TMR reporting and the shift log

BEA 289710 took effect on 30 September 2026. The duties that come with it started the same day, and they don’t stop. Two of them shaped our system more than any other.

The fatigue record

A booking entity must keep a written record of each driver’s days and times driving, or available to drive. Available includes being logged in to a booking app, being on shift, and driving to a pickup. The record is kept for 2 years, and must be produced within 28 days if TMR asks in writing.

We built a shift log (live 7 October 2026):

• the driver taps Start shift and End shift;
• if a trip is tapped with no shift open, a shift opens automatically and is flagged, so the gap shows;
• a late entry needs a reason, and is marked as late;
• nothing is edited afterwards.

I chose not to drive under our own BEA until the shift log existed.

What the fatigue law actually says

Before building a fatigue warning, we read the fatigue standard and the heavy-vehicle law. What we found: the standard says a driver must not operate if fatigue may endanger passengers, which is a judgement, not a table of hours; the operator must take reasonable steps; and the heavy-vehicle work and rest tables do not apply to a car this size.

So our duty clock (built 26 August 2026, during concept and build) warns but never blocks: after 8 hours on duty, after 2 hours without a 30-minute break, and in the hours when tiredness is most likely (2 to 4 pm, and 10 pm to 6 am). The 8-hour line is our own rule, and the app says so.

Quarterly and annual reports (BEAR)

A BEA holder reports to TMR through its online system, BEAR: every quarter (due 28 October, 28 January, 28 April and 28 July) and every financial year (due 28 July).

On 7 October 2026 we had BEAR access and TMR’s templates, and built the reports:

• every figure is calculated from the booking record, in the order BEAR asks for it, with a copy button beside each;
• a review list holds back any section the system can’t stand behind (for example, a trip whose reporting area nobody has confirmed yet);
• where TMR’s definitions were unclear, we wrote down ten questions for TMR, and kept our working answer to each in one place, so it can be changed in one place when TMR replies;
• we also built a filled copy of TMR’s reporting workbook as a fallback. It hasn’t been tried in BEAR yet, so we enter the figures by hand.

Our first quarterly report is due on 28 October 2026. We will update this story once it is filed, including anything we got wrong.

What we would tell you

Don’t leave the reporting until the first deadline. Set up the shift log and the booking records before your first direct trip, and your first report becomes a matter of checking, not reconstructing.

General information, not legal advice. Check the current law and TMR’s pages, and get advice for your own operation.