OpenTripPlanner — The Complete Guide: Free Multimodal Journey Planning and Transit Accessibility
OpenTripPlanner is an open-source multimodal routing engine that computes journeys combining walking, cycling and public transport. It builds a graph from GTFS timetables and the OpenStreetMap road network, and transit operators and authorities use it as the engine of journey planners.
OpenTripPlanner
OpenTripPlanner Project
A multimodal routing engine — journey planning and public transport accessibility analysis.
Get it from the vendorWhat you get
- Multimodal routes — walking, waiting, riding and transfers according to the timetable.
- Travel times — for different times of day, including the effect of frequency.
- Accessibility maps — where you can reach from a point within a given time; in recent versions this is an extension.
- Cycling and walking — along the road and path network.
- API — for integration into apps and analysis scripts.
Why planners use it
It answers real planning questions: what a new bus route does to a neighbourhood’s accessibility, what share of residents reach a hospital within an hour, and comparisons between alternatives. The limits: it is a server you run, not software you install and click; it needs a GTFS feed from the local operators; and the analysis is based on schedules, not actual performance.
Related tools
For fast car routing and time matrices — OSRM. For traffic simulation — SUMO or MATSim. To fix the road network — JOSM.
OSRM — Open Source Routing Machine
OSRM Project
A very fast road network routing engine — routes, distance matrices and service areas.
Get it from the vendor
SUMO
German Aerospace Center (DLR) / Eclipse
Microscopic traffic simulation — every vehicle modelled individually on a real road network.
Get it from the vendorMATSim
ETH Zurich / TU Berlin
Agent-based transport simulation at city scale — activities, routes and mode choice.
Get it from the vendor
JOSM
OpenStreetMap community
Advanced OpenStreetMap editor — roads, buildings and infrastructure, with GPS and aerial imagery import.
Get it from the vendorThe bottom line
OpenTripPlanner is a free, professional tool for accessibility and transit analysis — for anyone with GTFS data and the willingness to run a server.