Overview
There are a very large number of properties and options available in the dispatch system. The following documentation describes many of the option in more detail so that you can refer back to it if you have any questions about the options. Note that options will normally have a description associated with them and this can generally be viewed in the Fleet Management website were they are set by moving the mouse over the name or value of the property.
Note that not all of these properties will be relevant to every installation especially the ones related to hardware options as these will depend on the type of hardware used.
The properties below have been grouped into categories to make it easier to digest.
Docket Killer Options
These properties should be configured with the intention of utilising the docket killer functionality of the dispatch system.
| Option Name | Setting or Value | Description |
| Odometer reading | Mandatory | All drivers must enter the odometer reading at the start and end of each shift. |
| Optional | Drivers will be invited to enter the odometer reading at the start and end of each shift. It is not necessary to enter a value. | |
| Not required | The screen used to set the odometer reading at the start and end of each shift is not displayed. | |
| Fare collection for account work | Mandatory | The fare collection screen is automatically displayed every time a job with an account number in the booking is completed. The Cancel button is not available and the details must be provided. |
| Optional | The fare collection screen is displayed every time a job with an account number in the booking is completed. The Cancel button is displayed and the details need not be provided. | |
| Not required | The fare collection screen is not automatically displayed at the end of a job with an account number in the booking. | |
| Fare collection for non-account work | Mandatory | The fare collection screen is automatically displayed every time a job without an account number in the booking is completed. The Cancel button is not available and the details must be provided. |
| Optional | The fare collection screen is displayed every time a job without an account number in the booking is completed. The Cancel button is displayed and the details need not be provided. | |
| Not required | The fare collection screen is not automatically displayed at the end of a job without an account number in the booking. | |
| Account Email Body Text | Please find attached a tax invoice for services provided by [FLEET_NAME] for [ACCOUNT_NAME]. | This text is used when invoices for account work are sent by e-mail. The words are inserted in the body of the e-mail.
The property can include various fields that are replaced when the e-mail is sent. These are: [FLEET_NAME] Name of fleet [ACCOUNT_NAME] Name of the account [CONTACT_NAME] Name of contact person. Might be used in “Dear ….” [ACCOUNT_NUM] Account number. PUT WARNING IN DOCKETKILLER GUIDE THAT THESE NAMES ARE USED See also: Account Email Subject Line, |
| Account Email Subject Line | Tax Invoice from [FLEET_NAME] for [ACCOUNT_NAME] ([ACCOUNT_NUM]) | This text is used when invoices for account work are sent by e-mail. The words are inserted in the subject line of the e-mail.
The property can include various fields that are replaced when the e-mail is sent. See the property Account Email Body Text for more details. See also: Account Email Body Text. |
| CO2 Emission Rate Per Kilometre | 0.2 | This property applies for invoices that include an estimate of CO2 emissions. The value is a per kilometre estimate. |
| Fleet Email Address for Invoices | FleetName@gmail.com | This e-mail address is used when invoices for account work are sent by e-mail. Emails sent will appear to be from this e-mail address.
Generally the email address used here should be different from the one used for messages from drivers – see the Voice Recording Email Address property. |
| Include Reference Field for Subsidy | Y or N | If set to Y a reference number field is provided on the screen used to record subsidy claims. The reference number is normally included in the invoice and is intended to be used by drivers for recording docket numbers. |
| Payment Terms | Due 7 days. | This property applies when the payment terms are included in invoices for account work. Whatever text is entered here appears on the invoices. |
| Quicken Account Export Account Name | Income: Dispatch System | This property applies to users of the Quicken accounting software. It gives the name of the Quicken account to receive transactions from the dispatch system.
See the Docket Killer Guide for more details. |
| Requires Fare Details (Account) | 0 – Never Show Fare Screen
1 – Show Fare Screen (Cannot Cancel) 2 – Show Fare Screen (Can Cancel) |
This property applies to bookings that include an account number.
