Sydney Traffic Skill

Check live traffic incidents, roadworks, and hazards in Sydney. Works without API keys — best with a free TfNSW key for real-time incident data.

Install

npx skills add agairola/life-skills --skill sydney-traffic

When to Use

Trigger this skill when the user:

• Asks about traffic jams, congestion, or road conditions
• Wants to know about road closures or accidents
• Asks about roadworks or construction on roads
• Mentions a specific Sydney road or highway (M5, M2, Pacific Highway, etc.)
• Says "how's the traffic" or "any traffic on the way to..."
• Asks about fires or floods affecting roads
• Wants to check traffic before a commute or trip

Prerequisites

• uv — brew install uv (macOS) or pip install uv (all platforms)
• API keys — not needed for basic links. Optional: TfNSW API key in ~/.config/sydney-traffic/credentials.json for real-time data.
• Dependencies — declared inline (PEP 723), installed automatically by uv run.

Setup Status

!command -v uv > /dev/null 2>&1 && echo "uv: installed" || echo "uv: NOT INSTALLED" !test -f ~/.config/sydney-traffic/credentials.json && python3 -c "import json; d=json.load(open('$HOME/.config/sydney-commute/credentials.json')); print('TfNSW API: configured' if d.get('tfnsw_api_key') else 'TfNSW API: not configured')" 2>/dev/null || echo "TfNSW API: not configured (zero-config mode — Live Traffic NSW/Google Maps links only)"

Location Flow

Follow the standard location resolution steps in ../../references/location-flow.md before running the script. Skill-specific additions:

• If the user mentioned a specific road, use --road with a location.

Command Template

uv run "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/traffic.py" [LOCATION_FLAGS] [OPTIONS]

Options

Flag	Values	Default	Purpose
--location	suburb/city name	—	Find incidents near a place name
--lat	latitude (float)	—	Latitude for nearby search
--lng	longitude (float)	—	Longitude for nearby search
--radius	km (integer)	10	Search radius for nearby mode
--type	incident roadwork fire flood all	all	Hazard type filter
--road	road name (string)	—	Filter by road name (fuzzy match)
--no-cache	(flag)	off	Force fresh data

Only parse stdout (JSON). Stderr contains diagnostics only.

Common Commands

# Nearby incidents (auto-detect location)
uv run "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/traffic.py"

# Incidents near a suburb
uv run "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/traffic.py" --location "Parramatta NSW"

# User shared location via chat platform
uv run "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/traffic.py" --lat -33.87 --lng 151.21

# Only roadworks
uv run "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/traffic.py" --location "Sydney CBD" --type roadwork

# Filter by road name
uv run "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/traffic.py" --location "Arncliffe" --road "M5"

# Wider search radius
uv run "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/traffic.py" --location "Penrith" --radius 20

# Zero-config (no API key) — returns Live Traffic NSW / Google Maps links
uv run "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/traffic.py" --location "Sydney"

Presenting Results

Follow the formatting rules in ../../references/platform-formatting.md. Key skill-specific formatting below.

With API Key: Hazard List

For platforms with hyperlinks (Telegram, Discord, terminal):

Traffic near Parramatta (within 10 km):

1. Crash on M4 Western Motorway — 2.3 km away
   Allow extra travel time. Use alternative route.
   [Live Traffic NSW](https://www.livetraffic.com/)

2. Roadwork on Church St — 3.1 km away
   Expect delays. Reduced speed limit in place.
   [Live Traffic NSW](https://www.livetraffic.com/)

3. Flooding on James Ruse Dr — 5.7 km away
   Road closed. Avoid the area.
   [Live Traffic NSW](https://www.livetraffic.com/)

3 incidents found within 10 km

For platforms without hyperlinks (WhatsApp, Signal, SMS):

Traffic near Parramatta (within 10 km):

1. Crash on M4 Western Motorway — 2.3 km away
   Allow extra travel time. Use alternative route.
   Live Traffic NSW: https://www.livetraffic.com/

2. Roadwork on Church St — 3.1 km away
   Expect delays. Reduced speed limit in place.

3. Flooding on James Ruse Dr — 5.7 km away
   Road closed. Avoid the area.

3 incidents found within 10 km

Zero-Config Mode

When no API key is configured, show the fallback URLs as clickable links.

