Overview
Transport for Washington, US (WMATA API) provides real-time and scheduled data for Washington DC's Metro rail and bus system. You can access live train predictions, bus arrivals, rail station information, and service alerts. An API key is required — sign up for a free developer account at developer.wmata.com which allows 10 calls/second and 50,000 calls/day.
Beginner Tip
Register at developer.wmata.com for a free subscription key. Use the "Default Tier" subscription — it allows 10 calls/second and 50,000 calls/day, which is more than enough for personal projects.
Available Data
The kind of data this API exposes, based on its documentation. We could not call the endpoint to confirm the exact field names.
Example Response
Illustrative shape only — we were not able to call this endpoint (it requires credentials or exposes no public sample URL), so the fields below show the kind of data this API returns rather than a recorded response.
{
"route": "Line 1",
"origin": "Station A",
"destination": "Station B",
"departure": "08:30",
"arrival": "09:15",
"status": "On Time",
"delays_min": 0
} Field Reference
Trains List of train arrival predictions for the requested station. Trains[].Car Number of cars on the train (e.g., 6 or 8). Trains[].Destination Final destination station name of the train. Trains[].Line Metro line color code (e.g., RD for Red, BL for Blue). Trains[].Min Minutes until arrival — BRD means boarding, ARR means arriving. Trains[].LocationName Name of the station being queried. Implementation Example
Calls a real endpoint of this API. Replace any placeholder credentials with your own key.
const url = "https://api.wmata.com/StationPrediction.svc/json/GetPrediction/A01?api_key=YOUR_API_KEY";
// Replace headers or query params with the values required by this API.
const response = await fetch(url, {
headers: {
"Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"
}
});
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.
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.
Metadata Score Breakdown
Estimated from metadata — endpoint not independently tested
Metadata estimate · endpoint not independently tested
Technical Specifications
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