If set to 0 the fare screen is not displayed to the driver when the job has been completed and the driver will not be able to record how the fare was paid. If set to 1 the fare screen is displayed and the driver must record how the fare was paid. If set to 2 the fare screen is displayed but the driver may use the CANCEL button and not record how the fare was paid. This option is not normally used with work on account. See also: Meter Silent. |
| Requires Fare Details Non-account | 0 – Never Show Fare Screen
1 – Show Fare Screen (Cannot Cancel) 2 – Show Fare Screen (Can Cancel) |
This property applies to bookings that do not include an account number and jobs done without a booking (walk-ups/hails).
If set to 0 the fare screen is not displayed to the driver when the job has been completed and the driver will not be able to record how the fare was paid. If set to 1 the fare screen is displayed and the driver must record how the fare was paid. If set to 2 the fare screen is displayed but the driver may use the CANCEL button and not record how the fare was paid. This option is not normally used with work on account. See also: Meter Silent. |
Vehicle Properties
The following table lists the properties that can be supplied for each vehicle. In many cases the value will be set for the entire fleet and will show on the screen as ‘using the fleet default’. This is shown for the vehicle properties property in the figure above.
Note that a number of these properties are not used by the software but are provided as a location to enter useful information about a vehicle.
| Property Name | Typical Value | Description |
| COI Expiry | 12/12/2016 | Certificate of Inspection (COI) expiry date. This field is not used to control access to the dispatch system – see section 3.13 – Licence Management for the mechanism provided for managing licences and authorities.
See also: Registration Due. |
| Commissioned | 01/07/2011 | Date the vehicle started service as a taxi.
See Decommission Date. |
| Compliance Date | 01/06/2011 | Date the compliance inspection was done.
See: COI Expiry. |
| Decommission Date | 01/08/2018 | Date vehicle must be decommissioned. This field is not used to control access to the dispatch system – see section 3.13 – Licence Management for the mechanism provided for managing licences and authorities.
See: Commissioned. |
| Engine Number | The engine number may be recorded. It is not used by the software. | |
| Insurance Paid To | 01/07/2012 | Expiry date for the vehicle insurance policy. This field is not used to control access to the dispatch system – see section 3.13 – Licence Management for the mechanism provided for managing licences and authorities.
See also: Insurance Provider, Insurance Policy Number. |
| Insurance Policy Number | Vehicle insurance policy number. This is not used by the software.
See also: Insurance Provider, Insurance Paid To. |
|
| Insurance Provider | Insurance company. This is not used by the software.
See also: Insurance Policy Number, Insurance Paid To. |
|
| Meter Listen | 0 – Don’t listen
1 – Listen Interactively (No EFTPOS) 2 – Listen Passively (EFTPOS) |
This property applies when the unit is wired to the RS232 interface on a meter. This interface is used to collect fare information directly from the meter.
If set to 0 no attempt is made to read data from the meter. If set to 1 the dispatch system will respond to messages from the meter using the protocol set in the Meter Protocol property. This option is normally used when the meter is not connected to an EFTPOS terminal. If set to 2 the dispatch system will not respond to messages from the meter – it simply listens to the messages sent by the meter. This option is the one normally used when the meter is wired to an EFTPOS terminal. See also: Meter Protocol, Meter Silent. |
| Meter Protocol | 0 – VTD Compatible COM4
1 – CabCharge COM4 2 – VTD Compatible COM5 3 – CabCharge COM5 |
This property applies when the unit is wired to the RS232 interface on a meter– see the Meter Listen property.
This property provides two pieces of information: 1. The format of the messages sent by the meter. This might be the format defined for the Victorian Taxi Directorate (VTD) or the format defined by CabCharge. 2. The port on which the device is connected. See the Installation Manual for more information. Choices are COM4 or Com5. See also: Meter Listen, Meter Silent. |
| Meter Silent | 0 – Meter Silent Off
1 – Meter Silent On |
This property applies only when the unit is wired to the RS232 interface on a meter – see the Meter Listen property.
