Real Time ETA Feed

 

Official BART ETAs in a simple, easy-to-parse XML feed: Build your killer app with the same real time data we use on the BART website, hot off the griddle from BART Central. Here's what you need to know:

  • Getting an API key
    Psyche: you don't need one. We're opting for "open" without a lot of strings attached. Just follow our simple License Agreement, give our customers good information and don't hog resources. If that doesn't work for you, we can certainly manage usage with keys and write more terms and conditions. But who wants that?
  • Keep your work up to date
    This feed is a work in progress: we may update the format and/or the data elements. We'll let you know ahead of time through the RSS feed and the opt-in email list.
  • Don't use the BART logo
    Only we get to use official BART trademarks and copyrighted works to let customers know when they're getting info directly from BART versus someplace else.
  • Don't forget about us
    Give us a mention and a link back and drop us a line to tell us how you're doing.

About the Feed
The BART Real Time ETA Feed is an XML data file with a root element that encompasses elements holding the station name, the station abbreviation, the date and time and a series of ETA elements. Each ETA element contains a destination and an estimate showing up to the next three trains arriving at the specified station with the given destination. The file is updated every 60 seconds.


Station Abbreviations

Abbr Station Name
12th 12th St. Oakland City Center
16th 16th St. Mission (SF)
19th 19th St. Oakland
24th 24th St. Mission (SF)
ashb Ashby (Berkeley)
balb Balboa Park (SF)
bayf Bay Fair (San Leandro)
cast Castro Valley
civc Civic Center (SF)
cols Coliseum/Oakland Airport
colm Colma
conc Concord
daly Daly City
dbrk Downtown Berkeley
dubl Dublin/Pleasanton
deln El Cerrito del Norte
plza El Cerrito Plaza
embr Embarcadero (SF)
frmt Fremont
ftvl Fruitvale (Oakland)
glen Glen Park (SF)
hayw Hayward
lafy Lafayette
lake Lake Merritt (Oakland)
mcar MacArthur (Oakland)
mlbr Millbrae
mont Montgomery St. (SF)
nbrk North Berkeley
ncon North Concord/Martinez
orin Orinda
pitt Pittsburg/Bay Point
phil Pleasant Hill
powl Powell St. (SF)
rich Richmond
rock Rockridge (Oakland)
sbrn San Bruno
sfia San Francisco Int'l Airport
sanl San Leandro
shay South Hayward
ssan South San Francisco
ucty Union City
wcrk Walnut Creek
woak West Oakland


Frequently Asked Questions


Why are you doing this?
We want to foster innovative new applications, reach a broader audience and encourage more people to choose BART. We've had a lot feedback about real-time ETAs on the BART website, and hopefully you'll find a good use for the raw data.


Will you help me troubleshoot?
If we help you, it's only fair that we help everyone else, too. We simply don't have the resources for that. Let us know about any issues or enhancements you'd like to see, but we can't support your development efforts.


What are your plans for developing this service?
Like our open format schedules, this project was developed on what we call "BART one percent time." Drop us a line with tips or suggestions and we'll do our best to incorporate them. We're already thinking about some future enhancements for this data, and we'll let you know when we implement them through the RSS feed and the opt-in email list.