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Use CTA with your AI.

Connect your account once and let the AI you already use work with it, without building another integration. Access Chicago transit data via CTA. track L trains and buses in real-time, check arrivals, monitor service alerts, and plan trips from any AI agent.

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MCP VERIFIED · PRODUCTION READY · VINKIUS GUARANTEED

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Works with modern AI clients that support MCP, including ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor, and more.

ChatGPTClaudeCursorPerplexityGeminiMicrosoft CopilotRaycastMeta AI

Complete set · 11 capabilities

The complete CTA capability set.

These are the exact actions your AI can choose when you ask it to work with CTA.

Capability set01 / 03

01-04

4 capabilities in this set.

Part of 11 available through CTA.

  1. 01

    Get bus predictions

    Returns predicted arrival times in minutes and seconds, route IDs, destination descriptions, vehicle IDs, block IDs, trip designators, and whether buses are scheduled or real-time tracked. 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 use this when users ask "when is the next 22 Clark bus at stop 1234", "show predictions for this stop", or need real-time arrival data for a specific CTA bus stop. Stop IDs can be found using get_bus_stops. Get next bus arrival predictions for a specific CTA bus stop

  2. 02

    Get bus stops

    Returns stop IDs (stpid), stop names, geographic coordinates (latitude, longitude), stop sequence order, and direction information (northbound, southbound, eastbound, westbound). 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 route 22 Clark", "find bus stops along Michigan Avenue", or need to identify stop IDs for use in get_bus_predictions queries. List all bus stops for a specific CTA bus route

  3. 03

    Get service alerts

    Returns alert descriptions, affected routes and stations, severity levels, cause types (maintenance, incident, weather, special events, construction), start and end timestamps, detour information, and alternative service recommendations. Can query all alerts system-wide or filter by specific route. 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 Red Line", "is CTA running normally today", or need to check service reliability before planning CTA journeys. Get current service alerts and disruptions across the CTA system

  4. 04

    Get system time

    Returns the official server timestamp in standard format. Useful for synchronizing local clocks with the CTA 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 CTA Bus Tracker system timestamp

Capability set02 / 03

05-08

4 capabilities in this set.

Part of 11 available through CTA.

  1. 05

    Get train arrivals

    Returns predicted arrival times in minutes, train run numbers, destination stations, line colors (Red, Blue, Brown, Green, Orange, Purple, Pink, Yellow), operating status (on-time, delayed, scheduled, unscheduled, approaching, boarding, departing), and whether the train is approaching or at the station. Essential for real-time L tracking, passenger waiting time estimation, trip timing, and connection coordination. AI agents should use this when users ask "when is the next Red Line train at Clark/Lake", "show upcoming trains at this station", or need real-time arrival predictions for a specific CTA L station. MapIds are 5-digit station identifiers (e.g., 40360 for Clark/Lake, 40900 for Jackson). Station IDs can be found in the CTA GTFS static data feed. Get real-time train arrival predictions for a specific L station

  2. 06

    Get bus routes

    Returns route IDs, short names (e.g., "22", "36"), long names (e.g., "22-Clark", "36-Broadway"), route colors, and route directions. Covers local, limited-stop, and express services across all Chicago neighborhoods. Essential for route discovery, service area analysis, transit network understanding, and identifying route IDs for use in stop and prediction queries. AI agents should use this when users ask "list all CTA bus routes", "what routes serve downtown Chicago", or need to identify route IDs for subsequent CTA Bus Tracker queries. List all CTA bus routes in Chicago

  3. 07

    Get bus vehicles

    Returns vehicle IDs (vid), route IDs, latitude/longitude coordinates, heading direction, speed, trip designators, block IDs, destination descriptions, and pattern names. Can query all buses system-wide or filter by specific route ID for targeted route-level tracking. Essential for real-time bus fleet monitoring, passenger arrival estimation, route-level service awareness, and transit operations management. AI agents should reference this when users ask "where are all the buses on route 22", "track bus positions system-wide", or need real-time vehicle position data for fleet visualization. Get real-time positions of active CTA bus vehicles system-wide or filtered by route

  4. 08

    Get route directions

    Returns direction IDs (0 or 1), direction names (e.g., "Northbound", "Southbound", "Eastbound", "Westbound"), and associated route metadata. Essential for understanding route patterns, direction identification for stop queries, and trip planning with correct directional awareness. AI agents should use this when users ask "what directions does route 22 serve", "is there a northbound option for route 36", or need directional metadata to understand bus route geometry and plan trips in the correct direction. Get direction information for a specific CTA bus route

Capability set03 / 03

09-11

3 capabilities in this set.

Part of 11 available through CTA.