If set to 1 the fare details provided by the meter are recorded with the job details separately from the fare declared by the driver. The Fare Discrepancies report lists the jobs where the two amounts differ. If set to 0 the amount received from the meter is not recorded separately. Note that fare information must be collected for walk-up jobs to be recorded. Either the fare screens must be used or this property set to 1. See also: Requires Fare Details (Account), Requires Fare Details Non-Account. |
| Registration Due | Expiry date for the vehicle registration. This field is not used by to control access to the dispatch system – see section 3.13 – Licence Management for the mechanism provided for managing licences and authorities.
See also: COI Expiry. |
|
| Show Vehicle on Map | Y or N | If set to Y the vehicle position is shown on the map.
If set to N the vehicle is not shown on the map. See also: Mapping Requires Login. |
| Vehicle Address | Address where vehicle is normally housed. This is not used by the software. | |
| Vehicle Digital IO | Y or N | Set to Y if the meter is wired to the digital input/output line on the unit. Otherwise set to N.
See the Installation Manual for more details. |
| Vehicle Identifier | CAR 6 | This string is used to identify the vehicle on most of the screens and reports. Each vehicle in the fleet must be given a different identifier. |
| Vehicle Inverted Meter | Y or N | This property is used if the meter is not showing the correct state of the vehicle. If the car is shown in as engaged when it is vacant, and vacant when the meter is running, then this property should be changed to invert the reading. |
| Vehicle Meter Description | SCHMIDT V4 | This property may be used to record the type of meter fitted in the car. It is not used by the software but can be useful information for the support staff. |
| Vehicle Model | FALCON VS | This property may be used to record the vehicle model It is not used by the software but can be useful information for the support staff. |
| Vehicle Owners ABN | 12 345 678 23 | The vehicle owner’s ABN may be used when generating the invoice for account work. |
| Vehicle Owners Contact Details | 0412 123 456 | This property may be used to record the owner’s contact details. It is not used by the software but can be useful information for the support staff. |
| Vehicle Owners Name | John Doe | This property may be used to record the owner’s name. It is not used by the software but can be useful information for the support staff. |
| Vehicle Passengers | 7 | Number of passengers that the vehicle can carry. This information is used when deciding if a vehicle is eligible for a booking. |
| Vehicle Rego | T1234 | Vehicle registration plate number. This is used when configuring the software in the vehicle. It also appears on various reports. |
| VIN | Vehicle Identification Number. This is not used by the software. |
General Driver Properties
The following are general driver properties. There are a number of other properties for users that are fleet specific but in most cases these are included in different sections of this document.
| Property Name | Typical Value | Description |
| ABN | Australian Business Number. | |
| Address | Address. | |
| Date Of Birth | 01/02/1983 | |
| Driver Account Invoice Email | john.doe@gmail.com | May be set to have operator invoice e-mailed to the user. |
| Driver Rate | 50% | Default value for driver’s share of income. Used with the end-of-shift report. |
| Drivers Licence Expiry Date | 02/03/2014 | Date driver’s licence expires. This field is not used by the dispatch system to control access to the dispatch system – see section 3.13 – Licence Management for the mechanism provided for managing licences and authorities. |
| Drivers Licence Number | S123546 | Used to record the driver’s licence number. This field is not used by the dispatch system |
| Land Line Number | 03 4567 8901 | Phone number (see also Mobile Phone Number). |
| Licence Classes | C G | Licence class codes on driver’s licence. |
| Mobile Phone Number | 0456 789 012 | Driver’s phone number. |
| Taxi License Expiration | 05/06/2017 | Date the driver’s authority to drive expires. This field is not used by the dispatch system to control access to the dispatch system – see section 3.13 – Licence Management for the mechanism provided for managing licences and authorities. |
Driver Operation Properties
These properties will generally be fleet-wide properties and generally control how the drivers will receive and interact with bookings but many can be overridden on a driver or vehicle basis.
| Property Name | Typical value | Effect |
| Accept Time | 15 seconds | Time allowed for the driver to accept a job offer. This time does not apply if the driver has set the out-of-car option.
