mta

What This Skill Does

The MTA skill for OpenClaw provides a comprehensive interface for accessing real-time public transit data for New York City. It bridges the gap between raw GTFS-RT protobuf feeds and human-readable natural language responses. Users can retrieve subway arrivals, bus predictions, service alerts, and route details. The skill handles the complexity of MTA's fragmented data landscape by intelligently routing queries to the correct endpoint based on whether the user is interested in a specific subway line division or a bus route. For subway operations, it utilizes the NYCT GTFS-RT feeds which provide high-fidelity tracking of trains. For bus operations, it integrates with the SIRI JSON API to provide arrival estimates, provided the user has configured their API key. Additionally, the skill parses service alerts to inform users about planned work, delays, or emergencies across the subway and bus networks.

Installation

To integrate the MTA skill into your OpenClaw environment, execute the following command in your terminal: clawhub install openclaw/skills/skills/brianleach/mta

Ensure that you have an active internet connection to facilitate the installation. For bus data functionality, you must acquire a free developer API key from the official MTA portal (https://register.developer.obanyc.com/) and configure the environment variable MTA_BUS_API_KEY within your OpenClaw settings.

Use Cases

This skill is designed for commuters, tourists, and city planners who rely on the NYC transit system. It is ideal for checking if a train is delayed before leaving your apartment, finding the next available bus at a specific stop, or understanding the impact of weekend track maintenance. It simplifies transit navigation by turning complex transit schedule data into a conversational assistant experience.

Example Prompts

1. "When is the next N train arriving at 49th Street going towards Manhattan?"
2. "Are there any service alerts for the M1 bus or the F train this weekend?"
3. "I'm at Times Square, what are the next departures for the 1, 2, and 3 lines?"

Tips & Limitations

Subway arrival data is available out-of-the-box and does not require any credentials. Bus arrival information is subject to a rate limit of one request per 30 seconds; please avoid polling the API too aggressively. Note that while subway and bus alerts are usually comprehensive, real-time data is dependent on the MTA's infrastructure uptime. If a feed is unavailable, the skill will notify you of the current status. Always verify critical travel plans with station signage during major service disruptions.