Connect Japan Bus Timetables (GTFS) to Copilot Studio
Query Japan Bus Timetables (GTFS) directly from Copilot Studio. Arlet links the two through one MCP connection and takes care of API keys.
This server connects your AI client to the GTFS data repository (gtfs-data.jp), operated by the Association for Promotion of Infrastructure Geospatial Information Distribution (AIGID). The repository aggregates GTFS-JP feeds — the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's standard bus data format — from roughly 400 operators in 40 of Japan's 47 prefectures.
Coverage is mostly community and regional bus services outside the largest cities: major metropolitan operators (Toei, Keio, Odakyu, Hankyu, Kintetsu, Nishitetsu and the like) and almost all railways are not in this repository. Rail and Tokyo-area services are published through ODPT instead.
Key features:
- Search feeds by operator name, feed name or prefecture, with each feed's Creative Commons licence and validity period.
- Search stops inside a feed by name substring, returning stop_id and coordinates.
- List the routes a feed contains.
- Get departures from a stop for a given service date (default: today in Japan). The feed's calendar and calendar exceptions are resolved so only trips that actually run on that date are returned, sorted by time with route name and headsign.
The repository's API serves feed metadata; the actual timetable is a GTFS ZIP per feed. This server fetches the ZIP on demand with an in-process cache and a size cap, so very large feeds may be rejected. Data is static timetables (no realtime positions or delays).
How to connect Japan Bus Timetables (GTFS) to Copilot Studio
- 1
In the Arlet dashboard, open Data tools, find Japan Bus Timetables (GTFS) and switch it on. No API key setup is needed.
- 2
Sign in to Copilot Studio with your work account, create a new agent (or open an existing one), and in the Build tab choose Tools → + → Add → Model Context Protocol (MCP) in the right panel.
- 3
In the Add MCP server form, enter "Arlet" as the Server name, https://mcp.arlet.dev/mcp/ as the Server URL, choose OAuth 2.0 for Authentication and "Dynamic (detected)" for Configuration type, then click Add. No Client ID / Secret is needed.
- 4
On the Select a connection screen, choose Create new connection → Create, then sign in with Google on the Arlet authorization screen and click Allow. Click Add to attach the tool to the agent, then Publish to use it from Microsoft 365 Copilot.
Requires a Microsoft work account and a Copilot Studio license (or trial). MCP is available only for agents using generative orchestration and not in Copilot Studio in Teams.