I don't have a TfNSW API key configured, so I can't get real-time incident data. Here are links to check traffic:

Live Traffic NSW: [Live Traffic](https://www.livetraffic.com/)
Google Maps (traffic layer): [View Traffic](google_maps_traffic_url)

For real-time traffic incidents and hazard data, you can set up a free TfNSW API key in about 2 minutes. Want me to walk you through it?

Formatting Rules

• Show hazards sorted by distance (nearest first)
• Include headline, road names, advice, and distance
• For road-filtered results, mention which road was filtered
• No results: "No traffic incidents found within [radius] km. Roads look clear!"
• Google Maps traffic link always available (shows traffic layer)
• Live Traffic NSW link for detailed info

Handling Edge Cases

• No API key: Return zero-config fallback with Live Traffic NSW / Google Maps URLs. Always works.
• Invalid API key (401): Show error with registration URL. "Your TfNSW API key appears to be invalid. You can get a new one at opendata.transport.nsw.gov.au"
• No results (empty hazards): "No traffic incidents found within [radius] km of [location]. Roads look clear! You can also check Live Traffic NSW for the latest updates."
• Low confidence location (confidence: "low"): Do not silently show results. Tell the user: "I got an approximate location of [city] but it may not be exact. What suburb or postcode are you near?" Rerun with their answer.
• API errors: "Couldn't get traffic data right now. The TfNSW API may be temporarily unavailable — try again in a few minutes. In the meantime, check Live Traffic NSW: https://www.livetraffic.com/"

Upgrade Nudge

In zero-config mode (no API key), always append an upgrade suggestion. This is shown automatically since the API key is required for real-time incident data.

When to show: Every time the JSON response has "api_key_configured": false.

What to say (adapt to tone, don't copy verbatim):

For platforms with hyperlinks:

Tip: For real-time traffic incidents and hazard alerts, you can register for a free TfNSW API key (~2 minutes):

1. Sign up at [opendata.transport.nsw.gov.au](https://opendata.transport.nsw.gov.au) — name + email
2. Create an application (any name, e.g. "Traffic Helper")
3. Subscribe to "Traffic" APIs (free)
4. Copy your API key and share it with me — I'll save it securely.

For platforms without hyperlinks:

Tip: For real-time traffic data, register for a free TfNSW API key (~2 minutes):

1. Sign up at opendata.transport.nsw.gov.au
2. Create an application (any name works)
3. Subscribe to "Traffic" APIs (free tier)
4. Copy your API key and share it with me.

When the user provides a key, save it securely (same file as sydney-commute):

mkdir -p ~/.config/sydney-commute
cat > ~/.config/sydney-traffic/credentials.json << 'CREDS'
{
  "tfnsw_api_key": "<key>"
}
CREDS
chmod 600 ~/.config/sydney-traffic/credentials.json

Then confirm: "Key saved securely. Future traffic queries will use real-time TfNSW data."

Do NOT show the nudge if:

• TfNSW API is already configured (check setup status above)
• You've already shown the nudge in this conversation

Reference

Hazard Types

Type	Description
incident	Crashes, breakdowns, lane closures
roadwork	Planned and active roadworks
fire	Bushfires and grass fires affecting roads
flood	Flooding and water over roads

Data Source

All data comes from the NSW Government Transport for NSW Live Traffic API. Requires a free TfNSW API key for real-time data. Without a key, fallback links to Live Traffic NSW and Google Maps traffic layer are provided. No user data is sent to any service beyond coordinates for geocoding.

Script Location Fallback (internal — for reference only)

When the script runs, it resolves location internally in this order:

1. Explicit args — --lat/--lng or --location (Nominatim geocoding)
2. Browser consent — localhost page requesting navigator.geolocation (WiFi, ~15-50ft accuracy, cached 24hrs)
3. IP geolocation — ip-api.com (city-level only, often inaccurate for non-city users)

The agent should almost never reach step 3. The Location Flow above ensures the user provides location info before the script runs.