MOTIS ​
Scalable high-performance intermodal travel information system / journey planner with "batteries included" - geocoding, map tiles, departure boards, and more.
Quick Info ​
| License | MIT |
| Website | transitous.org |
| Repository | GitHub Repository |
| Developer | MOTIS Project |
Overview ​
MOTIS is a comprehensive intermodal travel information system and journey planner designed for scalability and high performance. Unlike many routing engines that require external services, MOTIS comes with "batteries included" - providing geocoding, map tiles, departure boards, and many other functionalities out of the box.
The system can serve multiple purposes beyond routing: it functions as a real-time data quality monitoring tool (metrics), a conversion utility (SIRI to GTFS-RT), and a modular platform where features can be enabled or disabled based on specific needs, allowing for specialized low-resource configurations.
Key Features ​
- Intermodal routing: Seamless journey planning across multiple transport modes
- Built-in geocoding: No need for external geocoding services
- Map tile serving: Integrated map rendering capabilities
- Departure boards: Real-time departure information displays
- Real-time monitoring: Quality metrics for real-time data feeds
- Format conversion: SIRI to GTFS-RT transformation
- Modular architecture: Enable/disable features as needed for optimized resource usage
- High performance: Designed for scalability and speed
- Specialized configurations: Distribute tailored setups with minimal overhead
Use Cases ​
- Journey planning applications requiring intermodal routing capabilities
- Real-time data quality monitoring for transport operators
- Format conversion from SIRI to GTFS-RT for data standardization
- Low-resource deployments with customized feature sets
- Community routing services like Transitous
- Development and testing of mobility applications
Available Standards ​
Target Audience ​
- Journey planning application developers
- Transport operators and authorities
- Mobility data platform providers
- Real-time data quality analysts
- Open source mobility communities
- System integrators building NAP solutions
Technical Architecture ​
- Core: High-performance routing engine with modular design
- Data formats: NeTEx, SIRI, GTFS, GBFS, OSM
- Capabilities:
- Routing and journey planning
- Geocoding services
- Map tile generation
- Real-time data processing
- Format conversion (SIRI → GTFS-RT)
- Deployment: Configurable modules for resource-optimized setups
- Architecture: Scalable multi-modal routing with optional services
Source Code ​
The tool is open source and available on GitHub:
- MOTIS: github.com/motis-project/motis
- Transitous Platform: transitous.org
Transitous: Community-Powered Global Routing ​
Transitous is an open data community initiative that crowd-sources a global mobility data catalog. This community-maintained catalog feeds into a hosted MOTIS router instance, making it available for FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) client applications worldwide.
This collaboration demonstrates MOTIS's real-world capability to power large-scale, community-driven mobility services.
Why This Tool Matters ​
MOTIS addresses key challenges in the European and global mobility ecosystem:
- Complete solution: "Batteries included" approach eliminates dependency on multiple external services
- Flexibility: Modular architecture allows tailored deployments for different use cases
- Performance: Built for high-performance, scalable routing
- Open source: MIT license enables wide adoption and community contributions
- Multi-standard support: Works with major European (NeTEx, SIRI) and global (GTFS) standards
- Real-world proven: Powers production services like Transitous and MOBIDROM
- Quality monitoring: Built-in metrics for real-time data quality assessment
- Format bridge: Converts between SIRI and GTFS-RT, facilitating interoperability
Related Tools ​
MOTIS complements other mobility tools in the ecosystem:
- Real-time validators for SIRI and GTFS-RT feeds
- NeTEx converters and validators
- Other journey planning engines and routing services
Developer Note
MOTIS's modular architecture is particularly valuable - you can deploy only the components you need (e.g., just the converter functionality or just the routing engine), making it suitable for both full-featured applications and specialized microservices.
Getting Started ​
- Visit the MOTIS GitHub repository
- Review documentation and deployment options
- Configure modules based on your requirements
- Deploy as a complete solution or specialized service
- Try the live Transitous instance at transitous.org
Real-World Deployments ​
- Transitous: Global community routing platform
- MOBIDROM: Production mobility platform
Support & Community ​
- Source Code & Issues: GitHub Repository
- Transitous Community: transitous.org