Router configuration

This section covers all options that can be set for each router using the router-config.json file. These options can be applied by the OTP server without rebuilding the graph.

Configure using command-line arguments

Certain settings can be provided on the command line, when starting OpenTripPlanner. See the CommandLineParameters class for a full list of arguments .

Routing defaults

There are many trip planning options used in the OTP web API, and more exist internally that are not exposed via the API. You may want to change the default value for some of these parameters, i.e. the value which will be applied unless it is overridden in a web API request.

A full list of them can be found in the RouteRequest.

Parameter Summary

Config Parameter	Type	Summary	Req./Opt.	Default Value	Since
configVersion	`string`	Deployment version of the router-config.json.	Optional		2.1
requestLogFile	`string`	The path of the log file for the requests.	Optional		2.0
streetRoutingTimeout	`duration`	The maximum time a street routing request is allowed to take before returning a timeout.	Optional	`"PT5S"`	na
flex	`object`	Configuration for flex routing.	Optional		na
maxTransferDurationSeconds	`integer`	How long should you be allowed to walk from a flex vehicle to a transit one.	Optional	`300`	2.1
routingDefaults	`object`	The default parameters for the routing query.	Optional		2.0
timetableUpdates	`object`	Global configuration for timetable updaters.	Optional		2.2
transit	`object`	Configuration for transit searches with RAPTOR.	Optional		na
iterationDepartureStepInSeconds	`integer`	Step for departure times between each RangeRaptor iterations.	Optional	`60`	na
maxNumberOfTransfers	`integer`	This parameter is used to allocate enough memory space for Raptor.	Optional	`12`	na
scheduledTripBinarySearchThreshold	`integer`	This threshold is used to determine when to perform a binary trip schedule search.	Optional	`50`	na
searchThreadPoolSize	`integer`	Split a travel search in smaller jobs and run them in parallel to improve performance.	Optional	`0`	na
transferCacheMaxSize	`integer`	The maximum number of distinct transfers parameters to cache pre-calculated transfers for.	Optional	`25`	na
dynamicSearchWindow	`object`	The dynamic search window coefficients used to calculate the EDT, LAT and SW.	Optional		na
maxWinTimeMinutes	`integer`	Upper limit for the search-window calculation.	Optional	`180`	na
minTransitTimeCoefficient	`double`	The coefficient to multiply with `minTransitTime`.	Optional	`0.5`	na
minWaitTimeCoefficient	`double`	The coefficient to multiply with `minWaitTime`.	Optional	`0.5`	na
minWinTimeMinutes	`integer`	The constant minimum number of minutes for a raptor-search-window.	Optional	`40`	na
stepMinutes	`integer`	Used to set the steps the search-window is rounded to.	Optional	`10`	na
pagingSearchWindowAdjustments	`duration[]`	The provided array of durations is used to increase the search-window for the next/previous page.	Optional		na
stopTransferCost	`enum map of integer`	Use this to set a stop transfer cost for the given transfer priority	Optional		na
transmodelApi	`object`	Configuration for the Transmodel GraphQL API.	Optional		na
hideFeedId	`boolean`	Hide the FeedId in all API output, and add it to input.	Optional	`false`	na
tracingHeaderTags	`string[]`	Used to group requests when monitoring OTP.	Optional		na
updaters	`object[]`	Configuration for the updaters that import various types of data into OTP.	Optional		na
vectorTileLayers	`object[]`	Configuration of the individual layers for the Mapbox vector tiles.	Optional		2.0
vehicleRentalServiceDirectory	`object`	Configuration for the vehicle rental service directory.	Optional		2.0
language	`string`	Language code.	Optional		na
sourcesName	`string`	Json tag name for updater sources.	Optional	`"systems"`	na
updaterNetworkName	`string`	Json tag name for the network name for each source.	Optional	`"id"`	na
updaterUrlName	`string`	Json tag name for endpoint urls for each source.	Optional	`"url"`	na
url	`uri`	Endpoint for the VehicleRentalServiceDirectory	Required		na
headers	`map of string`	Http headers.	Optional		na

Parameter Details

configVersion

Since version: 2.1 ∙ Type: string ∙ Cardinality: Optional \ Path: /

Deployment version of the router-config.json.

