get_bus_departures
AI agents call get_bus_departures to retrieve information from UK Bus Departures MCP Server without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
This tool retrieves and queries public bus schedule data from bustimes.org with no side effects. It performs a read-only operation returning structured information about bus departures. The absence of any write, execute, delete, or financial capabilities, combined with the purely informational nature of bus timetable data, classifies this as a Read risk category with low severity.
From the tool's definition Tool name 'get_bus_departures' and server description indicating it 'get[s] real-time UK bus departure information' and 'provides structured data including service numbers, destinations, scheduled and expected departure times'.
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
get_bus_departures. It is categorised as a Read tool in the UK Bus Departures MCP Server MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the UK Bus Departures MCP Server MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for get_bus_departures: allow, deny, rate-limit, or require approval. Point your MCP client at the PolicyLayer proxy URL and the rule is enforced on every call, before it reaches UK Bus Departures MCP Server. Nothing to install.
get_bus_departures is a Read tool with low risk. Read-only tools are generally safe to allow by default.
Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the get_bus_departures rule in your PolicyLayer policy. For example, setting max: 10 and window: 60 limits the tool to 10 calls per minute. Rate limits are tracked per agent session and reset automatically.
Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for get_bus_departures. The AI agent will receive a policy violation error and cannot call the tool. You can also include a reason field to explain why the tool is blocked.
get_bus_departures is provided by the UK Bus Departures MCP Server MCP server (vandamd/bustimes-mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
Every MCP server has a record like this.
Type a name, get the same breakdown: verified identity, auth posture, risk grade, capabilities, recommended policy.
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