Planned versus observed: how many buses should be on your route?

The operational plan expresses the scheduled service; the GPS records part of what happened. Comparing the two is valuable as long as the units and limitations are respected.

What is planned

Secretaria Municipal de Transportes publishes operational plans by period. They include routes, services, itineraries, and schedules defined for the network. Because these files change, the effective date is essential: an August observation should not be compared with a plan replaced in June.

Planning can be expressed in fleet, departures, trips, schedules or mileage. Before comparing, it is necessary to identify exactly which commitment that field represents.

What is observed

BuzuRadar can count distinct vehicles in the records, monitor transmission continuity, and build a history. This is observed supply. It does not automatically validate the simultaneous fleet, completed trips, or mileage reported by City Hall.

The same bus can make several trips; Several buses can appear at different times without all being on the street together. On the other hand, a vehicle operating with an absent GPS may no longer be counted.

A responsible comparison

The analysis must choose the same line, variant, direction, time of day and service calendar. Then, you need to inform how many days had enough data and which version of the plan was used. To assess regulatory compliance, the official reference continues to be the SMTR methodology, which validates trips based on start, end, quality of communications and adherence to the itinerary.

QuestionMost suitable indicator
How many buses appeared throughout the day? Different vehicles observed.
How many were transmitting at that moment? Vehicles with recent position in the snapshot.
How many trips have been completed? Validation of trips, with start, end and route.
Did the service meet the plan? Official comparison between validated operation and current plan.

Transparency

Sources consulted

Links verified on August 12, 2026. Official documents and pages may be updated after this date.

  1. Linhas de ônibus e planos operacionais Secretaria Municipal de Transportes do Rio
  2. Subsídio por quilômetro e validação de viagens por GPS Secretaria Municipal de Transportes do Rio
  3. Boas práticas do GTFS Realtime MobilityData / GTFS

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