mta.alerts.current() — active MTA service alerts

GET

https://www.mtaapi.dev

api

alerts

Get current service alerts

const options = {method: 'GET', headers: {Authorization: 'Bearer <token>'}};

fetch('https://www.mtaapi.dev/api/v1/alerts', options)
  .then(res => res.json())
  .then(res => console.log(res))
  .catch(err => console.error(err));

[
  {
    "id": "<string>",
    "routes": [
      {
        "id": "<string>",
        "shortName": "<string>",
        "longName": "<string>",
        "type": 123,
        "color": "<string>",
        "textColor": "<string>"
      }
    ],
    "stops": [
      {
        "id": "<string>",
        "name": "<string>",
        "displayName": "<string>",
        "lat": 123,
        "lon": 123,
        "parentId": "<string>"
      }
    ],
    "activePeriods": [
      {
        "start": "<string>",
        "end": "<string>"
      }
    ],
    "source": "<string>",
    "header": "<string>",
    "description": "<string>",
    "url": "<string>",
    "effect": "<string>",
    "raw": "<unknown>"
  }
]

The mta.alerts namespace surfaces active MTA service alerts pulled from the agency’s GTFS-Realtime alerts feed. Use mta.alerts.current to retrieve delays, planned service changes, and route suspensions for either the subway or bus network, filtered to only what’s happening right now.

`mta.alerts.current(params)`

Returns all active service alerts for the specified transit mode. Alerts include human-readable header and description text, affected routes, a severity classification, and the time window during which the alert applies.

Parameters

mode

string

required

The transit mode to fetch alerts for. Accepted values are 'subway' or 'bus'. Pass 'subway' to get alerts affecting subway routes, or 'bus' to get alerts affecting bus routes.

TypeScript signature

type AlertMode = 'subway' | 'bus'

interface AlertsCurrentParams {
  mode: AlertMode
}

interface ServiceAlert {
  id: string
  headerText: string
  descriptionText: string
  affectedRoutes: string[]
  severity: string
  startTime: number        // Unix timestamp (seconds)
  endTime: number | null   // null if the alert has no scheduled end
}

interface AlertsCurrentResponse {
  alerts: ServiceAlert[]
}

mta.alerts.current(params: AlertsCurrentParams): Promise<AlertsCurrentResponse>

Response fields

alerts

object[]

required

An array of active service alerts for the requested mode, ordered by startTime descending. Returns an empty array if there are no active alerts.

Show alerts properties

string

required

The unique identifier for this alert, assigned by the MTA.

headerText

string

required

A short summary of the alert, suitable for display in a list or notification.

descriptionText

string

required

The full alert body with details about affected service and any alternative instructions.

affectedRoutes

string[]

required

An array of route IDs impacted by this alert (for example, ['A', 'C', 'E']).

severity

string

required

The severity level of the alert. See the severity table below for possible values and their meanings.

startTime

number

required

The Unix timestamp (in seconds) when the alert becomes or became active.

endTime

number | null

required

The Unix timestamp (in seconds) when the alert is scheduled to end, or null if no end time has been set.

Severity values

The severity field uses the following string values, from least to most severe:

Value	Meaning
`'INFO'`	General informational notice with no service impact.
`'WARNING'`	Minor disruption; service is affected but operating.
`'SEVERE'`	Significant disruption such as major delays or reroutes.
`'NO_SERVICE'`	The affected route or portion of it is suspended.

'NO_SERVICE' alerts often accompany planned weekend work or emergency shutdowns. Filter on this severity value to surface outages that require riders to seek alternative routes.

Code example

import { MTA } from 'mta-js'

const mta = new MTA({ apiKey: process.env.MTA_API_KEY })

const response = await mta.alerts.current({ mode: 'subway' })

const severe = response.alerts.filter(
  (alert) => alert.severity === 'SEVERE' || alert.severity === 'NO_SERVICE'
)

for (const alert of severe) {
  console.log(`[${alert.severity}] ${alert.headerText}`)
  console.log(`Affected routes: ${alert.affectedRoutes.join(', ')}`)
  console.log(alert.descriptionText)
  console.log('---')
}

Example response

{
  "alerts": [
    {
      "id": "lmm:planned_work:127307",
      "headerText": "A trains skip Howard Beach–JFK Airport",
      "descriptionText": "Due to track maintenance, A trains will not stop at Howard Beach–JFK Airport (A27) from 11:30 PM Friday to 5 AM Monday. Take the AirTrain from Jamaica station as an alternative.",
      "affectedRoutes": ["A"],
      "severity": "WARNING",
      "startTime": 1748991000,
      "endTime": 1749214800
    },
    {
      "id": "lmm:service_change:130841",
      "headerText": "No F trains between 47–50 Sts–Rockefeller Ctr and Jay St–MetroTech",
      "descriptionText": "F trains are suspended between 47–50 Sts–Rockefeller Ctr and Jay St–MetroTech due to an emergency signal repair. Use the A, C, or E trains as alternatives.",
      "affectedRoutes": ["F"],
      "severity": "NO_SERVICE",
      "startTime": 1748994600,
      "endTime": null
    }
  ]
}

Authorizations

Authorization

string

header

required

Bearer authentication header of the form Bearer <token>, where <token> is your auth token.

Query Parameters

mode

enum<string>

Available options:

subway,

bus,

lirr,

metro-north

route

string

Minimum string length: 1

stopId

string

Minimum string length: 1

includeRaw

boolean

Response

200 - application/json

Response for status 200

string

required

routes

object[]

required

Hide child attributes

routes.id

string

required

routes.shortName

string

routes.longName

string

routes.type

number

routes.color

string

routes.textColor

string

stops

object[]

required

Hide child attributes

stops.id

string

required

stops.name

string

required

stops.displayName

string

stops.lat

number

stops.lon

number

stops.mode

enum<string>

Available options:

subway,

bus

stops.parentId

string

activePeriods

object[]

required

Hide child attributes

activePeriods.start

string

activePeriods.end

string

source

string

required

mode

enum<string>

Available options:

subway,

bus,

lirr,

metro-north

header

string

description

string

url

string

effect

string

raw

any

StopsReference for mta.stops methods in mta-js. Find nearby MTA subway and bus stops sorted by distance from any latitude and longitude.

⌘I

Get current service alerts

const options = {method: 'GET', headers: {Authorization: 'Bearer <token>'}};

fetch('https://www.mtaapi.dev/api/v1/alerts', options)
  .then(res => res.json())
  .then(res => console.log(res))
  .catch(err => console.error(err));

[
  {
    "id": "<string>",
    "routes": [
      {
        "id": "<string>",
        "shortName": "<string>",
        "longName": "<string>",
        "type": 123,
        "color": "<string>",
        "textColor": "<string>"
      }
    ],
    "stops": [
      {
        "id": "<string>",
        "name": "<string>",
        "displayName": "<string>",
        "lat": 123,
        "lon": 123,
        "parentId": "<string>"
      }
    ],
    "activePeriods": [
      {
        "start": "<string>",
        "end": "<string>"
      }
    ],
    "source": "<string>",
    "header": "<string>",
    "description": "<string>",
    "url": "<string>",
    "effect": "<string>",
    "raw": "<unknown>"
  }
]

Documentation Index

​mta.alerts.current(params)

​Parameters

​TypeScript signature

​Response fields

​Severity values

​Code example

​Example response

Authorizations

Query Parameters

Response

`mta.alerts.current(params)`

Parameters

TypeScript signature

Response fields

Severity values

Code example

Example response