The config-version is a parameter which each OTP deployment may set to be able to query the OTP server and verify that it uses the correct version of the config. The version should be injected into the config in the (continuous) deployment pipeline. How this is done, is up to the deployment.

The config-version has no effect on OTP, and is provided as is on the API. There is no syntax or format check on the version and it can be any string.

Be aware that OTP uses the config embedded in the loaded graph if no new config is provided.

requestLogFile

Since version: 2.0 ∙ Type: string ∙ Cardinality: Optional \ Path: /

The path of the log file for the requests.

You can log some characteristics of trip planning requests in a file for later analysis. Some transit agencies and operators find this information useful for identifying existing or unmet transportation demand. Logging will be performed only if you specify a log file name in the router config.

Each line in the resulting log file will look like this:

2016-04-19T18:23:13.486 0:0:0:0:0:0:0:1 ARRIVE 2016-04-07T00:17 WALK,BUS,CABLE_CAR,TRANSIT,BUSISH 45.559737193889966 -122.64999389648438 45.525592487765635 -122.39044189453124 6095 3 5864 3 6215 3

The fields separated by whitespace are (in order):

Date and time the request was received
IP address of the user
Arrive or depart search
The arrival or departure time
A comma-separated list of all transport modes selected
Origin latitude and longitude
Destination latitude and longitude

Finally, for each itinerary returned to the user, there is a travel duration in seconds and the number of transit vehicles used in that itinerary.

streetRoutingTimeout

Since version: na ∙ Type: duration ∙ Cardinality: Optional ∙ Default value: "PT5S" \ Path: /

The maximum time a street routing request is allowed to take before returning a timeout.

In OTP1 path searches sometimes took a long time to complete. With the new Raptor algorithm this is not the case anymore. The street part of the routing may still take a long time if searching very long distances. You can set the street routing timeout to avoid tying up server resources on pointless searches and ensure that your users receive a timely response. You can also limit the max distance to search for WALK, BIKE and CAR. When a search times out, a WARN level log entry is made with information that can help identify problematic searches and improve our routing methods. There are no timeouts for the transit part of the routing search, instead configure a reasonable dynamic search-window.

The search aborts after this duration and any paths found are returned to the client.

maxTransferDurationSeconds

Since version: 2.1 ∙ Type: integer ∙ Cardinality: Optional ∙ Default value: 300 \ Path: /flex

How long should you be allowed to walk from a flex vehicle to a transit one.

How long should a passenger be allowed to walk after getting out of a flex vehicle and transferring to a flex or transit one. This was mainly introduced to improve performance which is also the reason for not using the existing value with the same name: fixed schedule transfers are computed during the graph build but flex ones are calculated at request time and are more sensitive to slowdown. A lower value means that the routing is faster.

transit

Since version: na ∙ Type: object ∙ Cardinality: Optional \ Path: /

Configuration for transit searches with RAPTOR.

Some of these parameters for tuning transit routing are only available through configuration and cannot be set in the routing request. These parameters work together with the default routing request and the actual routing request.

iterationDepartureStepInSeconds

Since version: na ∙ Type: integer ∙ Cardinality: Optional ∙ Default value: 60 \ Path: /transit

Step for departure times between each RangeRaptor iterations.

This is a performance optimization parameter. A transit network usually uses minute resolution for the timetables, so to match that, set this variable to 60 seconds. Setting it to less than 60 will not give better result, but degrade performance. Setting it to 120 seconds will improve performance, but you might get a slack of 60 seconds somewhere in the result.

maxNumberOfTransfers

Since version: na ∙ Type: integer ∙ Cardinality: Optional ∙ Default value: 12 \ Path: /transit

This parameter is used to allocate enough memory space for Raptor.

Set it to the maximum number of transfers for any given itinerary expected to be found within the entire transit network. The memory overhead of setting this higher than the maximum number of transfers is very little so it is better to set it too high than to low.

scheduledTripBinarySearchThreshold

Since version: na ∙ Type: integer ∙ Cardinality: Optional ∙ Default value: 50 \ Path: /transit

This threshold is used to determine when to perform a binary trip schedule search.

This reduce the number of trips departure time lookups and comparisons. When testing with data from Entur and all of Norway as a Graph, the optimal value was about 50. If you calculate the departure time every time or want to fine tune the performance, changing this may improve the performance a few percents.

searchThreadPoolSize

Since version: na ∙ Type: integer ∙ Cardinality: Optional ∙ Default value: 0 \ Path: /transit

Split a travel search in smaller jobs and run them in parallel to improve performance.