See also: Accept Time Out-Of-Car, Penalty Reject. |
| Accept Time Out-Of-Car | 60 seconds | Time allowed for the driver to accept a job offer when the out-of-car option is set.
See also Accept Time, Penalty Reject. |
| Allow Customer Call | Y or N | If set to Y the driver is permitted to make calls to the passenger from the vehicle. The phone number does not have to be displayed to the driver. If set to N the driver cannot call the passenger using the dispatch system although the driver might call the passenger directly if the phone number is displayed.
The Phone Charges report lists the calls made from the car. See also: Display Customer Phone in Vehicle, Display Phone Number in Driver Info. For some fleets this parameter must be set by support staff. |
| Allow Customer SMS | Y or N | If set to Y the driver is permitted to send a fixed message to the passenger. The phone number does not have to be displayed to the driver. If set to N the driver cannot send a message to the passenger using the dispatch system although the driver might do so directly if the phone number is displayed.
The messages that may be sent need to be set up – see section 3.12. The Phone Charges report lists the messages sent from the car. See also: Display Customer Phone in Vehicle, Display Phone Number in Driver Info. |
| Allow Driver to Create Bookings | Y or N | If set to Y the driver is allowed to create bookings using the ‘book here’ feature.
If set to N the driver is not permitted to create bookings. |
| Allow Driver to Override Expense Defaults | Y or N | If set to Y the driver will be able to change the default settings for expense claims. If set to N the settings will not be displayed and driver will not be able to change them.
The settings cover who is responsible for paying the expense and who is ultimately responsible for paying the claim. For example the fuel may be charged to the vehicle owner but the cost may be shared between the driver and the owner. The default values are set on the Fleet Management page – see section 3.14. |
| Allow Screen Start Job | Y or N | If set to Y the driver is permitted to start and end a job using buttons on the screen. If set to N the meter must be used. |
| Allow Urgent Messages | 0 – Off
1 – Allow Urgent Messages |
If set to 0 urgent messages are displayed in the same way as standard messages.
If set to 1 urgent messages are different than normal message and will alert the driver more often |
| Autoplot if Destination Available | Y or N | If set to Y the dispatch system will automatically plot the vehicle to the destination zone when the job is started. It applies only if the destination is provided in the booking.
If set to N the dispatch system will not automatically plot the vehicle. |
| Cover Bid Allowed | Y or N | If set to Y drivers are allowed to use the screen used to bid for cover work. See Appendix 3 – Bidding for cover work for more details. This is in addition to the dispatching done using the normal dispatching rules – see Appendix 2 – Dispatching Rules.
If set to N drivers are not able to bid for jobs. See also: Cover Bid List Size, Cover Bid Show Street Address, Cover Bid Refresh Time. |
| Cover Bid List Size | 8 | This property specifies how many jobs are sent to a vehicle when bidding for work. The jobs closest to the vehicle are displayed.
See also: Cover Bid Allowed. |
| Cover Bid Refresh Time | 30 seconds | Interval before drivers can update the cover bid list. This is to prevent drivers constantly requesting a new list.
See also: Cover Bid Allowed. |
| Cover Default | 0 – Default Off
1 – Default On |
If set to 1 the cover option is automatically set when a driver logs on. If set to 0 the cover option is not set automatically.
See also: Cover Default Distance. |
| Cover Default Distance | 0 – First Cover Distance
1 – Second Cover Distance 2 – Third Cover Distance 3 –Any Distance |
This property applies if the Cover Default is set to Y.It specifies the distance to be set for cover when the driver first logs on.
