KMB Bus MCP Server

Overview

The KMB Bus MCP Server supplies real‑time bus information for Hong Kong’s KMB (九龍巴士) and Long Win Bus (龍運巴士) services. By exposing the official KMB/LWB Open Data API through the Model Context Protocol, it allows AI assistants such as Claude to answer user queries about routes, stops, and estimated arrival times without needing direct access to the public API. This bridges the gap between conversational AI and live transport data, enabling richer, context‑aware interactions for commuters and developers alike.

What Problem It Solves

In many regions, public transit data is scattered across disparate APIs or only available in raw formats. Users often need to manually search for a route, find nearby stops, and wait for real‑time arrivals. The MCP server consolidates these tasks into a single, language‑model friendly interface. Developers can embed bus information retrieval directly into chat flows or workflow automations, eliminating the need to build custom HTTP clients, parse JSON responses, or handle rate‑limit logic themselves.

Core Functionality and Value

• Real‑time ETA: Provides up‑to‑date arrival predictions for any stop, enabling dynamic scheduling or delay notifications.
• Comprehensive route and stop queries: Exposes tools to list all routes, discover stops for a given route, or find which routes serve a particular stop.
• Search capabilities: Allows fuzzy matching of stop names, supporting both English and Traditional Chinese inputs.
• Caching layer: Reduces load on the public API by reusing recent responses, which is critical for high‑traffic AI assistants.
• Bilingual support: Returns data in both English and Traditional Chinese, catering to Hong Kong’s bilingual user base.

These features give developers a ready‑made, reliable data source that can be called with simple function calls from an AI assistant, streamlining the creation of transit‑aware applications.

Use Cases and Real‑World Scenarios

• Commuter Chatbots: A travel assistant can ask, “What’s the next KMB bus to Admiralty?” and receive a precise ETA.
• Travel Planning Apps: Integrate the MCP server to suggest optimal routes and transfer points between buses.
• Accessibility Tools: Provide spoken or textual bus information for visually impaired users within an AI‑powered interface.
• Data Analytics: Collect aggregated arrival data for traffic studies or service improvement dashboards.

Integration with AI Workflows

The MCP server exposes a set of tools (, , , , , and ) that can be invoked by an AI model via the standard MCP tool‑calling protocol. Developers configure their client (e.g., Claude Desktop) to launch the server as a background process, then simply call these tools in response to user prompts. The server handles authentication, caching, and error handling internally, allowing the AI workflow to focus on natural language understanding and dialogue management.

Unique Advantages

• Single‑source, real‑time data: No need to maintain multiple data feeds; the server pulls directly from the official KMB/LWB API.
• Built‑in bilingual support: Simplifies internationalization for Hong Kong‑specific applications.
• Optimized for MCP: Uses to deliver low‑latency tool responses, essential for conversational pacing.
• Extensible architecture: The server’s design permits adding new endpoints or integrating other transport services with minimal effort.

In summary, the KMB Bus MCP Server transforms raw transit data into a conversationally accessible resource, empowering developers to create intelligent, real‑time bus information experiences for Hong Kong users.