Tips for commuters

Choosing how early to be alerted

• Use a distance on trains. Minutes are worked out from your recent speed, which jumps around as a train speeds up, slows and waits at signals. A distance is simpler and more predictable.
• Think about time to get ready. Work out how far the train travels in the few minutes you need to wake up, collect your bags and get to the door, and choose at least that. On fast lines, 3 km or 5 km may be sensible; on a slow bus route, 500 m may be enough.
• Set the pin on the stop, not the town. Searching a town puts the pin in its centre, which might be a long way from the station. Zoom in and tap the platform or bus stop.
• Remember it’s a straight line. If the line curves round your destination, you could be “within 1 km” earlier or later than you expect.

Before you doze off

• Press Test the alarm and turn the volume up. Check the chime is loud enough with your headphones in, if you wear them.
• Check the status chips: you want a GPS reading and “Screen on: yes, kept on”.
• Put the phone somewhere you’ll hear and feel it, face up.
• Don’t switch to another app or lock the phone — ETA needs to stay on screen. See why the screen stays open.

Battery

Keeping the screen on and using location for a whole journey uses more battery than usual. On a long trip, plug into a charger or power bank if you can, and turn the screen brightness down — ETA keeps working with a dim screen.

Signal and tunnels

ETA shows how accurate each location reading is (for example “GPS: ±20 m”). If the signal gets weak, ETA ignores very poor readings and waits for a better one, and says so on screen. In tunnels and underground, location can stop updating altogether — so on underground lines, don’t rely on ETA at all.

The alarm itself doesn’t need mobile data once the journey has started: it uses your phone’s location only. Map pictures and emails do need a connection.

Using “Tell my people” on the way home

• Save “Home” as a place on your phone so it’s one tap each evening.
• “10 minutes away” gives someone time to put the kettle on or head out for a pick-up.
• Use the live ETA link for a lift from the station, and choose a short time limit (1 or 2 hours).

Set up a journey

Written 20 October 2026. These are practical tips about using ETA, not transport advice — check your operator’s information for times and platforms.