Singapore LTA DataMall MCP Server

🚌 Access Singapore's real-time transport data through AI assistants — bus arrivals, train crowding, traffic incidents, and more!

This is an enhanced fork of arjunkmrm/lta-mcp, rebuilt for self-hosted VPS deployment with zero-friction onboarding — no API key required to get started!

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✨ Features

• 🔑 No API Key Required — Start using immediately with the server's default quota
• 🌐 Remote Access — Connect from any MCP client via HTTPS (not just local stdio)
• 🚀 One-Line Setup — Just add the URL to your MCP client config
• 📊 Real-Time Data — Bus arrivals, train crowding, traffic incidents, carpark availability
• 🔄 Auto-Deployment — Push to GitHub, automatically deploys to VPS

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🚀 Quick Start

Step 1: Add to Your MCP Client

Copy this configuration to your MCP client (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, etc.):

Claude Desktop (claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "lta-datamall": {
      "transport": "streamable-http",
      "url": "https://mcp.techmavie.digital/ltadatamallsg/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Cursor/Windsurf (MCP settings):

{
  "lta-datamall": {
    "transport": "streamable-http",
    "url": "https://mcp.techmavie.digital/ltadatamallsg/mcp"
  }
}

Step 2: Start Asking!

Once configured, you can ask your AI assistant things like:

• "When is the next bus arriving at Marsiling Mall?" (the AI will look up the bus stop code automatically)
• "When is bus 143 arriving at bus stop 83139?"
• "How crowded is the North-South Line right now?"
• "Are there any train service disruptions?"
• "Show me traffic incidents on the expressways"
• "What's the carpark availability near Orchard?"

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🔑 Using Your Own API Key (Optional)

By default, this server uses a shared LTA DataMall API key for convenience. To avoid rate limiting during heavy usage, you can register your own key via the MCP Key Service:

1. Visit mcpkeys.techmavie.digital and register your LTA DataMall API key
2. You'll receive a usr_XXXXXXXX key
3. Use it in your MCP client config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "lta-datamall": {
      "transport": "streamable-http",
      "url": "https://mcp.techmavie.digital/ltadatamallsg/mcp/usr_YOUR_KEY_HERE"
    }
  }
}

Alternatively, use the query parameter format: /mcp?api_key=usr_YOUR_KEY_HERE

Note: Registering an LTA API key is optional even with the key service — you can register without one and still use the server's default quota.

How to Get Your Own LTA DataMall API Key

1. Visit LTA DataMall
2. Click "Request for API Access" and fill in the provided form, then hit Submit button.
3. Once approved, find your API key in the email sent to you.
4. Register it at mcpkeys.techmavie.digital

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🛠️ Available Tools

This MCP server provides 8 tools for accessing Singapore transport data:

Tool	Description	Update Frequency
bus_stop_search	Look up bus stop codes by name, road, or landmark	Cached (24h)
bus_arrival	Real-time bus arrival times, locations & crowding	Real-time
station_crowding	MRT/LRT station crowdedness levels	Every 10 min
station_crowd_forecast	Predicted station crowding (30-min intervals)	Periodic
train_alerts	Service disruptions & shuttle bus info	On change
carpark_availability	HDB, LTA & URA carpark lot availability	Every 1 min
travel_times	Expressway travel time estimates	Every 5 min
traffic_incidents	Accidents, roadworks & heavy traffic	Every 2 min

Tool Details

🔍 bus_stop_search

Search for bus stop codes by name, road, or landmark. Use this to find the 5-digit bus stop code needed for bus_arrival.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
query	string	✅	Search query (e.g., "Marsiling Mall", "Orchard", "Victoria St")
limit	number	❌	Max results to return (default: 10, max: 20)

The bus stop database (~5,500 stops) is loaded on first search and cached for 24 hours.

