Trip Planner

Plan routes from A to B with real-time connection monitoring, transfer risk assessment, and delay tracking.

Overview

The Trip Planner feature lets you:

• Plan trips between any two stops via the openpublictransport.plan_trip service call
• Monitor connections with a persistent trip sensor that updates automatically
• Assess transfer risk -- each connection is rated as low, medium, high, or missed
• Track delays in real time across all legs of your journey

Supported Providers

The Trip Planner works with all EFA-based providers:

Provider	Region
VRR	Rhein-Ruhr (NRW)
KVV	Karlsruhe
HVV	Hamburg
BVG	Berlin
MVV	Munich
VVS	Stuttgart
VGN	Nuremberg
VAG	Freiburg
VRN	Rhein-Neckar
VVO	Dresden
DING	Ulm
AVV	Augsburg
RVV	Regensburg
BSVG	Braunschweig
NWL	Westfalen-Lippe
NVBW	Baden-Württemberg
BEG	Bavaria
SBB	Switzerland
ÖBB	Austria

Setting Up a Trip Sensor

A trip sensor gives you a persistent entity that always shows the next best connection for a configured route.

Via Config Flow

1. Go to Settings > Devices & Services
2. Click + Add Integration
3. Search for "Public Transport Departures"

4. Select your provider and choose "Verbindungssuche / Trip Planner" as the entry type:

   

5. Enter origin stop name:

   

6. Enter destination stop name

7. Configure update interval

The sensor will appear as sensor.openpublictransport_trip_<origin>_to_<destination>.

Example Sensor State and Attributes

State: 08:15 - U79 to Duisburg Meiderich

Attributes:

{
  "origin": "Holthausen, Dusseldorf",
  "destination": "Hauptbahnhof, Dusseldorf",
  "departure_time": "2026-04-09T08:15:00+02:00",
  "arrival_time": "2026-04-09T08:42:00+02:00",
  "duration_minutes": 27,
  "transfers": 1,
  "connection_feasible": true,
  "transfer_risk": "low",
  "legs": [
    {
      "line": "U79",
      "direction": "Duisburg Meiderich",
      "departure_stop": "Holthausen",
      "departure_time": "08:15",
      "arrival_stop": "Dusseldorf Hbf",
      "arrival_time": "08:35",
      "delay": 2,
      "platform": "1"
    },
    {
      "line": "RE5",
      "direction": "Koblenz Hbf",
      "departure_stop": "Dusseldorf Hbf",
      "departure_time": "08:40",
      "arrival_stop": "Dusseldorf Hbf",
      "arrival_time": "08:42",
      "delay": 0,
      "platform": "3"
    }
  ],
  "next_connections": [
    {
      "departure_time": "08:30",
      "arrival_time": "08:57",
      "transfers": 1,
      "transfer_risk": "low"
    }
  ]
}

Using the plan_trip Service

You can also plan trips on demand via a service call.

Service Call

service: openpublictransport.plan_trip
data:
  provider: vrr
  origin: Holthausen
  origin_city: Dusseldorf
  destination: Hauptbahnhof
  destination_city: Dusseldorf

Parameters

Parameter	Required	Description
provider	Yes	Provider ID (vrr, kvv, mvv, vvs, vagfr, hvv)
origin	Yes	Origin stop name
origin_city	No	City of origin stop (improves accuracy)
destination	Yes	Destination stop name
destination_city	No	City of destination stop (improves accuracy)

The service fires an openpublictransport_trip_result event with the trip data.

Connection Monitoring

Every trip result includes transfer risk assessment:

Risk Level	Meaning
low	Comfortable transfer time (>5 min buffer)
medium	Tight but feasible (2-5 min buffer)
high	At risk due to delays (<2 min buffer)
missed	Connection is no longer reachable

The connection_feasible attribute is true when all transfers can still be made, and false when any transfer is missed.

Example Automations

Notify When Connection Is at Risk

automation:
  - alias: "Warn about risky connection"
    trigger:
      - platform: state
        entity_id: sensor.openpublictransport_trip_holthausen_to_hauptbahnhof
        attribute: transfer_risk
        to: "high"
    action:
      - service: notify.mobile_app
        data:
          title: "Connection at risk!"
          message: >
            Your transfer at {{ state_attr('sensor.openpublictransport_trip_holthausen_to_hauptbahnhof', 'legs')[0]['arrival_stop'] }}
            is at risk. Consider taking an earlier connection.

Morning Commute Check

automation:
  - alias: "Morning commute notification"
    trigger:
      - platform: time
        at: "07:00:00"
    condition:
      - condition: time
        weekday: [mon, tue, wed, thu, fri]
    action:
      - service: openpublictransport.plan_trip
        data:
          provider: vrr
          origin: Holthausen
          origin_city: Dusseldorf
          destination: Hauptbahnhof
          destination_city: Dusseldorf
      - delay:
          seconds: 3
      - service: notify.mobile_app
        data:
          title: "Commute Update"
          message: >
            Next connection: {{ states('sensor.openpublictransport_trip_holthausen_to_hauptbahnhof') }}
            ({{ state_attr('sensor.openpublictransport_trip_holthausen_to_hauptbahnhof', 'duration_minutes') }} min,
            {{ state_attr('sensor.openpublictransport_trip_holthausen_to_hauptbahnhof', 'transfers') }} transfer(s),
            risk: {{ state_attr('sensor.openpublictransport_trip_holthausen_to_hauptbahnhof', 'transfer_risk') }})

Alert on Missed Connection

automation:
  - alias: "Missed connection alert"
    trigger:
      - platform: state
        entity_id: sensor.openpublictransport_trip_holthausen_to_hauptbahnhof
        attribute: connection_feasible
        to: "False"
    action:
      - service: notify.mobile_app
        data:
          title: "Connection missed"
          message: "Your planned connection is no longer feasible. Check the app for alternatives."