The ltaer
package (pronounced ‘later’) is an API client R package that enables users to call the various transportation-related APIs offered by the Land Transport Authority of Singapore. Currently, most of these APIs are geared towards mobile app developers who provide their end-users with real-time information about bus arrivals or traffic conditions. If used correctly, the data from these APIs can also serve as a rich dataset for those keen on analysing transportation trends in Singapore.
My main motivation behind creating this package is to make the data more accessible to a wider audience. While it is not difficult to call the API directly using the httr
package on R, it requires a greater understanding of R and APIs that a beginner in R is unlikely to have. An important part of open data is accessibility, and I hope that this package will constitute a small step towards that goal for Singapore.
You will find two vignettes (detailed explanations for how to use this package) on this website: one for the core functions, and another for visualisation possibilities. These can be found by clicking on ‘Articles’ above and choosing the vignette you want to read.
If you want to dive directly into the documentation for each function within the package, click on ‘Reference’ instead which will lead you to a page with links to each function’s documentation.
For any bugs or issues, please raise an issue on Github here.