Transport for The Netherlands API

Free to Use
42 D
Measured Score 0 50 100 Speed 14/30 Consistency 20/20 Security 0/20 Browser access 0/15 Transparency 8/15 TESTED 2026-08-10

Overview

Transport for The Netherlands (OVAPI) provides country-wide public transport data covering buses, trams, metros, and ferries across the Netherlands via the KV78Turbo protocol. This free API requires no authentication and provides real-time vehicle positions, stop departures, and journey data. It is a community-supported open data initiative for Dutch transit.

Beginner Tip

The OVAPI base URL is http://v0.ovapi.nl — try /stopareacode/ followed by a stop area code to get live departures. Stop codes can be found on Dutch bus stop signs or via the stopareacode list endpoint.

Measurement Record

What actually happened when we called this API from our own infrastructure. Every value below was recorded by the request, not copied from the provider's documentation.

Request
GET http://v0.ovapi.nl/stopareacode/WDT/
Result
HTTP 200 · application/json · 10 bytes · compressed
Response time
273 ms (median of 3) · fastest 272 ms
Browser CORS
No Access-Control-Allow-Origin header — call it from a server, not the browser
Recorded
2026-08-10

Fields Returned

Top-level fields present in the response we captured, with the type and value we actually received.

Field Type Value received
WDT object {0 fields}

Captured Response

Captured from a real request to http://v0.ovapi.nl/stopareacode/WDT/ on 2026-08-10. Long arrays and nested objects are truncated to keep the shape readable.

JSON Response · Captured
{
  "WDT": {}
}

Implementation Example

Calls a real endpoint of this API. Replace any placeholder credentials with your own key.

Request
const url = "https://github.com/skywave/KV78Turbo-OVAPI/wiki";
const response = await fetch(url);
if (!response.ok) throw new Error(`Request failed: ${response.status}`);
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);

What Can You Build?

Note: These code examples are AI-generated and unverified. Always refer to the official API documentation for accurate usage.

How This API Fails

We deliberately sent this API a broken request and recorded exactly what came back on 2026-08-10. Knowing the shape of an error before you hit it makes error handling much easier to write.

HTTP 404 Requesting a path that does not exist unknown

Returned an HTML error page rather than JSON — worth knowing if your client assumes every response can be parsed as JSON.

Common Errors & Troubleshooting

Generated guidance based on this API's documentation, not observed by us. Treat it as a starting point and check against the provider's own error reference.

Empty response The stop area code may be invalid or outside the supported region.
Retrieve the full list from http://v0.ovapi.nl/stopareacode/ to find valid codes for your area.
Service unavailable OVAPI is a community-maintained service that may have downtime.
Wait and retry — also check the GitHub wiki for any known outages or alternative endpoints.
Outdated data Real-time data feeds can lag during high-traffic periods or disruptions.
Include a timestamp check on the response and display the data age to end users for transparency.

Measured Score Breakdown

Live HTTP request to the API endpoint

Speed 14/30
Consistency 20/20
Security 0/20
Browser access 0/15
Transparency 8/15
Endpoint Response Time 273ms

Fully tested on Aug 10, 2026

Technical Specifications

Auth No Auth
HTTPS REQUIRED
CORS UNKNOWN
Category Transportation
Difficulty Beginner
Endpoint last called: 2026-08-10

Related Tags

Similar APIs

View All →