osrmRoute: Get the Shortest Path Between Two Points

In osrm: Interface Between R and the OpenStreetMap-Based Routing Service OSRM

Get the Shortest Path Between Two Points

Description

Build and send an OSRM API query to get the travel geometry between two points. This function interfaces with the route OSRM service.
Use src and dst to get the shortest direct route between two points.
Use loc to get the shortest route between two points using ordered waypoints.

Usage

osrmRoute(
  src,
  dst,
  loc,
  overview = "simplified",
  exclude,
  osrm.server = getOption("osrm.server"),
  osrm.profile = getOption("osrm.profile"),
  snapping_distance = FALSE
)

Arguments

src	starting point of the route. src can be: a vector of coordinates (longitude and latitude, WGS 84), a data.frame of longitudes and latitudes (WGS 84), a matrix of longitudes and latitudes (WGS 84), an sfc object of type POINT, an sf object of type POINT. If relevant, row names are used as identifiers. If src is a data.frame, a matrix, an sfc object or an sf object then only the first row or element is considered.
dst	destination of the route. dst can be: a vector of coordinates (longitude and latitude, WGS 84), a data.frame of longitudes and latitudes (WGS 84), a matrix of longitudes and latitudes (WGS 84), an sfc object of type POINT, an sf object of type POINT. If relevant, row names are used as identifiers. If dst is a data.frame, a matrix, an sfc object or an sf object then only the first row or element is considered.
loc	starting point, waypoints (optional) and destination of the route. loc can be: a data.frame of longitudes and latitudes (WGS 84), a matrix of longitudes and latitudes (WGS 84), an sfc object of type POINT, an sf object of type POINT. The first row or element is the starting point then waypoints are used in the order they are stored in loc and the last row or element is the destination. If relevant, row names are used as identifiers.
overview	"full", "simplified" or FALSE. Use "full" to return the detailed geometry, use "simplified" to return a simplified geometry, use FALSE to return only time and distance.
exclude	pass an optional "exclude" request option to the OSRM API.
osrm.server	the base URL of the routing server.
osrm.profile	the routing profile to use, e.g. "car", "bike" or "foot".
snapping_distance	if TRUE, a list is returned: the first element is the route, the second is a table of snapping distances.

Value

If snapping_distance = FALSE (default):

• If overview is not FALSE, an sf LINESTRING of the shortest route is returned. It contains 4 fields: src, dst, duration (in minutes) and distance (in kilometers).

• If overview = FALSE, a named numeric vector is returned (duration in minutes and distance in kilometers).

If snapping_distance = TRUE, a list is returned:

• route: the route as described above.

• snapping: an sf POINT of the snapped waypoints. It contains the id and the snapping_distance (in kilometers).

If src (or loc) is a vector, a data.frame or a matrix, the coordinate reference system (CRS) of the route is EPSG:4326 (WGS84).
If src (or loc) is an sfc or sf object, the route has the same CRS as src (or loc).

Examples

## Not run: 
library(sf)
apotheke.df <- read.csv(system.file("csv/apotheke.csv", package = "osrm"))
apotheke.sf <- st_read(system.file("gpkg/apotheke.gpkg", package = "osrm"),
  quiet = TRUE
)
# Travel path between points
route1 <- osrmRoute(src = apotheke.sf[1, ], dst = apotheke.sf[16, ])
# Display paths
plot(st_geometry(route1))
plot(st_geometry(apotheke.sf[c(1, 16), ]), col = "red", pch = 20, add = TRUE)

# Return the route and snapping distances
route2 <- osrmRoute(
  src = apotheke.sf[1, ], dst = apotheke.sf[16, ],
  snapping_distance = TRUE
)
route2$route
route2$snapping

# Return only duration and distance
route3 <- osrmRoute(
  src = apotheke.df[1, c("lon", "lat")],
  dst = apotheke.df[16, c("lon", "lat")],
  overview = FALSE
)
route3

# Using only coordinates
route4 <- osrmRoute(
  src = c(13.412, 52.502),
  dst = c(13.454, 52.592)
)
plot(st_geometry(route4))

# Using via points
route5 <- osrmRoute(loc = apotheke.sf[c(1, 2, 4, 3), ])
plot(st_geometry(route5), col = "red", lwd = 2)
plot(st_geometry(apotheke.sf[c(1, 2, 4, 3), ]), add = TRUE)

# Using a different routing server
u <- "https://routing.openstreetmap.de/routed-foot/"
route5 <- osrmRoute(apotheke.sf[1, ], apotheke.sf[16, ], osrm.server = u)
route5

# Using an open routing service with support for multiple modes
# see https://github.com/riatelab/osrm/issues/67
u <- "https://routing.openstreetmap.de/"
options(osrm.server = u)
route6 <- osrmRoute(apotheke.sf[1, ], apotheke.sf[16, ],
  osrm.profile = "bike"
)
route7 <- osrmRoute(apotheke.sf[1, ], apotheke.sf[16, ],
  osrm.profile = "car"
)
plot(st_geometry(route7), col = "green") # car
plot(st_geometry(route6), add = TRUE) # bike
plot(st_geometry(route5), col = "red", add = TRUE) # foot

## End(Not run)

osrm documentation built on Oct. 2, 2026, 9:07 a.m.