README

otpr is an R package that provides a simple wrapper for the OpenTripPlanner (OTP) API. To use otpr you will need a running instance of OTP. The purpose of the package is to submit a query to the relevant OTP API resource, parse the OTP response and return useful R objects.

This package will be useful to researchers and transport planners who want to use OTP to generate trip data for accessibility analysis or to derive variables for use in transportation models.

Installation

# To install the development version from GitHub:
# install.packages("devtools")
devtools::install_github("marcusyoung/otpr")

Getting started

Defining an OTP connection

The first step is to call otp_connect(), which defines the parameters needed to connect to a router on a running OTP instance. The function can also confirm that the router is reachable.

# For a basic instance of OTP running on localhost with standard ports and a 'default' router
# this is all that's needed
otpcon <- otp_connect()
#> Router http://localhost:8080/otp/routers/default exists

Distance between two points

To get the trip distance in metres between an origin and destination on the street and/or path network use otp_get_distance(). You can specify the required mode: CAR (default), BICYCLE or WALK are valid.

# Distance between Manchester city centre and Manchester airport by CAR
otp_get_distance(
  otpcon,
  fromPlace = c(53.48805,-2.24258),
  toPlace = c(53.36484,-2.27108)
)
#> $errorId
#> [1] "OK"
#> 
#> $distance
#> [1] 29207.19

# Now for BICYCLE
otp_get_distance(
  otpcon,
  fromPlace = c(53.48805,-2.24258),
  toPlace = c(53.36484,-2.27108),
  mode = "BICYCLE"
)
#> $errorId
#> [1] "OK"
#> 
#> $distance
#> [1] 16235.36

Time between two points

To get the trip duration in minutes between an origin and destination use otp_get_times(). You can specify the required mode: TRANSIT (all available transit modes), BUS, RAIL, CAR, BICYCLE, and WALK are valid. All the public transit modes automatically allow WALK. There is also the option to combine TRANSIT with BICYCLE.

# Time between Manchester city centre and Manchester airport by BUS
otp_get_times(
  otpcon,
  fromPlace = c(53.48805,-2.24258),
  toPlace = c(53.36484,-2.27108),
  mode = "BUS"
)
#> $errorId
#> [1] "OK"
#> 
#> $duration
#> [1] 4084


# By default the date and time of travel is taken as the current system date and
# time. This can be changed using the 'date' and 'time' arguments
otp_get_times(
  otpcon,
  fromPlace = c(53.48805,-2.24258),
  toPlace = c(53.36484,-2.27108),
  mode = "TRANSIT",
  date = "11-25-2018",
  time = "08:00:00"
)
#> $errorId
#> [1] "OK"
#> 
#> $duration
#> [1] 2740

Breakdown of time by mode, waiting time and transfers

To get more information about the trip when using transit modes, otp_get_times() can be called with the ‘detail’ argument set to TRUE. The trip duration is then further broken down by time on transit, walking time (from/to and between stops), waiting time (when changing transit vehicle or mode), and number of transfers (when changing transit vehicle or mode).

# Time between Manchester city centre and Manchester airport by TRANSIT with detail
otp_get_times(
  otpcon,
  fromPlace = c(53.48805,-2.24258),
  toPlace = c(53.36484,-2.27108),
  mode = "TRANSIT",
  date = "11-25-2018",
  time = "08:00:00",
  detail = TRUE
)
#> $errorId
#> [1] "OK"
#> 
#> $itineraries
#>                 start                 end duration walkTime transitTime
#> 1 2018-11-25 08:02:57 2018-11-25 08:48:37    45.67      7.9          31
#>   waitingTime transfers
#> 1        6.77         1

Travel time isochrones

The otp_get_isochrone() function can be used to get one or more travel time isochrones in GeoJSON format. These are only available for transit or walking modes (OTP limitation). They can be generated either from (default) or to the specified location.

# 900, 1800 and 2700 second isochrones for travel *to* Manchester Airport by any transit mode
otp_get_isochrone(
  otpcon,
  location = c(53.36484, -2.27108),
  fromLocation = FALSE,
  cutoffs = c(900, 1800, 2700),
  mode = "TRANSIT"
)

Learning more

The example function calls shown above can be extended by passing additional parameters to the OTP API. Further information is available in the documentation for each function:

# get help on using the otp_get_times() function
?otp_get_times

If you are new to OTP, then the best place to start is to work through the tutorial, OpenTripPlanner Tutorial - creating and querying your own multi-modal route planner. This includes everything you need, including example data. The tutorial also has examples of using otpr functions, and helps you get the most from the package, for example using it to populate an origin-destination matrix.

otpr

Overview