at-transport

name	at-transport
description	Query live Auckland Transport (AT) public transport data — stops, departures, service alerts, vehicle positions, routes, and network status. Use when the task involves Auckland buses, trains, ferries, or real-time transit information.
license	MIT
compatibility	Requires Python 3.10+ and network access for live data
metadata	{"thecolab.category":"transport","thecolab.source_owner":"Auckland Transport","thecolab.source_type":"official","thecolab.auth":"api-key","thecolab.access_mode":"public-api","thecolab.data_class":"public","thecolab.writes":"false","thecolab.browser":"false","thecolab.risk":"medium","thecolab.cache_ttl":"24h","thecolab.schema_version":"1","thecolab.skill_type":"public-api","thecolab.pack":"nz-public-data","thecolab.source_url":"https://api.at.govt.nz","thecolab.allowed_domains":"api.at.govt.nz","thecolab.last_verified":"2026-07-19","thecolab.health":"gated","thecolab.maintainer":"@adam91holt"}

Auckland Transport

Goal

Query live Auckland public transport data from the AT API through a CLI that is easy for agents to script and easy for humans to scan. Covers real-time departures, service alerts, stop search, nearby stops, vehicle tracking, and network status.

Use this when

• A user asks about Auckland public transport — buses, trains, ferries
• A user wants real-time departure information from a specific stop
• A user asks about service disruptions or alerts in Auckland
• A user wants to find nearby stops or search for a stop by name
• A user asks about live vehicle positions on the Auckland network
• A user wants a quick overview of Auckland Transport network status

Do not use this for

• Transport outside Auckland / New Zealand
• Route planning or journey directions (use AT's journey planner)
• Historical schedule data or timetable lookups
• Fares or ticketing information
• Traffic or road conditions

Preferred workflow

1. Run scripts/cli.py with the narrowest subcommand that answers the task
2. Use default human output for direct answers
3. Use --json when another tool or agent needs machine-readable output

CLI

Run with:

python3 skills/at-transport/scripts/cli.py <command> [flags]

alerts [--limit N] [--json]

Active service alerts and disruptions across the Auckland network.

JSON shape:

• timestamp
• total_active
• returned
• alerts[] with id, severity_level, cause, effect, header_text, description_text, active_period, informed_entity

Examples:

python3 skills/at-transport/scripts/cli.py alerts
python3 skills/at-transport/scripts/cli.py alerts --limit 5
python3 skills/at-transport/scripts/cli.py alerts --json

departures <stop_id> [--limit N] [--json]

Real-time departures from a stop. Uses stop code (e.g. 11814) or full stop ID. Shows route, expected time, and delay. For parent stations, includes all child platform stops.

JSON shape:

• stop with stop details
• total_departures
• returned
• departures[] with route_id, route_short_name, route_type, trip_id, stop_id, stop_name, direction_id, scheduled_time, expected_time, delay_seconds, vehicle_id, vehicle_label

Key stop codes:

• 11814 — Britomart (bus terminal)
• 11815 — Customs St/Britomart
• 11895 — Britomart Queens Arcade
• 31986 — Britomart Lower Albert

Examples:

python3 skills/at-transport/scripts/cli.py departures 11814
python3 skills/at-transport/scripts/cli.py departures 7155 --limit 5
python3 skills/at-transport/scripts/cli.py departures 11814 --json

stops <query> [--limit N] [--json]

Search stops by name, code, or ID. Returns matching stops with location and type info.

JSON shape:

• query
• total_matches
• returned
• stops[] with stop_id, stop_code, stop_name, stop_lat, stop_lon, location_type, parent_station, platform_code

Examples:

python3 skills/at-transport/scripts/cli.py stops Britomart
python3 skills/at-transport/scripts/cli.py stops Newmarket
python3 skills/at-transport/scripts/cli.py stops 7155 --json

nearby <lat,lon> [--radius N] [--limit N] [--json]

Find stops near a geographic location. Radius in meters, defaults to 500m.

JSON shape:

• location with lat, lon
• radius_m
• total_nearby
• returned
• stops[] with stop details plus distance_m

Examples:

python3 skills/at-transport/scripts/cli.py nearby --location=-36.844,174.768
python3 skills/at-transport/scripts/cli.py nearby --location=-36.844,174.768 --radius 1000
python3 skills/at-transport/scripts/cli.py nearby --location=-36.844,174.768 --json

route <route_id> [--json]

Show details for a specific route. Use full route ID (e.g. STH-201).

JSON shape:

• route_id, route_short_name, route_long_name, route_type, agency_id, route_color

Examples:

python3 skills/at-transport/scripts/cli.py route STH-201
python3 skills/at-transport/scripts/cli.py route 70-221 --json

vehicles [--route <route_id>] [--limit N] [--json]

Live vehicle positions across the network, optionally filtered by route.

JSON shape:

• timestamp
• filter_route
• total_vehicles
• returned
• vehicles[] with vehicle_id, label, lat, lon, speed, bearing, route_id, trip_id, last_update

Examples:

python3 skills/at-transport/scripts/cli.py vehicles
python3 skills/at-transport/scripts/cli.py vehicles --route STH-201
python3 skills/at-transport/scripts/cli.py vehicles --limit 10 --json

status [--json]

Overall network status summary — active trips, vehicles, on-time %, delays, and alert counts.

JSON shape:

• timestamp
• alerts_count
• alerts_by_severity
• active_trips
• active_vehicles
• delayed_trips
• avg_delay_seconds
• on_time_percentage

Examples:

python3 skills/at-transport/scripts/cli.py status
python3 skills/at-transport/scripts/cli.py status --json

Resources

• CLI entrypoint: scripts/cli.py
• Live smoke test: scripts/smoke_test.py

Notes

• Set the user-supplied Auckland Transport subscription key in AT_API_KEY; the skill does not bundle credentials
• Uses GTFS v3 for static data (stops, routes) and GTFS-RT legacy feed for real-time data (alerts, trip updates, vehicle positions)
• Departures show only trips with active real-time tracking — vehicles currently approaching or at the stop
• Parent stations (location_type=1) automatically include departures from child platform stops
• Default output is human-readable; --json is intended for chaining into other tools or agent steps
• Route types: 0=Tram, 2=Train, 3=Bus, 4=Ferry

Source notes

Read references/source-notes.md for source ownership, access, and freshness boundaries.