MBTA

This is a MCP server that provides real-time train arrival predictions for MBTA stations through Claude Desktop as the MCP Client.

What is MBTA?

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) is the public transit system serving the Greater Boston area in Massachusetts. Commonly known as "the T," it operates subway lines (Red, Blue, Green, and Orange), buses, commuter rail, and ferry services. This MCP server focuses on subway/rail predictions, helping you know exactly when the next trains will arrive at any station.

Features

• 🚇 Real-time train arrival predictions for any MBTA station
• ⏰ Shows next two upcoming trains with arrival times
• 🧭 Supports all platforms/directions at each station
• 💬 Natural language responses through Claude Desktop

Installation

Step 1: Install Claude Desktop

1. Download Claude Desktop from Claude's official website
2. Install and launch the application

Step 2: Install uv (Python Package Manager)

On macOS and Linux:

curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

On Windows:

powershell -c "irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex"

Step 3: Set Up the Project

1. Clone or download this repository to your local machine
2. Navigate to the project directory
3. Install dependencies using uv:

cd path/to/your/mbta-mcp-project
uv sync

Step 4: Configure Claude Desktop

You need to add the MCP server configuration to Claude Desktop's configuration file.

Find your configuration file:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Add the configuration:

Open the claude_desktop_config.json file and add the following configuration (update the paths to match your system):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "predictTrains": {
      "command": "/Users/yourusername/.local/bin/uv",
      "args": [
        "--directory",
        "/path/to/your/mbta-mcp-project",
        "run",
        "server_predict_trains.py"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Important: Replace the paths with your actual paths:

• Update /Users/yourusername/.local/bin/uv with the full path to your uv installation
• Update /path/to/your/mbta-mcp-project with the full path to where you placed this project

Finding your uv path:

which uv

Step 5: Required Files

Make sure you have the filtered_stops.json file in your project directory. This file contains the MBTA station data that the server uses to look up platform IDs.

Step 6: Restart Claude Desktop

After updating the configuration file, restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect.

Usage

Once everything is set up, you can ask Claude about MBTA train predictions directly in your conversations:

Happy commuting! 🚇