Use this parameter to set the total number of executable threads available across all searches. Multiple searches can run in parallel - this parameter have no effect with regard to that. If 0, no extra threads are started and the search is done in one thread.

transferCacheMaxSize

Since version: na ∙ Type: integer ∙ Cardinality: Optional ∙ Default value: 25 \ Path: /transit

The maximum number of distinct transfers parameters to cache pre-calculated transfers for.

If too low, requests may be slower. If too high, more memory may be used then required.

dynamicSearchWindow

Since version: na ∙ Type: object ∙ Cardinality: Optional \ Path: /transit

The dynamic search window coefficients used to calculate the EDT, LAT and SW.

The dynamic search window coefficients is used to calculate EDT(earliest-departure-time), LAT(latest-arrival-time) and SW(raptor-search-window) request parameters using heuristics. The heuristics perform a Raptor search (one-iteration) to find a trip which we use to find a lower bound for the travel duration time - the "minTransitTime". The heuristic search is used for other purposes too, and is very fast.

At least the EDT or the LAT must be passed into Raptor to perform a Range Raptor search. If unknown/missing the parameters(EDT, LAT, DW) are dynamically calculated. The dynamic coefficients affect the performance and should be tuned to match the deployment.

The request parameters are calculated like this:

    DW  = round_N(C + T * minTransitTime + W * minWaitTime)
    LAT = EDT + DW + minTransitTime
    EDT = LAT - (DW + minTransitTime)

The round_N(...) method rounds the input to the closest multiplication of N.

The 3 coefficients above are:

C is parameter: minWinTimeMinutes
T is parameter: minTransitTimeCoefficient
W is parameter: minWaitTimeCoefficient
N is parameter: stepMinutes

In addition there is an upper bound on the calculation of the search window: maxWinTimeMinutes.

maxWinTimeMinutes

Since version: na ∙ Type: integer ∙ Cardinality: Optional ∙ Default value: 180 \ Path: /transit/dynamicSearchWindow

Upper limit for the search-window calculation.

Long search windows consumes a lot of resources and may take a long time. Use this parameter to tune the desired maximum search time.

This is the parameter that affect the response time most, the downside is that a search is only guaranteed to be pareto-optimal within a search-window.

The default is 3 hours. The unit is minutes.

minTransitTimeCoefficient

Since version: na ∙ Type: double ∙ Cardinality: Optional ∙ Default value: 0.5 \ Path: /transit/dynamicSearchWindow

The coefficient to multiply with minTransitTime.

Use a value between 0.0 and 3.0. Using 0.0 will eliminate the minTransitTime from the dynamic raptor-search-window calculation.

minWaitTimeCoefficient

Since version: na ∙ Type: double ∙ Cardinality: Optional ∙ Default value: 0.5 \ Path: /transit/dynamicSearchWindow

The coefficient to multiply with minWaitTime.

Use a value between 0.0 and 1.0. Using 0.0 will eliminate the minWaitTime from the dynamic raptor-search-window calculation.

minWinTimeMinutes

Since version: na ∙ Type: integer ∙ Cardinality: Optional ∙ Default value: 40 \ Path: /transit/dynamicSearchWindow

The constant minimum number of minutes for a raptor-search-window.

Use a value between 20 and 180 minutes in a normal deployment.

stepMinutes

Since version: na ∙ Type: integer ∙ Cardinality: Optional ∙ Default value: 10 \ Path: /transit/dynamicSearchWindow

Used to set the steps the search-window is rounded to.

The search window is rounded off to the closest multiplication of stepMinutes. If stepMinutes = 10 minutes, the search-window can be 10, 20, 30 ... minutes. It the computed search-window is 5 minutes and 17 seconds it will be rounded up to 10 minutes.

Use a value between 1 and 60. This should be less than the min-raptor-search-window coefficient.

pagingSearchWindowAdjustments

Since version: na ∙ Type: duration[] ∙ Cardinality: Optional \ Path: /transit

The provided array of durations is used to increase the search-window for the next/previous page.

