Real-time public transport delay tracking with ScrapeGraphAI, Teams & Dropbox

Public Transport Schedule & Delay Tracker with Microsoft Teams and Dropbox

⚠️ COMMUNITY TEMPLATE DISCLAIMER: This is a community-contributed template that uses ScrapeGraphAI (a community node). Please ensure you have the ScrapeGraphAI community node installed in your n8n instance before using this template.

This workflow automatically scrapes public transport websites or apps for real-time schedules and service alerts, then pushes concise delay notifications to Microsoft Teams while archiving full-detail JSON snapshots in Dropbox. Ideal for commuters and travel coordinators, it keeps riders informed and maintains a historical log of disruptions.

Pre-conditions/Requirements

Prerequisites

• n8n instance (self-hosted or n8n.cloud)
• ScrapeGraphAI community node installed
• Microsoft Teams incoming webhook configured
• Dropbox account with an app token created
• Public transit data source (website or API) that is legally scrapable or offers open data

Required Credentials

• ScrapeGraphAI API Key – enables web scraping
• Microsoft Teams Webhook URL – posts messages into a channel
• Dropbox Access Token – saves JSON files to Dropbox

Specific Setup Requirements

How it works

This workflow automatically scrapes public transport websites or apps for real-time schedules and service alerts, then pushes concise delay notifications to Microsoft Teams while archiving full-detail JSON snapshots in Dropbox. Ideal for commuters and travel coordinators, it keeps riders informed and maintains a historical log of disruptions.

Key Steps:

• Webhook Trigger: Starts the workflow (can be replaced with Cron for polling).
• Set Node: Stores target route IDs, URLs, or API endpoints.
• SplitInBatches: Processes multiple routes one after another to avoid rate limits.
• ScrapeGraphAI: Scrapes each route page/API and returns structured schedule & alert data.
• Code Node (Normalize): Cleans & normalizes scraped fields (e.g., converts times to ISO).
• If Node (Delay Detected?): Compares live data vs. expected timetable to detect delays.
• Merge Node: Combines route metadata with delay information.
• Microsoft Teams Node: Sends alert message and rich card to the selected Teams channel.
• Dropbox Node: Saves the full JSON snapshot to a dated folder for historical reference.
• StickyNote: Documents the mapping between scraped fields and final JSON structure.

Set up steps

Setup Time: 15-25 minutes

1. Clone or Import the JSON workflow into your n8n instance.
2. Install ScrapeGraphAI community node if you haven’t already (Settings → Community Nodes).
3. Open the Set node and enter your target routes or API endpoints (array of URLs/IDs).
4. Configure ScrapeGraphAI:
   • Add your API key in the node’s credentials section.
   • Define CSS selectors or API fields inside the node parameters.
5. Add Microsoft Teams credentials:
   • Paste your channel’s incoming webhook URL into the Microsoft Teams node.
   • Customize the message template (e.g., include route name, delay minutes, reason).
6. Add Dropbox credentials:
   • Provide the access token and designate a folder path (e.g., /TransitLogs/).
7. Customize the If node logic to match your delay threshold (e.g., ≥5 min).
8. Activate the workflow and trigger via the webhook URL, or add a Cron node (every 5 min).

Node Descriptions

Core Workflow Nodes:

• Webhook – External trigger for on-demand checks or recurring scheduler.
• Set – Defines static or dynamic variables such as route list and thresholds.
• SplitInBatches – Iterates through each route to control request volume.
• ScrapeGraphAI – Extracts live schedule and alert data from transit websites/APIs.
• Code (Normalize) – Formats scraped data, merges dates, and calculates delay minutes.
• If (Delay Detected?) – Branches the flow based on presence of delays.
• Merge – Re-assembles metadata with computed delay results.
• Microsoft Teams – Sends formatted notifications to Teams channels.
• Dropbox – Archives complete JSON payloads for auditing and analytics.
• StickyNote – Provides inline documentation for maintainers.

Data Flow:

1. Webhook → Set → SplitInBatches → ScrapeGraphAI → Code (Normalize) → If (Delay Detected?)
   ├─ true → Merge → Microsoft Teams → Dropbox
   └─ false → Dropbox

Customization Examples

Change to Slack instead of Teams

// Replace Microsoft Teams node with Slack node
{
  "text": `🚊 *${$json.route}* is delayed by *${$json.delay}* minutes.`,
  "channel": "#commuter-updates"
}

Filter only major delays (>10 min)

// In If node, use:
return $json.delay >= 10;

Data Output Format

The workflow outputs structured JSON data:

{
  "route": "Line 42",
  "expected_departure": "2024-04-22T14:05:00Z",
  "actual_departure": "2024-04-22T14:17:00Z",
  "delay": 12,
  "status": "delayed",
  "reason": "Signal failure at Main Station",
  "scraped_at": "2024-04-22T13:58:22Z",
  "source_url": "https://mycitytransit.com/line/42"
}

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. ScrapeGraphAI returns empty data – Verify CSS selectors/API fields match the current website markup; update selectors after site redesigns.
2. Teams messages not arriving – Ensure the Teams webhook URL is correct and the incoming webhook is still enabled.
3. Dropbox writes fail – Check folder path, token scopes (files.content.write), and available storage quota.

Performance Tips

• Limit SplitInBatches to 5-10 routes per run to avoid IP blocking.
• Cache unchanged schedules locally and fetch only alert pages for faster runs.

Pro Tips:

• Use environment variables for API keys & webhook URLs to keep credentials secure.
• Attach a Cron node set to off-peak hours (e.g., 4 AM) for daily full-schedule backups.
• Add a Grafana dashboard that reads the Dropbox archive for long-term delay analytics.