diff --git a/command/stats.go b/command/stats.go
index 2633f23..bc02691 100644
--- a/command/stats.go
+++ b/command/stats.go
@@ -2,12 +2,12 @@ package command
 
 import (
 	"fmt"
-	"time"
-
-	"github.com/missinglink/pbf/handler"
-	"github.com/missinglink/pbf/parser"
+	"log"
+	"os"
 
 	"github.com/codegangsta/cli"
+	"github.com/missinglink/pbf/lib"
+	"github.com/missinglink/pbf/parser"
 )
 
 // Stats cli command
@@ -17,23 +17,39 @@ func Stats(c *cli.Context) error {
 	parser := parser.NewParser(c.Args()[0])
 
 	// stats handler
-	stats := &handler.Stats{}
+	// stats := &handler.Stats{}
 
 	// live stats
-	if c.Int("interval") > 0 {
-		go func() {
-			for range time.Tick(time.Duration(c.Int("interval")) * time.Millisecond) {
-				stats.Print()
-				fmt.Println()
-			}
-		}()
+	// if c.Int("interval") > 0 {
+	// 	go func() {
+	// 		for range time.Tick(time.Duration(c.Int("interval")) * time.Millisecond) {
+	// 			stats.Print()
+	// 			fmt.Println()
+	// 		}
+	// 	}()
+	// }
+
+	// check if a bitmask is to be used
+	var bitmaskPath = c.String("bitmask")
+
+	// bitmask file doesn't exist
+	if _, err := os.Stat(bitmaskPath); err != nil {
+		fmt.Println("bitmask file doesn't exist")
+		os.Exit(1)
 	}
 
-	// Parse will block until it is done or an error occurs.
-	parser.Parse(stats)
+	// debug
+	log.Println("loaded bitmask:", bitmaskPath)
 
-	// print final stats
-	stats.Print()
+	// read bitmask from disk
+	masks := lib.NewBitmaskMap()
+	masks.ReadFromFile(bitmaskPath)
+
+	// // Parse will block until it is done or an error occurs.
+	// parser.Parse(stats)
+	//
+	// // print final stats
+	// stats.Print()
 
 	// print final stats
 	for _, info := range parser.GetDecoder().Index.Blobs {
@@ -41,9 +57,40 @@ func Stats(c *cli.Context) error {
 		fmt.Printf("start: %v, size: %v\n", info.Start, info.Size)
 
 		for _, group := range info.Groups {
-			fmt.Printf("  type: %v, count: %v, low: %v, high: %v\n", group.Type, group.Count, group.Low, group.High)
+			parse := false
+
+		Loop:
+			for i := group.Low; i <= group.High; i += 64 {
+
+				switch group.Type {
+				case "node":
+					if has(masks.Nodes, i) || has(masks.WayRefs, i) {
+						parse = true
+						break Loop
+					}
+				case "way":
+					if has(masks.Ways, i) {
+						parse = true
+						break Loop
+					}
+				case "relation":
+					if has(masks.Relations, i) {
+						parse = true
+						break Loop
+					}
+				}
+			}
+
+			fmt.Printf("  type: %v, count: %v, low: %v, high: %v, parse: %t\n", group.Type, group.Count, group.Low, group.High, parse)
 		}
 	}
 
 	return nil
 }
+
+func has(mask *lib.Bitmask, v int64) bool {
+	if _, ok := mask.I[uint64(v)/64]; ok {
+		return true
+	}
+	return false
+}
diff --git a/pbf.go b/pbf.go
index 0cce167..22d7b99 100644
--- a/pbf.go
+++ b/pbf.go
@@ -13,9 +13,12 @@ func main() {
 	app.Usage = "utilities for parsing OpenStreetMap PBF files and extracting geographic data"
 	app.Commands = []cli.Command{
 		{
-			Name:   "stats",
-			Usage:  "pbf statistics",
-			Flags:  []cli.Flag{cli.IntFlag{Name: "interval, i", Usage: "write stats every i milliseconds"}},
+			Name:  "stats",
+			Usage: "pbf statistics",
+			Flags: []cli.Flag{
+				cli.IntFlag{Name: "interval, i", Usage: "write stats every i milliseconds"},
+				cli.StringFlag{Name: "bitmask, m", Usage: "only output element ids in bitmask"},
+			},
 			Action: command.Stats,
 		},
 		{