Overpass query example

One bus line by its number

Find a single bus or trolleybus line by its ref and get its route. Example: line 31 in Zürich.

Lines are identified by ref, the number shown on the vehicle. Some lines are trolleybuses (route=trolleybus), so match both.

The query

[out:json][timeout:25];
area["name"="Zürich"]["admin_level"="8"]->.a;
rel["route"~"^(bus|trolleybus)$"]["ref"="31"](area.a);
out geom;

Run it

Running the query…

Live result from overpass.ch, cached for up to 12 hours. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

How it works

["route"~"^(bus|trolleybus)$"] covers both vehicle types.
["ref"="31"] is the line number. Expect one relation per direction.

Variations

Get the stops in order: out body; and read the members with role stop or platform.

Run it from your code

curl https://api.overpass.ch/v1/YOUR_API_KEY/interpreter \
  --data-urlencode 'data@query.overpassql'

import requests

query = open("query.overpassql").read()
r = requests.post("https://api.overpass.ch/v1/YOUR_API_KEY/interpreter",
                  data={"data": query}, timeout=120)
r.raise_for_status()
print(r.json()["elements"][:3])

const res = await fetch("https://api.overpass.ch/v1/YOUR_API_KEY/interpreter", {
  method: "POST",
  body: new URLSearchParams({ data: query }),
});
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(await res.text());
console.log(await res.json());

Save the query as query.overpassql. It works the same in Overpass Turbo, QGIS and JOSM.

More examples

Bus stops in a city

Find every bus stop in a city. Example: Helsinki.

Train stations in a country

List every railway station in a country. Example: Switzerland.

Metro lines of a city

Get the routes of a metro network with their geometry and colours. Example: the Paris Métro.

Tram network

Draw the tram network of a city from its route relations. Example: Zürich.

EV charging stations

Find electric vehicle chargers with their sockets and operator. Example: Oslo.

Car parks with their capacity

Find car parks and read the number of spaces. Example: Munich.

All examples →