MTA MCP Server for VS Code Copilot 12 tools — connect in under 2 minutes
GitHub Copilot in VS Code is the most widely adopted AI coding assistant, embedded directly into the world's most popular code editor. With MCP support in Agent mode, Copilot can access external data and APIs to generate context-aware code grounded in real-time information.
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{
"mcpServers": {
"mta": {
"url": "https://edge.vinkius.com/[YOUR_TOKEN_HERE]/mcp"
}
}
}
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About MTA MCP Server
Connect your MTA API New York City public transit data platform to any AI agent and take full control of real-time NYC Subway and MTA Bus tracking, arrival predictions, LIRR and Metro-North commuter rail monitoring, and service disruption awareness through natural conversation.
GitHub Copilot Agent mode brings MTA data directly into your VS Code workflow. With a project-scoped config, the entire team shares access to 12 tools. Copilot queries live data, generates typed code, and writes tests from actual API responses, all without leaving the editor.
What you can do
- Subway Real-Time Feeds — Access live GTFS-RT data for all NYC Subway lines with train positions and arrival predictions
- Bus Routes — List all MTA bus routes across Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, and Staten Island
- Bus Stops — Get all stops for any bus route with coordinates and sequence information
- Bus Predictions — Get real-time estimated arrival times for any bus stop
- Bus Vehicle Tracking — Track real-time GPS positions of all active MTA bus vehicles
- Service Alerts — Monitor active disruptions across Subway, buses, LIRR, and Metro-North
- Subway Stations — List all 472 NYC Subway stations with coordinates, borough, and entrance data
- LIRR Tracking — Monitor Long Island Rail Road trains with real-time positions and arrivals
- Metro-North Tracking — Track Metro-North Railroad trains serving northern NYC suburbs
- Stop-Level Bus Monitoring — Monitor buses at specific stops with targeted arrival predictions
- Estimated Arrivals — Get route-filtered arrival estimates for buses at any stop
- System Connectivity — Verify API connectivity and synchronize timestamps
The MTA MCP Server exposes 12 tools through the Vinkius. Connect it to VS Code Copilot in under two minutes — no API keys to rotate, no infrastructure to provision, no vendor lock-in. Your configuration, your data, your control.
How to Connect MTA to VS Code Copilot via MCP
Follow these steps to integrate the MTA MCP Server with VS Code Copilot.
Create MCP config
Create a .vscode/mcp.json file in your project root
Add the server config
Paste the JSON configuration above
Enable Agent mode
Open GitHub Copilot Chat and switch to Agent mode using the dropdown
Start using MTA
Ask Copilot: "Using MTA, help me...". 12 tools available
Why Use VS Code Copilot with the MTA MCP Server
GitHub Copilot for Visual Studio Code provides unique advantages when paired with MTA through the Model Context Protocol.
VS Code is used by over 70% of developers. adding MCP tools to Copilot means your team can leverage external data without leaving their primary editor
Project-scoped MCP configs (`.vscode/mcp.json`) let you commit server configurations to your repository, ensuring the entire team shares the same tool access
Copilot's Agent mode integrates MCP tools seamlessly with file editing, terminal commands, and workspace search in a single agentic loop
GitHub's enterprise compliance and audit features extend to MCP tool usage, providing visibility into how AI interacts with external services
MTA + VS Code Copilot Use Cases
Practical scenarios where VS Code Copilot combined with the MTA MCP Server delivers measurable value.
Live API integration: Copilot can query an MCP server, inspect the response schema, and generate typed API client code in the same step
DevSecOps workflows: security teams can give developers access to domain intelligence tools directly in their editor for real-time vulnerability assessment during code review
Data pipeline development: Copilot fetches sample data via MCP and generates transformation scripts, validators, and test fixtures from actual API responses
Documentation generation: Copilot queries available tools and auto-generates README sections, API reference docs, and usage examples
MTA MCP Tools for VS Code Copilot (12)
These 12 tools become available when you connect MTA to VS Code Copilot via MCP:
get_bus_estimated_arrival
Returns predicted arrival times, route information, destinations, wait times, and delay indicators for each expected bus. Supports both multi-route stop queries and single-route filtered queries. Essential for targeted arrival predictions, route-specific wait time estimation, and passenger trip timing. AI agents should reference this when users ask "when is the next M15 at this stop", "show arrival estimates for route B46 at stop 12345", or need route-filtered arrival data at a specific bus stop. Get estimated arrival times for buses at a stop, optionally filtered by route
get_bus_predictions
Returns predicted arrival times, route IDs, destination information, expected wait times, and whether buses are on schedule or delayed. Based on real-time vehicle tracking and schedule adherence. Essential for real-time bus arrival awareness, passenger waiting time estimation, trip timing, and connection coordination. AI agents should reference this when users ask "when is the next M15 bus at stop 12345", "show predictions for this stop", or need real-time arrival data for a specific bus stop. Stop IDs can be found using get_bus_stops. Get next bus arrival predictions for a specific bus stop
get_bus_routes
Returns route IDs, route names, operators (MTA New York City Bus, MTA Bus Company, private operators under MTA contract), and service area information. Covers local, limited-stop, and Select Bus Service (SBS) routes. Essential for route discovery, service area analysis, transit network understanding, and identifying route IDs for use in stop and prediction queries. AI agents should reference this when users ask "list all bus routes in Manhattan", "what routes serve Brooklyn", or need to identify route IDs for subsequent MTA Bus Time queries. List all MTA bus routes in New York City
get_bus_stops
Returns stop IDs (MonitoringRef), stop names, geographic coordinates (latitude, longitude), stop sequence order, and direction information. Essential for stop discovery, journey planning, accessibility mapping, and identifying stop IDs for use in arrival prediction queries. AI agents should use this when users ask "list all stops on the M15", "find bus stops along Broadway", or need to identify stop IDs for use in get_bus_predictions queries. List all stops for a specific MTA bus route
