This article explains MotionTools' ETA Service, which calculates arrival times at different quality levels, updates based on tour events, and can be accessed via API for integration with other systems.
Overview
Introduction
Providing customers with a reliable estimated time of arrival (ETA) sets realistic expectations and improves their satisfaction and experience. Accurate ETAs also benefit dispatchers, as they help estimate when a driver will become available for new Tours.
MotionTools calculates ETAs for each stop of a Tour and displays them on both the Dashboard and the Public tracking pages.
Quality of service levels
ETA service offers two quality levels: Basic and Accurate.
On the Basic level, the service calculates arrival times using a straight line between stops. This level is enabled by default.
On the Accurate level, the ETA is based on the actual route the driver is supposed to take. Accurate ETA calculations come with higher costs and are only available in our Enterprise plan. Please contact our Support Team at [email protected] if you’d like to switch to Enterprise.
ETA calculation principles
The initial ETA for each stop is calculated at the time of creating a Tour and is based on the Tour's scheduled start time. The ETA is recalculated on every major Tour event, such as starting a Tour, arriving at or departing from the stop, editing the route, and additionally every 8 minutes when a Tour is En Route.
When estimating times, the ETA service takes into account stop durations, which are the average times that drivers need to complete a stop. You can define stop durations for each service you offer via the Dashboard. An article on how and where to do this will be published soon.
The ETA service takes into account the specific vehicle type used for each Tour. If a driver is assigned, the driver’s vehicle type will be used for ETA calculations. If no driver is assigned, the tour’s vehicle type is used. If neither is set, the tenant’s default vehicle type is used. This ensures ETAs accurately reflect real-world differences between bikes, cars, vans, and other vehicles.
Fetching ETA from API
If you need to display ETA in your customer app, internal dashboard, or tracking page, you can fetch them directly from the API. For best practices, please refer to the Integrating ETA Service via API guide.