Absolutely feasible! You can definitely retrieve the available subway lines for nearby stations using the Google Maps Places API—here's a breakdown of how to make it happen:

Step 1: Locate nearby subway stations with Nearby Search #

Start by using the Nearby Search API to find subway stops near your target location. Set the type parameter to subway_station to filter results exclusively for subway stations. This will return core details like each station's place_id, name, and geographic coordinates (latitude/longitude).

Step 2: Pull line details with Place Details API #

Once you have a station's unique place_id, call the Place Details API and include the transit field in your requested fields (alongside any other data you need, like geometry or name). The response will contain a transit object, and inside it, a lines array that lists all subway lines serving that station.

Each entry in the lines array typically includes useful details like:

• name: The full name of the line (e.g., "Red Line")
• short_name: An abbreviated version (e.g., "1")
• color: The official color associated with the line (great for UI styling)
• vehicle: Info about the transit type (e.g., "subway")

Example snippet of a Place Details response (transit section):

"transit": {
  "lines": [
    {
      "name": "Downtown Line",
      "short_name": "DTL",
      "color": "#00783E",
      "vehicle": {
        "type": "subway",
        "name": "Metro"
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "East-West Line",
      "short_name": "EWL",
      "color": "#0098D4",
      "vehicle": {
        "type": "subway",
        "name": "Metro"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Quick Notes to Keep in Mind #

• Data Coverage: Line information availability depends on Google's mapping data for your region. Most major cities will have complete line details, but smaller or less densely populated areas might have limited data.
• API Setup: Make sure your API key has the Places API enabled, and your billing account is configured (these API calls fall under Google's paid pricing model).
• Efficient Requests: Always specify only the fields you need via the fields parameter—this reduces response size and helps keep costs down. For your use case, fields=geometry,name,transit will get you exactly the data you're looking for.

内容的提问来源于stack exchange，提问作者Sacha