The search window is expanded when the current page return few options. If ZERO result is returned the first duration in the list is used, if ONE result is returned then the second duration is used and so on. The duration is added to the existing search-window and inserted into the next and previous page cursor. See JavaDoc for TransitTuningParameters#pagingSearchWindowAdjustments" + for more info."

stopTransferCost

Since version: na ∙ Type: enum map of integer ∙ Cardinality: Optional \ Path: /transit \ Enum keys: discouraged | allowed | recommended | preferred

Use this to set a stop transfer cost for the given transfer priority

The cost is applied to boarding and alighting at all stops. All stops have a transfer cost priority set, the default is allowed. The stopTransferCost parameter is optional, but if listed all values must be set.

If not set the stopTransferCost is ignored. This is only available for NeTEx imported Stops.

The cost is a scalar, but is equivalent to the felt cost of riding a transit trip for 1 second.

Config key	Description	Type
`discouraged`	Use a very high cost like `72 000` to eliminate transfers at the stop if not the only option.	int
`allowed`	Allowed, but not recommended. Use something like `150`.	int
`recommended`	Use a small cost penalty like `60`.	int
`preferred`	The best place to do transfers. Should be set to `0`(zero).	int

Use values in a range from 0 to 100 000. All key/value pairs are required if the stopTransferCost is listed.

hideFeedId

Since version: na ∙ Type: boolean ∙ Cardinality: Optional ∙ Default value: false \ Path: /transmodelApi

Hide the FeedId in all API output, and add it to input.

Only turn this feature on if you have unique ids across all feeds, without the feedId prefix.

tracingHeaderTags

Since version: na ∙ Type: string[] ∙ Cardinality: Optional \ Path: /transmodelApi

Used to group requests when monitoring OTP.

headers

Since version: na ∙ Type: map of string ∙ Cardinality: Optional \ Path: /vehicleRentalServiceDirectory

Http headers.

