/distance among the rows that routed, or null if none did.
"summary" is a short deterministic sentence or two built from the rows.

A mode that cannot be routed fails inline in its own row — {"mode",
"error", "detail"} — and never aborts the call: "too_far" when the ends
exceed that mode's straight-line cap (walk ~7.5 km, cycle ~23.5 km,
drive ~95.5 km — so a cross-town pair often gives a drive row and a
too_far walk row), "needs_confirm" with its eta/eta_s when that mode's
street graph is cold and confirm is false, or whatever error route()
returned (no_graph_nearby, no_route, ...). Only end resolution fails
the whole call: {"error": "ambiguous_place" | "not_found" |
"bad_request"} with "field": "from" | "to", as from_to does.

Same cost model as route(): walk 1.4 m/s, cycle 4.2 m/s, drive from
posted speed limits or a class default — a posted-speed model with no
live traffic, which the summary says whenever drive routed.

confirm=true after the user agreed to wait for a first-time street-graph
build (about 5–25 seconds per cold mode — each mode is its own graph).
Pass it only after a needs_confirm row and they said yes. A warm or
cached graph never needs it. Omit confirm unless you just asked and
they said yes.

Input Schema

TableJSON Schema
NameRequiredDescriptionDefault
toYes
fromYes
modesNoModes to compare, in answer order. Default: walk, cycle, drive.
confirmNo
include_elevationNo

Output Schema

TableJSON Schema
NameRequiredDescriptionDefault

No arguments

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

  1. Addedv0.11.0

TDQS

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