get_bus_vehicle_at_stop
Returns vehicle IDs, route IDs, current positions, expected arrival times, distances from stop, and operational status. More targeted than system-wide vehicle queries. Essential for stop-level bus tracking, passenger waiting awareness, and real-time arrival estimation at specific stops. AI agents should use this when users ask "what buses are coming to this stop", "track vehicles approaching stop 12345", or need stop-specific bus position data for passenger information. Get buses currently at or approaching a specific bus stop
get_bus_vehicles
Returns vehicle IDs, route affiliations, latitude/longitude coordinates, heading direction, speed, recorded time, and prediction availability. Covers all MTA New York City Bus and MTA Bus Company vehicles in active service. Essential for real-time bus fleet monitoring, passenger arrival estimation, route-level service awareness, and transit operations management. AI agents should use this when users ask "where are all the buses right now", "track bus positions system-wide", or need real-time vehicle position data for fleet visualization. Get real-time positions of all active MTA bus vehicles
get_lirr_feed
Returns train positions, trip updates, scheduled vs. real-time arrivals at stations, delays, track information, and service disruptions across all LIRR branches including Babylon, Ronkonkoma, Hempstead, Port Jefferson, Montauk, and more. Essential for commuter rail tracking, arrival predictions at Penn Station and Grand Central Madison, and LIRR service monitoring. AI agents should reference this when users ask "when is the next LIRR train to Penn Station", "track LIRR train positions", or need real-time commuter rail data for trip planning from Long Island into NYC. Get real-time LIRR train data from the Long Island Rail Road
get_metro_north_feed
Returns train positions, trip updates, scheduled vs. real-time arrivals, delays, track information, and service disruptions across all Metro-North lines including Hudson, Harlem, New Haven, Port Jervis, Pascack Valley, and more. Essential for commuter rail tracking, arrival predictions at Grand Central Madison, and Metro-North service monitoring. AI agents should use this when users ask "when is the next Metro-North train from White Plains", "track Metro-North positions", or need real-time commuter rail data for trip planning from Westchester, Connecticut, or the Hudson Valley into NYC. Get real-time Metro-North Railroad train data
get_service_alerts
Returns alert descriptions, affected lines and stations, severity levels, cause types (maintenance, incident, weather, special events, construction), start and end timestamps, and alternative service recommendations. Essential for service disruption awareness, alternative route planning, passenger communication, and understanding system reliability. AI agents should use this when users ask "are there any delays on the 4/5/6 line", "is LIRR running normally", or need to check service reliability before planning MTA journeys. Get current service alerts and disruptions across the MTA system
get_stations
Returns station IDs, station names, complex IDs (for multi-line stations), borough information (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, Staten Island), structure types (underground, elevated, embankment, open cut), latitude/longitude coordinates, and North/East/South/West entrance coordinates. Essential for station discovery, rail network mapping, route planning, and identifying station codes for use in journey planning queries. AI agents should use this when users ask "list all stations in Manhattan", "what is the station code for Times Square", or need to understand the NYC Subway network geography. List all NYC Subway stations with details
get_subway_feed
Supports feed IDs grouped by line: "1" (lines 1,2,3,4,5,6,S), "2" (lines A,C,E), "3" (lines B,D,F,M), "4" (lines G), "5" (lines J,Z), "6" (lines N,Q,R,W), "7" (lines L), "11" (Staten Island Railway), "16" (Shuttle 42nd St), "21" (Shuttle Franklin Ave), "26" (Shuttle Rockaway Park). Returns train positions, trip updates, scheduled vs. real-time arrivals, delays, and service disruptions. Essential for real-time subway tracking, arrival predictions, and service monitoring across the entire NYC Subway system. AI agents should use this when users ask "when is the next 1 train", "show real-time positions for the A line", or need live subway data for trip planning. Feed IDs are required and can be found in MTA documentation. Get real-time subway feed data for specific NYC Subway lines
get_system_time
Returns the official server timestamp in ISO 8601 format. Useful for synchronizing local clocks with the MTA system, verifying API connectivity, testing authentication, and timestamp alignment for real-time data correlation. AI agents should use this as a connectivity check before making more complex queries, or when users need to verify API responsiveness and authentication validity. Get the current MTA Bus Time system timestamp
Example Prompts for MTA in VS Code Copilot
Ready-to-use prompts you can give your VS Code Copilot agent to start working with MTA immediately.
"Show me the next trains on the 1/2/3 line."
"When is the next M15 bus arriving at the stop near 14th Street and 3rd Avenue?"
"Check if there are any service alerts affecting the LIRR right now."
Troubleshooting MTA MCP Server with VS Code Copilot
Common issues when connecting MTA to VS Code Copilot through the Vinkius, and how to resolve them.
MCP tools not available
MTA + VS Code Copilot FAQ
Common questions about integrating MTA MCP Server with VS Code Copilot.
Which VS Code version supports MCP?
How do I switch to Agent mode?
Can I restrict which MCP tools Copilot can access?
Does MCP work in VS Code Remote or Codespaces?
.vscode/mcp.json work in Remote SSH, WSL, and GitHub Codespaces environments. The MCP connection is established from the remote host, so ensure the server URL is accessible from that environment.Connect MTA with your favorite client
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Leading Python framework for composable LLM applications.
Data-aware AI agent framework for structured and unstructured sources.
Microsoft's framework for multi-agent collaborative conversations.
Connect MTA to VS Code Copilot
Get your token, paste the configuration, and start using 12 tools in under 2 minutes. No API key management needed.