Router Config Example

// router-config.json
{
  "configVersion" : "v2.2.0-EN000121",
  "streetRoutingTimeout" : "5s",
  "routingDefaults" : {
    "walkSpeed" : 1.3,
    "bikeSpeed" : 5,
    "carSpeed" : 40,
    "numItineraries" : 12,
    "transferPenalty" : 0,
    "walkReluctance" : 4.0,
    "bikeReluctance" : 5.0,
    "bikeWalkingReluctance" : 10.0,
    "carReluctance" : 10.0,
    "stairsReluctance" : 1.65,
    "turnReluctance" : 1.0,
    "elevatorBoardTime" : 90,
    "elevatorBoardCost" : 90,
    "elevatorHopTime" : 20,
    "elevatorHopCost" : 20,
    "bikeRentalPickupCost" : 120,
    "bikeRentalDropoffTime" : 30,
    "bikeRentalDropoffCost" : 30,
    "bikeParkTime" : 60,
    "bikeParkCost" : 120,
    "carDropoffTime" : 120,
    "waitReluctance" : 1.0,
    "walkBoardCost" : 600,
    "bikeBoardCost" : 600,
    "otherThanPreferredRoutesPenalty" : 300,
    "transferSlack" : 120,
    "boardSlackForMode" : {
      "AIRPLANE" : "35m"
    },
    "alightSlackForMode" : {
      "AIRPLANE" : "15m"
    },
    "transitReluctanceForMode" : {
      "RAIL" : 0.85
    },
    "maxAccessEgressDurationForMode" : {
      "BIKE_RENTAL" : "20m"
    },
    "itineraryFilters" : {
      "transitGeneralizedCostLimit" : "3600 + 2.5 x",
      "bikeRentalDistanceRatio" : 0.3,
      "accessibilityScore" : true
    },
    "carDecelerationSpeed" : 2.9,
    "carAccelerationSpeed" : 2.9,
    "ignoreRealtimeUpdates" : false,
    "geoidElevation" : false,
    "maxJourneyDuration" : "36h",
    "transferOptimization" : {
      "optimizeTransferWaitTime" : true,
      "minSafeWaitTimeFactor" : 5.0,
      "backTravelWaitTimeFactor" : 1.0,
      "extraStopBoardAlightCostsFactor" : 8.0
    },
    "wheelchairAccessibility" : {
      "trip" : {
        "onlyConsiderAccessible" : false,
        "unknownCost" : 600,
        "inaccessibleCost" : 3600
      },
      "stop" : {
        "onlyConsiderAccessible" : false,
        "unknownCost" : 600,
        "inaccessibleCost" : 3600
      }
    }
  },
  "flex" : {
    "maxTransferDurationSeconds" : 240
  },
  "transit" : {
    "maxNumberOfTransfers" : 12,
    "dynamicSearchWindow" : {
      "minTransitTimeCoefficient" : 0.5,
      "minWaitTimeCoefficient" : 0.5,
      "minWinTimeMinutes" : 60,
      "maxWinTimeMinutes" : 300
    },
    "stopTransferCost" : {
      "DISCOURAGED" : 1500,
      "ALLOWED" : 75,
      "RECOMMENDED" : 30,
      "PREFERRED" : 0
    }
  },
  "vehicleRentalServiceDirectory" : {
    "url" : "https://entur.no/bikeRentalServiceDirectory",
    "sourcesName" : "systems",
    "updaterUrlName" : "url",
    "updaterNetworkName" : "id",
    "headers" : {
      "ET-Client-Name" : "MY_ORG_CLIENT_NAME"
    }
  },
  "transmodelApi" : {
    "hideFeedId" : true
  },
  "vectorTileLayers" : [ {
    "name" : "stops",
    "type" : "Stop",
    "mapper" : "Digitransit",
    "maxZoom" : 20,
    "minZoom" : 14,
    "cacheMaxSeconds" : 600
  }, {
    "name" : "stations",
    "type" : "Station",
    "mapper" : "Digitransit",
    "maxZoom" : 20,
    "minZoom" : 12,
    "cacheMaxSeconds" : 600
  }, {
    "name" : "rentalPlaces",
    "type" : "VehicleRental",
    "mapper" : "Digitransit",
    "maxZoom" : 20,
    "minZoom" : 14,
    "cacheMaxSeconds" : 60,
    "expansionFactor" : 0.25
  }, {
    "name" : "rentalVehicle",
    "type" : "VehicleRentalVehicle",
    "mapper" : "Digitransit",
    "maxZoom" : 20,
    "minZoom" : 14,
    "cacheMaxSeconds" : 60
  }, {
    "name" : "rentalStation",
    "type" : "VehicleRentalStation",
    "mapper" : "Digitransit",
    "maxZoom" : 20,
    "minZoom" : 14,
    "cacheMaxSeconds" : 600
  }, {
    "name" : "vehicleParking",
    "type" : "VehicleParking",
    "mapper" : "Digitransit",
    "maxZoom" : 20,
    "minZoom" : 14,
    "cacheMaxSeconds" : 60,
    "expansionFactor" : 0.25
  } ],
  "updaters" : [ {
    "type" : "real-time-alerts",
    "frequencySec" : 30,
    "url" : "http://developer.trimet.org/ws/V1/FeedSpecAlerts/appID/0123456789ABCDEF",
    "feedId" : "TriMet"
  }, {
    "type" : "vehicle-rental",
    "network" : "socialbicycles_coast",
    "sourceType" : "gbfs",
    "language" : "en",
    "frequencySec" : 60,
    "allowKeepingRentedBicycleAtDestination" : true,
    "url" : "http://coast.socialbicycles.com/opendata/gbfs.json",
    "headers" : {
      "Auth" : "<any-token>",
      "<key>" : "<value>"
    }
  }, {
    "type" : "vehicle-parking",
    "sourceType" : "hsl-park"
  }, {
    "type" : "stop-time-updater",
    "frequencySec" : 60,
    "backwardsDelayPropagationType" : "REQUIRED_NO_DATA",
    "url" : "http://developer.trimet.org/ws/V1/TripUpdate/appID/0123456789ABCDEF",
    "feedId" : "TriMet"
  }, {
    "type" : "vehicle-positions",
    "url" : "https://s3.amazonaws.com/kcm-alerts-realtime-prod/vehiclepositions.pb",
    "feedId" : "1",
    "frequencySec" : 60
  }, {
    "type" : "websocket-gtfs-rt-updater"
  }, {
    "type" : "siri-azure-sx-updater",
    "topic" : "some_topic",
    "servicebus-url" : "service_bus_url",
    "feedId" : "feed_id",
    "customMidnight" : 4,
    "history" : {
      "url" : "endpoint_url",
      "fromDateTime" : "-P1D",
      "toDateTime" : "P1D",
      "timeout" : 300000
    }
  } ]
}