  1. 09

    Get route status

    Returns route IDs, route names, status indicators (GOOD DELAYS, SLOWLY, SEVERE DELAYS, PLANNED WORK, SERVICE DISRUPTION, SUSPENDED), and status descriptions. Essential for quick system-wide health checks, commute planning, and understanding overall CTA reliability at a glance. AI agents should reference this when users ask "how is CTA running today", "what lines are delayed", or need a quick overview of system-wide service status before detailed trip planning. Get current status of all CTA train lines and bus routes

  2. 10

    Get stop details

    Returns stop ID, stop name, geographic coordinates (latitude, longitude), and any associated route information. Essential for stop identification, accessibility planning, transit network analysis, and passenger information. AI agents should use this when users ask "tell me about stop 1234", "where is this bus stop located", or need detailed stop metadata to contextualize transit queries and trip planning. Get detailed information about a specific CTA bus stop

  3. 11

    Get train positions

    Returns train run numbers, line colors, next station IDs, service types (train, 5-car, 8-car), heading directions (North, South, East, West, Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, Southwest), scheduled vs. real-time status, and delay indicators. Can query all trains system-wide or filter by specific line (Red, Blue, Brown, Green, Orange, Purple, Pink, Yellow). Essential for real-time train tracking, network-wide service awareness, fleet monitoring, and understanding train distribution across the L system. AI agents should reference this when users ask "where are all the Red Line trains", "show train positions on the Blue Line", or need to visualize train locations for operational monitoring or passenger information. Get real-time positions of all active CTA trains system-wide or filtered by line

Observed, not estimated

884ms average. Fast in production.

CTA is checked daily against the live service.

Daily averagePeak 1135ms
Aug 20Today
Fastest day
722ms
Slowest day
1135ms
14-day trend
Stable+4%

Connect your client

One URL. Every client.

Activate the Connector, copy your link, and paste it into the client you already use. 11 capabilities arrive ready to run.

Preview access · not provider authentication

The vk_preview_* token belongs to Vinkius preview infrastructure. It lets Claude discover and display the capabilities of CTA, so you can see the experience inside your AI.

It does not authenticate your account with CTA. Actions requiring credentials or live account data may not run until you activate the Connector and authorize the service.

CTA Connector

You're all set. Choose your MCP client and follow the setup instructions.

Connector linkhttps://edge.vinkius.com/vk_preview_8ueRqAm68ulWomrillKp4F4nu0NNlhP88klbOPLG/mcp

Claude Desktop

Follow the steps below to connect in seconds.

  1. 1In Claude Desktop, open Settings → Connectors.
  2. 2Click “Add custom connector” and paste the connector link above as the remote MCP server URL.
  3. 3Click Add and start a new chat — CTA capabilities are ready to use.
Configuration · claude_desktop_config.jsonCopy
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cta-mcp": {
      "url": "https://edge.vinkius.com/vk_preview_8ueRqAm68ulWomrillKp4F4nu0NNlhP88klbOPLG/mcp"
    }
  }
}
  • Claude
  • ChatGPT
  • Cursor
  • VS Code
  • Windsurf
  • Claude Code
  • JetBrains
  • Cline

Step-by-step instructions for each client are in the guide. How to connect

FAQ

Questions CTA owners ask.

  • 01

    Can my AI check when the next L train is arriving at my station?

    Yes! Use the get_train_arrivals capability with the station mapId (a 5-digit parent station ID, e.g., 40360 for Clark/Lake, 40900 for Jackson). Your AI will return all upcoming trains with destination names, line colors (Red, Blue, Brown, Green, Orange, Purple, Pink, Yellow), predicted arrival times in minutes, operating status (on-time, delayed, approaching, boarding, departing), and whether the train is scheduled or real-time tracked. If you do not know the mapId, it can be found in the CTA GTFS static data feed.

  • 02

    How do I check when the next CTA bus is arriving at a specific stop?

    First use get_bus_stops with a route ID to find the stop ID (stpid) for your location. Then use get_bus_predictions with that stop ID to get real-time estimated arrival times, route information, destination descriptions, and vehicle IDs. For route-filtered predictions, you can also pass the route ID to narrow results to a specific bus line. Stop IDs are numeric identifiers assigned by CTA to each physical bus stop across Chicago.

  • 03

    Are there any service disruptions affecting the Red Line or my bus route right now?

    Use get_service_alerts to check all active service disruptions across the CTA system. This returns alerts with affected routes and stations, disruption descriptions, severity levels, cause types (maintenance, incident, weather, special events, construction), and detour information. You can also use get_route_status for a quick system-wide health check showing which L lines and bus routes are running on-time, delayed, or have planned work. Always check this before planning any CTA journey.

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