Operating Carriers

Within the API, we split our carriers into two separate distinct categories. These are Marketing Carriers & Operating Carriers.

• Marketing carrier: The carrier who defines the Fare Rules and is liable for the success of a booked trip and for customer service.
• Operating carrier: The carrier who operates the transportation, i.e., takes care of the actual transportation of customers. Buses are branded under OC logo.

Identifying Carrier Type

Perform a search using the /connections/find endpoint. The data about the operating carriers is available in the body of the response, under the included entity. The information appears under the marketing_carrier and operating_carrier sections.

"included": [
    {
        "attributes": {
            "arrival_time": "2024-09-11T22:30",
            "departure_time": "2024-09-11T21:11",
            "index": 0,
            "line": "9063",
            "line_prefix": "EUROSTAR"
        },
        "id": "STES-FRPARPGN-GBLONLIB-2024-09-11T21:11-2024-09-11T22:30-0",
        "relationships": {
            "amenities": {
                "data": [
                    {
                        "id": "EURS-AAFR",
                        "type": "amenities"
                    }
                ]
            },
            "arrival_station": {
                "data": {
                    "id": "GBLONLIB",
                    "type": "stations"
                }
            },
            "departure_station": {
                "data": {
                    "id": "FRPARPGN",
                    "type": "stations"
                }
            },
            "fares": {
                "data": []
            },
            "marketing_carrier": {
                "data": {
                    "id": "STES",
                    "type": "marketing_carriers"
                }
            },
            "operating_carrier": {
                "data": {
                    "id": "EURS",
                    "type": "operating_carriers"
                }
            },
            "vehicle": {
                "data": {
                    "id": "TRAIN-STES-FRPARPGN-GBLONLIB-2024-09-11T21:11-2024-09-11T22:30-0",
                    "type": "vehicles"
                }
            }
        }

In most cases, the marketing carrier is also the operating carrier. However, with some integrations we receive the content of several carriers through one API integration.

In the case of SNCF for example, the operating carrier can be Eurostar. When this happens, the information must be disclosed to users in the retailer UI. 

Operating Carriers Details

Logo

When an operating carrier doesn't match the marketing carrier, we recommend that you display the logo of the operating carrier. This is not mandatory, except for SNCF/Eurostar and Trenitalia.

Use the /marketing_carriers/{marketing_carrier_id} endpoint to retrieve the logo under the white_label_logo field. To access the carrier and its logo you need the operating carrier to be whitelisted for your account too. Please contact your Partnership Manager to whitelist the operating carriers you need.

Note that the operating carriers are like ‘shell carriers’ and won't return any trip content.

Another option is to download the full list of logos from this folder prepared by Distribusion.

Terms

For some operating carries such as Eurostar it is mandatory to display their terms.

Use the /marketing_carriers/{marketing_carrier_id} endpoint to retrieve the terms under the terms field. To access the carrier and its terms you need the operating carrier to be whitelisted for your account too. Please contact your Partnership Manager to whitelist the operating carriers you need.