The third issue of our product updates. August's highlights are Dialogues, where the assistant and an operator work together to help passengers complete their bookings, and a live pickup map. Fewer repeated questions in the chat, more clarity before the journey.

Dialogues: from a bot conversation to help from a person

A passenger has already told the bot where they are going, chosen a trip and asked about seats. Then they need an operator — and previously the conversation had to be pieced together again. The new Dialogues section brings the messages and journey details into one workspace.

  • Step in when a person is needed — Passengers can ask for an operator, and the AI assistant can hand over a request that needs a team member's help. The operator sees the earlier conversation and picks up where the passenger left off.
  • Work directly in your web dashboard — Claim a request, reply, send a photo or file and close the conversation in the system. The queue updates live, showing which conversations are waiting for a reply and who is already handling them.
  • Bookings alongside the chat — The selected trip, stops, seat layout, seats and tickets open beside the messages. Operators can check the booking and send a payment link without searching through different sections.
  • Every passenger has a history — Customer details and previous bookings help the team understand a returning passenger's request more quickly.
  • The conversation is kept after it ends — The history remains in the archive. When control returns to the assistant, it receives a summary of the exchange with the operator.
  • The assistant follows the conversation more consistently — We improved how routes, dates, selected seats and passenger details are retained. Clarifying a detail in the chat should not mean starting the booking again.

Transfers: “Where is my car?” — now on the map

In July, pickups gained a confirmation queue and several payment options. In August, we added visibility into the journey itself. Passengers see their vehicle, dispatchers follow the route's progress, and drivers see their next stops.

  • Track the vehicle from the ticket — For an active pickup, passengers can open a map of their assigned vehicle directly from the online ticket. Fewer calls asking, “Are you on your way?”
  • Know which vehicle to look for — The map shows the vehicle's photo and description, if provided, along with how recently its position was updated.
  • Dispatchers can follow the pickup — The current position, travelled path and estimated arrival at upcoming stops help the team monitor progress. If the assigned vehicle is far from the passenger, the system warns the dispatcher.
  • GPS from the driver's phone — We added tracking support for vehicles without a dedicated hardware tracker: the driver's phone can transmit their position.

Bookings and payments

Fewer manual checks for ticket agents and an easier way for passengers to complete their orders.

  • Outbound and return — one payment link — Linked bookings can be paid together. Payment links are also shorter, making them easier to share in a chat.
  • Discounts account for the payment method — The system selects the best eligible discount and recalculates it when the payment method changes. A price fixed by the ticket agent is preserved when the passenger moves to online payment.
  • More flexible extras — We improved booking and cancellation of extra seats, as well as partial refunds for services.

A few more useful changes

  • Notebook catches more duplicates — It warns about possible duplicate bookings from different channels and handles crossed-out text and annotations in notes more accurately.
  • Route documents close at hand — We added transit-country editing and made it easier to upload and view documents in route requirements.
  • Clearer driver tasks — Ticket cancellations are taken into account when planning pickups, and ticket details can be opened from a stop card.

If you are not using BUSPORTAL yet, request a demo at busportal.app and see the platform from the inside.