This Python package calculates trip options between GPS points using public transportation options.

The initial implementation will be done for Berlin and will use VBB test ReST API.

The travel time to Alexanderplatz from different points in Friedrichshain is visualized as a heatmap overlay with stops included in the computation shown as colored markers.

Different public transportation providers have varying interfaces to their data. Their is as of today no common interface specification in Europe, meaning that every new city data has to be connected manually by creating an API adapter. For more details, check the api module.

This library uses cache mechanism in order to reduce the computational load on the server as well as stay within the limit of the request count. Requests and the responses are stored in an SQLite database. Every time a response is sent to the server, it is compared against the cache. If exactly the same request is present in the cache, then the value is retrieved and the remote server is not contacted. This solution is more economical and allows for better scaling. Also, the cache database can easily be used for data analysis, e.g. with Pandas. For more details, consult the code documentation in cache module.

This package can be used directly in your Python code.

1. Import library.

from travel_distance_map import VBBAPICached, GPSPoint, Position

2. Instantiate an API of your choice.

with open('ACCESS_ID.txt') as f:
    ACCESS_ID = f.read().strip()
    api = VBBAPICached(ACCESS_ID)

3. Call the API.

origin = GPSPoint(52.50627, 13.33231)
dest = Position(52.5219216, 13.411026, 900100003, 'Alexanderplatz')
closest_stop = api.get_closest_stop(origin)
trips = api.get_all_trips(origin, dest)

4. Process the results.

Further examples can be found in Jupyter Notebooks.

Full API documentation can found here.

Currently implemented are the following APIs:

1. VBB ReST API (Verkerhsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg). Information on how to request your own API key can be found in that link.

This project is looking forward to your generous contributions. Here is how you can get active:

• implement more APIs. There are hundreds of APIs in Europe and the world. Unfortunately, there still is no central API standard for public transportation provider, which leaves us with the need to implement each city transport API from scratch. Start by deriving your own MyAPI class from API.

• report bugs and performance issues. So far this has been a hobby project, so there must be millions of ways how to improve this code.

• clone this repository and start using it. Any feedback is appreciated.