# NYC Transit & Waterway AI Agent Connect > NYC Transit & Waterway MCP provides direct access to municipal transit and waterway records for New York City. Your AI client can pull ridership numbers for the NYC Ferry and Staten Island Ferry, locate bus stop shelters, find real-time passenger information signs, and analyze school bus routes or breakdowns. It works without requiring you to manage your own API keys. ## Overview - **Category:** government-public-data - **Price:** Free - **Endpoint:** https://edge.vinkius.com/vk_preview_7Nc9v22MCBV7pMomCldDdJhhajts2W4yG6Q8aGeU/ai-agent-connect - **Tags:** new-york, nyc, transit, ferry, ridership, bus, stop, school-bus ## Description You can query NYC municipal transit and waterway records directly through your AI client. This MCP connects your agent to official NYC Open Data, covering everything from ferry ridership to school bus operations. If you need to analyze passenger flow, you can pull hourly NYC Ferry boardings by route or stop. For those looking at infrastructure, you can pinpoint the exact locations of bus stop shelters and real-time passenger information signs across the boroughs. The data includes school-year specific records for OPT bus breakdowns and DOE school bus routes, organized by vendor or route number. Whether you are looking at the Staten Island Ferry's daily counts or identifying the most frequent breakdown routes for school buses, this MCP gives your agent the raw data needed for transit-oriented analysis and city operations research. ## Tools ### list_si_ferry_ridership This tool retrieves daily Staten Island Ferry ridership counts between the Port Authority Bus Terminal and St. George. You can pin a specific date to get the most recent counts first. ### list_bus_stop_shelters This tool provides the locations of NYC bus stop shelters. You can filter the results by borough, street, or specific shelter ID. ### list_rtpi_signs This tool locates real-time passenger information (RTPI) signs. You can search for these sign locations by stop name, corner, or borough. ### search_bus_breakdowns This tool accesses OPT school bus breakdown and late incident records. You must specify the school year in YYYY-YY format, such as 2024-25. ### search_ferry_ridership This tool pulls hourly NYC Ferry ridership data by route, stop, and direction. The dataset includes records from 2017 to the present. ### search_school_bus_routes This tool lists DOE school bus routes, service types, and operating vendors. You can filter by school year, route number, or vendor. ### top_bus_breakdown_routes This tool identifies school bus routes with the highest number of breakdowns. It ranks the most troubled routes first for a given school year. ### top_ferry_stop_boardings This tool finds the NYC Ferry stops with the highest boarding numbers. You can set a look-back window of up to 730 days or restrict it to a specific route. ## Prompt Examples **Prompt:** ``` Which NYC Ferry stop had the most boardings in the last 30 days? ``` **Response:** ``` The top_ferry_stop_boardings tool with a 30-day window identifies the busiest stops, while search_ferry_ridership provides the specific daily rows for those routes. ``` **Prompt:** ``` How many riders used the Staten Island Ferry in January 2026? ``` **Response:** ``` You can use list_si_ferry_ridership to get the daily ridership counts for the Port Authority to St. George route for that period. ``` **Prompt:** ``` Show me the school bus routes run by a specific vendor in 2024-25. ``` **Response:** ``` The search_school_bus_routes tool will return the routes operated by that vendor for the 2024-25 school year. ``` ## Capabilities ### Ferry Ridership Analysis Your agent uses this to track passenger volume for NYC Ferry and Staten Island Ferry routes. ### Infrastructure Mapping Your AI client identifies the physical locations of bus shelters and real-time information signs. ### School Bus Monitoring Your agent pulls route details and breakdown incident reports for the school year. ### Transit Demand Modeling Your agent uses boarding trends and stop rankings to help model passenger demand. ## Use Cases ### Route Reliability Audits Identify which school bus routes experience the most frequent breakdowns during a specific school year. ### Ferry Demand Forecasting Analyze boarding trends at specific NYC Ferry stops to predict future passenger needs. ### Infrastructure Audits Map out the locations of bus stop shelters and real-time information signs across different boroughs. ### Commuter Flow Studies Examine Staten Island Ferry ridership levels to understand daily commuting patterns. ## Benefits - Access NYC Open Data without managing your own API keys. - Query historical ferry ridership dating back to 2017. - Get specific school bus operational data organized by school year. - Locate physical transit assets like shelters and signage via your agent. ## How It Works Connecting to this MCP gives your AI client immediate access to NYC transit datasets. 1. Connect your AI client to the MCP via Vinkius. 2. Ask your agent a question about NYC transit or ferry ridership. 3. The agent selects the appropriate tool from the NYC Transit & Waterway set. 4. The tool fetches the data from NYC Open Data without needing an API key. 5. Your agent processes the raw data and gives you a direct answer. ## Frequently Asked Questions **Do I need an API key to use this NYC transit data?** No. Vinkius hosts the MCP and manages the connection, so you can use it without your own API key. **How far back does the NYC Ferry ridership data go?** The ferry ridership data is available from 2017 to the present. **How is school bus data organized?** School bus breakdowns and routes are organized by school year, such as 2024-25, rather than by calendar dates. **Can I find the location of bus shelters?** Yes. You can use the list_bus_stop_shelters tool to find locations by borough, street, or shelter ID. **Which AI clients can use this MCP?** Any MCP-compatible client like Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, or VS Code can use this tool. **Do I need an API key?** No. NYC Open Data serves all public datasets anonymously over its SODA API (data.cityofnewyork.us). This MCP defines no credentials and needs nothing configured. **Why does top_ferry_stop_boardings use a window?** Boardings by stop are an aggregate over years of history, so the tool bounds the look-back: 90 days by default, up to 730 days via the days parameter. Pass days: '365' to widen the window. **Which dates do the transit datasets cover?** NYC Ferry daily data runs from 2017; Staten Island Ferry rows carry service dates through early 2027; OPT bus breakdowns and school bus routes are organized by school year ("YYYY-YY"). Dispatch records lag a few months, so the newest months can be empty.