Google Maps Traffic Alerts API logo

Google Maps Traffic Alerts API

Get Real-Time Traffic Alerts from Google Maps (Road Closures, Construction, Accidents, and More), Including Type and Precise Coordinates for Any Geographic Area Worldwide.

  • Free tier, no credit card
  • Structured JSON
  • Real-time results

Also available on RapidAPI

Traffic Alerts Response
{
  "count": 16,
  "alerts": [
    {
      "type": "accident",
      "latitude": 40.736852,
      "longitude": -74.115829
    },
    {
      "type": "construction",
      "latitude": 40.856409,
      "longitude": -74.041672
    },
    …
  ]
}

Data samples

What the Google Maps Traffic Alerts API returns

Real responses for each kind of object the API provides. Pick an object type to inspect its fields.

Traffic Alerts Response · JSON
{
  "count": 16,
  "alerts": [
    {
      "type": "accident",
      "latitude": 40.736852,
      "longitude": -74.115829
    },
    {
      "type": "construction",
      "latitude": 40.856409,
      "longitude": -74.041672
    },
    {
      "type": "road_closed",
      "latitude": 40.800296,
      "longitude": -74.076004
    },
    {
      "type": "incident",
      "latitude": 40.611346,
      "longitude": -74.035835
    },
    {
      "type": "accident",
      "latitude": 40.712776,
      "longitude": -74.005974
    },
    {
      "type": "construction",
      "latitude": 40.758896,
      "longitude": -73.98513
    },
    {
      "type": "incident",
      "latitude": 40.689247,
      "longitude": -74.044502
    },
    {
      "type": "road_closed",
      "latitude": 40.741895,
      "longitude": -73.989308
    },
    {
      "type": "accident",
      "latitude": 40.650002,
      "longitude": -73.949997
    },
    {
      "type": "construction",
      "latitude": 40.678178,
      "longitude": -73.94416
    },
    {
      "type": "incident",
      "latitude": 40.729516,
      "longitude": -73.9874
    },
    {
      "type": "accident",
      "latitude": 40.820001,
      "longitude": -73.929901
    },
    {
      "type": "road_closed",
      "latitude": 40.706085,
      "longitude": -74.008827
    },
    {
      "type": "construction",
      "latitude": 40.744678,
      "longitude": -74.032364
    },
    {
      "type": "incident",
      "latitude": 40.63335,
      "longitude": -74.13858
    },
    {
      "type": "accident",
      "latitude": 40.767101,
      "longitude": -73.982601
    }
  ]
}

Key features and capabilities

What the Google Maps Traffic Alerts API supports out of the box.

  • Get all live traffic incidents in any geographic area worldwide, sourced from Google Maps, with a single request.
  • Every incident is returned with its type - accident, construction, road closure, or other incident - so you can filter and prioritize on your side.
  • Each incident carries precise latitude and longitude coordinates, ready to plot directly onto a map or feed into routing logic.
  • Target any area with a simple bounding box (bottom-left and top-right coordinates) plus an optional zoom level for incident granularity.
  • Live traffic conditions on every call - the response reflects the current state of the road, not a stale snapshot.

Docs and code

Integrate in minutes, in any language

Full reference in the API docs, and a live playground on the developer portal. Code samples for cURL, Python, Node.js, PHP, Go, Java, C# and more.

  • cURL
  • Python
  • JavaScript
  • Node.js
  • PHP
  • Java
  • C#
  • C++
  • Ruby
Open the playground to generate a request for your language and see a live response.

Why this API

Why teams choose the OpenWeb Ninja Google Maps Traffic Alerts API

We keep it fast and reliable every day, and we keep adding what customers ask for.

Comprehensive

Get every reported traffic incident in the area in a single call - accidents, construction, road closures, and other slowdowns - each with its type and precise coordinates.

Reliable

Leverage our advanced data collection technology and infrastructure to consistently and reliably access the traffic data you need, with consistent uptime.

Lightning Fast

Traffic incident data is returned in a few seconds or less for most queries, keeping your monitoring systems and end-user applications responsive.

Scalable

Monitor traffic across thousands of geographic areas simultaneously. Custom volume and rate limits available on request.

Real-Time Traffic Conditions

Every API call reflects the current state of the road as reported on Google Maps - not a snapshot from minutes or hours ago.

Free Tier

Start with 50 free requests to test your integration and explore the data. No credit card required.

Pricing

Simple plans, free to start

Every plan uses the same endpoints and data. Need a custom volume, a higher rate limit, a hard cap or an SLA? Talk to us.

Free

$0/mo
50
Requests / month
Overage
Hard limit
Rate limit
1000 req/hour

Pro

$25/mo
5,000
Requests / month
Overage
$0.005 / request
Rate limit
5 req/sec
Most popular

Ultra

$75/mo
25,000
Requests / month
Overage
$0.003 / request
Rate limit
10 req/sec

Mega

$150/mo
75,000
Requests / month
Overage
$0.002 / request
Rate limit
15 req/sec

Pay As You Go

$0.007
per request
Monthly fee
None
Rate limit
5 req/sec

Prices in USD. Subscribe on the OpenWeb Ninja portal, or on RapidAPI. Cancel anytime.

FAQ

Common questions

Anything else? Ask our team, we usually reply within hours.

What is the Google Maps Traffic Alerts API?

The Google Maps Traffic Alerts API returns live traffic incidents for any geographic area, sourced from Google Maps. For a given map area, you get every reported incident - accidents, construction zones, road closures, and other slowdowns - each with its incident type and precise latitude/longitude coordinates, so you can plot and monitor what is happening on the road right now.

How do I subscribe to the Google Maps Traffic Alerts API?

Click "Try for Free" above or subscribe on the developer portal. The free tier includes 50 requests with no credit card required.

What types of traffic incidents does the API return?

Each incident is labelled with a type: accident, construction, road closure, or a general incident covering other slowdowns and hazards. Every incident also comes with precise coordinates, so you know exactly where on the map it is located.

How do I query traffic alerts for a specific area?

You define the area with a bounding box - a bottom-left and a top-right latitude/longitude pair - plus an optional zoom level that controls how granular the returned incidents are. The API returns all traffic incidents inside that box, along with a count, so you can request exactly the area you care about.

How fresh is the traffic data?

Every call reflects the current state of the road as reported on Google Maps. The data is live traffic conditions, not a snapshot from minutes or hours ago, which makes it suitable for real-time monitoring, alerting, and routing decisions.

Can I use the API to cover a large region?

Yes. Query each area with its own bounding box and merge the results on your side to build coverage of a city, a metro area, or a whole region. Adjust the zoom level per area to balance incident granularity against the size of the box you are querying.

What are common use cases for this API?

Traffic monitoring dashboards, fleet and logistics route optimization, smart city and urban mobility platforms, incident detection and alerting systems, navigation and ETA features, and any application where knowing the traffic incidents in the area right now changes the outcome.

How do I subscribe to and start using the Google Maps Traffic Alerts API?

Click the "Try for Free" button at the top of this page to sign up on the OpenWeb Ninja developer portal, subscribe to a plan, and start calling the API by passing your key in the x-api-key header. No credit card is required for the free tier.

Start using the Google Maps Traffic Alerts API today

Free tier included, no credit card required. Your first response is a minute away.