See also: Cover Default. |
| Cover Dist 1 | 40 = 4km | First option presented to drivers for setting cover distance. Value is in units of 100 metres so 40 = 40 x 100 metres = 4,000 metres = 4km.
See also: Cover Dist 2, Cover Dist 3. |
| Cover Dist 2 | 60 = 6km | Second option presented to drivers for setting cover distance. Value is in units of 100 metres so 60 = 60 x 100 metres = 6,000 metres = 6km.
See also: Cover Dist 1, Cover Dist 3. |
| Cover Dist 3 | 80 = 8km | Third option presented to drivers for setting cover distance. Value is in units of 100 metres so 80 = 80 x 100 metres = 8,000 metres = 8km.
See also: Cover Dist 2, Cover Dist 3. |
| Cover Dist Any | Y or N | If set to Y the driver is permitted to set cover distance to ‘any’. This has the effect of making the driver eligible for all cover work irrespective of where it is.
See also: Cover Dist 1, Cover Dist 2, Cover Dist 3. |
| Disable No Cover | Y or N | If set to Y the drivers will always be registered for cover work.
If set to N the driver is given the option to register for cover work. See Appendix 2 – Dispatching Rules for more information on the effect of registering for cover. See also: Cover Default. |
| Disable Out of Car After One Offer | Y or N | If set to Y the out-of-car option is turned off when an offer has been made to the driver and the offer has not been accepted.
If set to N the out-of-car option is not turned off. Note that if a driver is not accepting work any jobs offered to the driver will be delayed. See also: Accept Time Out-Of-Car. |
| Display Customer Phone in Vehicle | Y or N | If set to Y the passenger’s phone number will be displayed on the booking details page. If set to N the phone number is not displayed.
Note that it is not necessary to display the phone number to allow the driver to call the passenger or to send an SMS. See also: Display Phone Number in Driver Info, Allow Customer Call, Allow Customer SMS. |
| Display Offer Penalty Time | Y or N | If Y the penalty that applies for resubmitting the job is displayed to the driver.
If N the penalty time is not displayed. See also: Penalty Resubmit. |
| Display Phone Number in Driver Info | Y or N | If set to Y the passenger’s phone number will be displayed in the driver information section of the booking details. If set to N the phone number is not included in the driver information.
It is advised that this option be set to N. the dispatch system will keep making a noise until the information has been read by the drivers and generally drivers find it irritating to have to look at the information screen for every job. See also: Display Customer Phone in Vehicle |
| Driver Messages | 5 | Number of messages sent to the car when the driver logs in.
All unread messages are sent along with messages that have not been answered. The most recent/answered messages will also be sent to make sure that at least this many messages are sent. This is intended to allow the driver to re-read recent messages. |
| Driver Set Zone Allow | Y or N | This option applies only if the unit is not receiving a valid GPS signal. This generally happens only when the antenna has been damaged.
If set to Y the driver is permitted to set a zone when the position of the vehicle cannot be determined using GPS. For the purpose of calculating the distance to a job the centre of the zone is used. If set to N the driver is unable to set a zone when GPS has failed. As a result the driver can only register for ‘all’ cover as the position of the vehicle is not known. See also: Driver Set Zone Period. |
| Driver Set Zone Period | 300 seconds = 5 minutes | Interval before the driver can manually set another zone using the Set Zone button.
This applies only when no GPS signal is being received and the driver has been allowed to manually set a zone. The interval prevents a driver from repeatedly choosing zones. See also: Driver Set Zone Allow, Cover Dist Any. |
| Driver Support Number | 0456 123 789 | This number is displayed in the vehicle on the debug/help page. It should be set to the number of the person or organisation taking responsibility for the equipment – see section 3.1. |
| Driver Unavailable Times List | 5,10,20,30,60 minutes. | This property applies only if Request Unavailable Timeframe is set to Y. It lists the possible times that the driver may choose when going unavailable.
