The problem: waiting at the stop knowing nothing
Half past five in the morning, still dark, and the employee is at the stop. Has the bus already passed? Is it late? Did the stop change? Without information, they wait, call colleagues or give up and go on their own, and arrive late.
The web lookup with ETA solves that moment. It puts on the employee's phone the information that today is scattered among the carrier, HR and message groups.
What the employee sees in the lookup
Lines and nearest stop
From the address, the lookup shows the lines that serve the employee and the nearest boarding stop, on the map.
Schedules
The timetable for the line and stop, by shift. Schedule changes appear immediately, without relying on printed notices.
Vehicle on the map
With active tracking, the employee sees where their line's vehicle is.
Predicted arrival (ETA)
How long until the vehicle reaches the stop. The prediction is recalculated as the vehicle advances.
Operation notices
Delays, vehicle swaps, stops closed for roadwork and holiday changes appear for those who use the affected line.
How ETA is calculated
The arrival prediction combines three pieces of information:
- The vehicle's real position, sent by telemetry;
- The planned route path, with the sequence of stops;
- The travel history, which helps estimate the time between stops.
| Situation | What the lookup shows |
|---|---|
| Vehicle with active tracking | Position on the map and updated ETA |
| Vehicle with momentary loss of signal | Last known position and a notice that an update is pending |
| Line without tracking | Planned timetable |
What ETA needs in order to work
- Telemetry in the vehicles. Merus has native integrations with the main telemetry hardware and uses what the carrier already has. If there is no equipment, Merus sells telemetry with installation included; loan and rental options are coming soon.
- Routes and stops registered. The Merus team does this loading together with the company's team.
- Adequate position frequency. Defined in the technical diagnosis.
- Connectivity. Regions without signal reduce accuracy; the lookup shows when the information is out of date.
Benefits of the lookup for the company
- Fewer delays at shift start, because employees leave home at the right time.
- Fewer calls to HR and operations asking about the bus.
- Centralized communication of changes, without depending on informal groups.
- Usage data, showing which lines and times are looked up most.
Web lookup, boarding and auditing
The lookup is the visible part, for the employee, of a larger flow. The same position data feeds the planned versus actual, and the identified boarding records who was served. That way, employee information and service control use the same base.
Privacy
The lookup shows the vehicle's position, never the location of other employees. The personal data used to indicate the nearest stop is handled with purpose and permissions defined in the project, in accordance with the LGPD.
For new employees
Even before hiring, HR can validate whether the transport serves the candidate's address. On the first day, the new employee already knows the line, the stop and the time.
If the company is still choosing a tool, see the criteria in how to choose charter transport management software.
