How to Add a Transit Route Planner to Your Agency Website

If you manage a website for a transit agency, tourism bureau, university, or municipal government, adding interactive route planning can dramatically improve your visitors’ experience. Instead of directing people to Google Maps, you can offer route planning directly on your site — keeping visitors engaged and providing a seamless experience.

In this guide, we’ll walk through adding Transit Route Planner to a WordPress website. The entire process takes about 15 minutes and requires no coding.

What Is Transit Route Planner?

Transit Route Planner is a WordPress plugin that embeds an interactive route planning interface powered by Google Maps. Visitors can search for routes between any two locations using transit, driving, walking, or cycling modes. The plugin features smart autocomplete for location entry, step-by-step directions with departure times and transfer points, and a responsive design that works on both desktop and mobile devices.

A key differentiator is the plugin’s security architecture. All Google Maps API requests are routed through your WordPress server, so your API key is never exposed to visitors’ browsers. This server-side proxy approach prevents unauthorized usage and protects you from unexpected billing — a critical consideration for government agencies managing public funds.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:

• A WordPress website running version 6.0 or higher with PHP 8.0+
• Administrator access to your WordPress dashboard
• A Google Cloud account (free to create at console.cloud.google.com)
• A Google Maps API key with billing enabled (Google provides a $200 monthly free credit)

Step 1: Get Your Google Maps API Key

The plugin requires a Google Maps API key to power its mapping and routing features. Here’s how to set one up:

1. Go to the Google Cloud Console and sign in with your Google account.
2. Click Create Project and name it something descriptive (e.g., “Agency Route Planner”).
3. Navigate to APIs & Services > Library and enable these four APIs: Maps JavaScript API, Places API (New), Directions API, and Geocoding API.
4. Go to APIs & Services > Credentials, click Create Credentials > API Key.
5. Click on your new key and add restrictions: set Application restriction to “HTTP referrers” and add your website domain (e.g., youragency.org/*). Under API restriction, restrict to the four APIs you enabled.

Google requires a billing account, but the $200 monthly free credit covers approximately 28,500 route calculations per month. For most transit agency websites, this means zero cost beyond the free credit.

Step 2: Install the Plugin

Download Transit Route Planner from vandromeda.com/transit-route-planner. In your WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin, select the ZIP file, and click Install Now. Once installed, click Activate.

Step 3: Configure the Plugin

After activation, go to Settings > Transit Route Planner. Enter your Google Maps API key in the API Key field. You’ll be prompted to set an admin password — this protects your API key from unauthorized changes by other administrators.

Next, configure your service area. This is especially important for transit agencies: it restricts autocomplete suggestions to your coverage zone so riders only see locations they can actually reach on your system. You can set your coverage area three ways: drag the rectangle on the interactive map, type a description like “Lewis County, Washington” and let the AI coordinate lookup fill in the boundaries, or enter exact coordinates manually.

Step 4: Add the Route Planner to a Page

Edit any page where you want the route planner to appear. Add the shortcode:

    

        
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That’s it. When you publish the page, visitors will see a full route planning interface with location inputs, a travel mode selector (Transit, Driving, Walking, Cycling), an interactive map, and step-by-step directions. The plugin’s JavaScript and CSS load only on pages with this shortcode, so your site’s performance is unaffected elsewhere.

Step 5: Test and Customize

Visit the page as a regular visitor and try searching for a route. Enter a starting point and destination within your service area and click Find Routes. Verify that autocomplete suggestions appear correctly, routes display with accurate departure times, and the map renders properly on both desktop and mobile.

You can toggle the coverage area visualization in settings to show riders the boundaries of your transit system on the map. The built-in dark mode toggle lets visitors switch to a dark map theme for easier viewing in low-light conditions.

Funding for Transit Agencies

If you’re a rural transit agency, Transit Route Planner qualifies as an eligible technology expense under FTA Section 5311 formula grants. The annual subscription cost (starting at $49/year for Pro) can be covered by federal funds, making professional route planning accessible regardless of your budget. Learn more about pricing and Pro features.

Next Steps

Once your route planner is live, consider these next steps:

• Link from your homepage: Add a prominent “Plan Your Trip” button that links to the route planner page.
• Upgrade to Pro: Remove the 10 routes/day limit and unlock branding removal for a more polished experience.
• Promote it: Announce the new feature on your social media channels and in rider communications.
• Read the docs: Visit our complete documentation for advanced configuration options.

Have questions? Contact us at info@vandromeda.com or visit vandromeda.com/transit-route-planner.