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MBTA MCP

by jegamboafuentes
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Python
Hybrid

MBTA MCP

Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that exposes live MBTA V3 transit data over Streamable HTTP.

Public production endpoint (after Cloud Run deploy):

https://mbta.metaverseprofessional.tech/mcp

For more info, I wrote a Medium post about this project here: Link

Architecture

MCP Client
  → Streamable HTTP (/mcp)
  → Python MCP server (MCP Python SDK v2)
  → MBTA V3 API (https://api-v3.mbta.com)

Related MCP server: marta-mcp

Tools

Tool

When to use

get_routes

List routes; optional route_type filter (0–4)

get_stops_for_route

Stops for a known route_id (e.g. Red, Green-B, 1)

find_stop

Resolve a station/stop name to stop IDs (client-side name match)

get_next_arrivals

Predicted arrivals at a stop_id

get_alerts

Service alerts; optional route/stop filters

get_vehicles

Live vehicle positions; optional route_id

Also exposes GET /health for load balancers and Cloud Run probes.

Requirements

Quick start (local)

cd MBTA-MCP
py -3.12 -m venv .venv
.\.venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1
python -m pip install --upgrade pip
pip install -e ".[dev]"

copy .env.example .env
# Edit .env and set MBTA_API_KEY=...

python -m mbta_mcp

Server listens on:

  • MCP: http://127.0.0.1:8080/mcp

  • Health: http://127.0.0.1:8080/health

Or with uvicorn:

uvicorn mbta_mcp.server:create_app --factory --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8080

Configuration

All secrets come from the environment (never hardcode keys).

Variable

Required

Default

Description

MBTA_API_KEY

recommended

—

MBTA V3 API key (optional for light anonymous testing)

HOST

no

0.0.0.0

Bind address

PORT

no

8080

Bind port (Cloud Run sets this)

MBTA_BASE_URL

no

https://api-v3.mbta.com

API base URL

LOG_LEVEL

no

INFO

Logging level

MCP_ALLOWED_HOSTS

no

localhost + production host

Streamable HTTP Host allowlist

See .env.example.

Tests

pytest
pytest -m integration   # live MBTA calls when MBTA_API_KEY is set

Smoke-test tools against a running server:

python scripts/smoke_tools.py --url http://127.0.0.1:8080/mcp

Docker

docker build -t mbta-mcp .
docker run --rm -p 8080:8080 -e MBTA_API_KEY=your_key mbta-mcp

Then:

curl http://127.0.0.1:8080/health
python scripts/smoke_tools.py --url http://127.0.0.1:8080/mcp

Connect an MCP client

Point a Streamable HTTP MCP client at:

  • Local: http://127.0.0.1:8080/mcp

  • Production: https://mbta.metaverseprofessional.tech/mcp

Cloud Run (later — do not deploy until local + Docker work)

  1. Store the key in Secret Manager as MBTA_API_KEY.

  2. Build/push the image to Artifact Registry.

  3. Deploy to Cloud Run with:

    • secret mapped to env var MBTA_API_KEY

    • container port 8080

    • health check path /health

  4. Map custom domain mbta.metaverseprofessional.tech.

  5. Ensure MCP_ALLOWED_HOSTS includes mbta.metaverseprofessional.tech and mbta.metaverseprofessional.tech:*.

App code only reads MBTA_API_KEY from the environment; Secret Manager wiring is a Cloud Run concern.

Project layout

src/mbta_mcp/
  server.py          # MCPServer, tools, /health
  config.py          # env settings
  mbta/client.py     # MBTA V3 httpx client
  tools/             # tool handlers
tests/
Dockerfile

License

Use at your own risk. MBTA data is subject to MBTA API terms of use.

This server cannot be deployed

One endpoint for every MCP toolRayrun runs every MCP server behind one URL and holds the credentials. Each call is decided per client, tool, and argument, then recorded.ray.runAd

Maintenance

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ResponsivenessNo issues

Resources

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