Staff chat
The transport office, administrators, drivers and helpers message each other inside SmartMy, one to one or in groups, with photos and files. Work talk stays with your organisation instead of on personal WhatsApp groups.
PLANSEvery plan
The problem it solves
- Route changes are agreed on a personal WhatsApp group that the office cannot keep when a driver leaves.
- A message to all drivers goes out from someone's own phone number.
- Photos of a damaged seat or a fuel bill are lost in a chat nobody can search later.
- New staff are added to five different groups by hand.
How it works
- Click Chat in the main menu of the back office. It replaces the Discuss link and opens under the usual menu bar.
- The list shows every conversation you are in: groups first, then one-to-one chats, with the last message, the time and the number unread.
- Press New, then Message someone, and choose a colleague. There is only ever one chat per pair of people.
- Or press New, then New group, type a name such as Morning drivers, tick the people and make the group.
- Write and send. The paperclip adds photos or files. New messages appear by themselves within a few seconds.
Everything it does
Conversations
- One-to-one chats and groups, and your organisation's channels
- Colleagues: every staff user in the Entities you work in, drivers and helpers included
- Make your own group with a name (up to 60 characters) and the people you choose
- Messages up to 4,000 characters; photos and files with the paperclip
- Enter sends, Shift + Enter starts a new line
Reading
- A day label in the conversation (Today, Yesterday, a date)
- One tick: sent; two ticks: everyone in the conversation has seen it
- Search inside a conversation
- Refreshes by itself; on a phone browser the list comes first and the conversation fills the screen
Your own choices
- Mute a conversation: no notices, messages still there
- Leave a group you were added to
- You see only the conversations you are in
What it does not have
- No voice or video calls and no voice notes
- A sent message cannot be deleted by its writer
- Parents and riders are not in staff chat; they reach the office through tickets and Not riding
Who uses it
Transport officeMessages drivers and helpers about changes of the day, and keeps groups per shift or route.
Driver or helperReads and answers the office from a phone browser, and sends a photo when something is wrong.
Transport administratorTalks with the office and other departments, such as accounts about a fuel bill.
Where you use it
- Web: Chat in the main menu of the back office; the address /chat on a phone browser
- Not in the SmartMy Transit Crew app or the Rider app
- Not for parents or riders
What you control
Settings
- Nothing to set up: every staff user has Chat
- Mute per conversation, per person
Notifications
- New messages show in the chat list with an unread count; a muted conversation stays quiet
Works with
Other SmartMy productsEvery SmartMy product uses the same Chat screen. Transport staff can message colleagues who use SmartMy HRMS, Campus or Desk in the same organisation.
Questions
Can drivers use it on their phone?
Yes, in the phone's browser at the /chat address, signed in with their SmartMy login. The Crew app itself has no chat.Can parents message the driver?
No. Staff chat is for staff. Parents tell the school that a child will not ride, raise a ticket, or call the number the office shows.Can we make a group of all drivers?
Yes. New, then New group, name it and tick the drivers. Anyone in the group can write in it.Can I delete a message I sent by mistake?
Not yet. Ask an administrator if it must be removed.Can we make voice or video calls?
No. Chat is for written messages, photos and files.Related features
PEOPLE AND ACCESSSeparate access for each roleThe transport administrator, the transport office, drivers and helpers, riders and parents each get their own access. Each person sees only the Entities they work in and the records that are theirs.PHONE APPSThe Crew app for drivers and helpersSmartMy Transit Crew puts the driver's and helper's day on their phone: today's runs, start and end. It shows each stop with its riders, boarded, dropped and absent, and the boarding card scan. With higher plans the phone also tracks the vehicle, carries an SOS button, the trip checklist, fuel, breakdowns and boarding by face.SET-UP HELP AND OTHER LINKSTransport tickets through SmartMy DeskRiders and parents raise a SmartMy Desk ticket for a bus that did not come or a bag left on the bus. Or for a complaint about the driving. The ticket arrives with the rider, the route and the vehicle filled in, and goes to the team that looks after transport.ACROSS SMARTMY TRANSITNotificationsSmartMy Transit tells parents when the bus starts, nears the stop and their child boards. It tells the office about SOS alerts and riders not riding, and keeps people asking for a vehicle informed. Each event has its own recipients and channels: phone notification, in-app, WhatsApp, SMS or email.
See your own routes on the map.
Send us your stops and routes and we will show you a demo with them.