🚌 bus_arrival

Get real-time bus arrival information for any bus stop in Singapore.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
busStopCode	string	✅	5-digit bus stop code (e.g., "83139")
serviceNo	string	❌	Filter by specific bus service (e.g., "143")

🚇 station_crowding

Check how crowded MRT/LRT stations are right now.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
trainLine	enum	✅	Train line code (see below)

📈 station_crowd_forecast

Get predicted crowding levels for the next few hours.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
trainLine	enum	✅	Train line code (see below)

Supported Train Lines:

Code	Line Name
NSL	North-South Line
EWL	East-West Line
NEL	North-East Line
CCL	Circle Line
DTL	Downtown Line
TEL	Thomson-East Coast Line
BPL	Bukit Panjang LRT
SLRT	Sengkang LRT
PLRT	Punggol LRT
CEL	Circle Line Extension
CGL	Changi Airport Branch

🚨 train_alerts

Get current train service alerts (no parameters required).

🅿️ carpark_availability

Get real-time carpark availability across Singapore (no parameters required).

⏱️ travel_times

Get estimated travel times on expressways (no parameters required).

🚧 traffic_incidents

Get current road incidents (no parameters required).

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🔄 What's Changed from Original

This fork introduces major improvements over the original repository:

Aspect	Original	This Fork
Hosting	Smithery cloud	Self-hosted VPS
Transport	stdio (local only)	Streamable HTTP (remote)
API Key	Required	Optional (server default)
Deployment	Manual	Auto via GitHub Actions
SDK Version	0.5.0	1.11.0+

Key Changes

1. New HTTP Server (src/http-server.ts)

   • Express-based server with Streamable HTTP transport
   • Session management for concurrent users
   • Health check endpoint for monitoring

2. Zero-Friction Onboarding

   • Server provides default API quota
   • Users can start immediately without registration
   • Optional personal API key via MCP Key Service

3. Bus Stop Search (src/bus-stops-cache.ts)

   • Look up bus stop codes by name, road, or landmark
   • Lazy-loaded cache of all ~5,500 Singapore bus stops
   • No more web searching for bus stop codes

4. MCP Key Service Integration (src/utils/key-service.ts)

   • Centralized credential management via usr_xxx keys
   • Per-request server/transport isolation for key-service users
   • 60-second cache with request deduplication

5. Production Infrastructure

   • Docker + Docker Compose configuration
   • Nginx reverse proxy setup
   • GitHub Actions auto-deployment
   • Health checks and graceful shutdown
   • Firebase analytics with dashboard

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🖥️ API Endpoints

Endpoint	Method	Description
/	GET	Server information and available tools
/health	GET	Health check (for monitoring)
/mcp	POST	MCP protocol endpoint (server default key)
/mcp/:userKey	POST	MCP protocol endpoint (key-service auth)
/analytics	GET	Usage analytics (JSON)
/analytics/dashboard	GET	Analytics dashboard (HTML)
/.well-known/mcp/server-card.json	GET	Smithery server discovery
/.well-known/mcp-config	GET	MCP client configuration schema

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🏠 Self-Hosting Guide

Want to host your own instance? Here's what you need:

Prerequisites

• VPS with Docker & Docker Compose
• Nginx with SSL (Let's Encrypt)
• Your own LTA DataMall API key

Deployment Files

File	Purpose
Dockerfile	Container build configuration
docker-compose.yml	Docker orchestration
deploy/nginx-mcp.conf	Nginx reverse proxy config
.github/workflows/deploy-vps.yml	Auto-deployment workflow

Environment Variables

Variable	Required	Default	Description
LTA_API_KEY	✅	—	Your LTA DataMall API key
KEY_SERVICE_URL	❌	—	MCP Key Service resolve endpoint (enables /mcp/:userKey route)
KEY_SERVICE_TOKEN	❌	—	Bearer token for key service (unique per server)
PORT	❌	8080	Server port
HOST	❌	0.0.0.0	Server host

GitHub Secrets (for auto-deployment)

Set these in your repository settings:

• VPS_HOST — Your VPS IP address
• VPS_USERNAME — SSH username
• VPS_SSH_KEY — Private SSH key
• VPS_PORT — SSH port (usually 22)
• LTA_API_KEY — Your LTA DataMall API key
• KEY_SERVICE_URL — MCP Key Service resolve endpoint (optional)
• KEY_SERVICE_TOKEN — Bearer token for key service (optional)

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📄 License

MIT License — See LICENSE file for details.

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🙏 Credits

• Original MCP server by @arjunkmrm
• Data provided by LTA DataMall
• Enhanced by @hithereiamaliff