The value selected by the driver is displayed to the operator on request. See also: Request Unavailable Timeframe. |
| Enable Driver Out-Of-Car | Y or N | If set to Y drivers are able to use the out-of-car feature. If set to N drivers are not able to set out-of-car. |
| Enable Navigation | Y or N | If set to Y the drivers can use the navigation screen to get directions. If set to N the navigation screen cannot be used. |
| Engage Warning Default Action | 0 – Resubmit the Booking
1 – Hide Warning do Not Resubmit |
This property is used if the Engage Warning Distance is greater than zero.
If the driver receives a warning message that the meter has been engaged too far from the pickup address the driver has the option to resubmit the booking or keep the booking in which case the meter event will be taken as the start of that booking. This property specifies what action should be taken if the driver does not give a response. If set to 0 the booking will be automatically resubmitted after 30 seconds. If set to 1the meter event is taken to be the start of the job. See also: Engage Warning Distance. |
| Engage Warning Distance | 200 metres | If set to a value the driver receives a warning message if a job is started further away from the pickup address given in the booking sent to the driver. In this case it is likely that the driver is doing another job and the job should be resubmitted so that it can be done by another driver.
If set to zero no warning is given. Note that this warning is based on the address learnt by the dispatch system. In some cases the learnt address is wrong – see Appendix 4 – How the dispatch system learns addresses. |
| Meter Time Threshold | 60 seconds | Minimum time meter expected to run for a job. If the time between the meter on event and the meter off event is less than this time then the driver is asked if it was a real meter event. |
| Mute Vehicle Volume While Engaged | Y or N | If set to Y the dispatch system is muted when the driver is doing a job. This affects the audible tone given when a message arrives. It is intended for vehicles where the passengers are not to be disturbed during a trip.
If set to N the unit is not muted during a job. |
| No Show Warning Distance | 200 metres | This property is used to give the driver a warning message if the no show button is used when the vehicle is well away from the pickup address given in the booking sent to the driver. If the driver is doing some other work, or if the driver does not want to drive to the pickup address for any reason, then the resubmit button should be used instead of the no show button.
If set to 0 no warning is given. Note that this warning is based on the address learnt by the dispatch system. In some cases the learnt address is wrong – see Appendix 4 – How the dispatch system learns addresses. |
| Penalty Reject | 30 seconds | Penalty time used if a driver refuses a job offer. This can be done by pressing the ‘thumb down’ button in the vehicle or by simply not accepting the offer. No other work will be offered to the driver until this time has expired.
See also: Accept Time, Accept Time Out-Of-Car, Penalty Resubmit. |
| Penalty Resubmit | 120 seconds = 2 minutes | Penalty time used if a driver accepts a job offer but then resubmits the job without making a change. No other work will be offered to the driver until this time has expired.
See also: Penalty Reject. |
| Request Unavailable Timeframe | Y or N | If set to Y a driver going unavailable will be asked to provide an approximate time until being available again. This information can be seen by the base operator if required.
If set to N the drivers are not asked for the time. See also: Driver Unavailable Times List |
| Requires End Shift | Y or N | If Y the driver is presented with the end of shift screen at logoff. This asks for the odometer reading. If N the driver is not required to enter the odometer reading.
The odometer reading is used to calculate the $ per kilometre rate included in the end-of-shift report. See also: Requires Start Shift. |
| Requires Start Shift | If Y the driver is presented with the start of shift screen at logon. This asks for the odometer reading. If N the driver is not required to enter the odometer reading.
The odometer reading is used to calculate the $ per kilometre rate included in the end-of-shift report. See also: Requires End Shift. |
|
| Show Account Fare Warning to Driver | Y or N | If set to Y the driver receives a warning if the booking included an account number but the fare details screen did not have an amount allocated to an account.
If set to N the driver does not receive a warning. |
| Show Zone Period List | 0 – No zone information displayed
1 – Show period 1 only 2 – Show periods 1 and 2 |
If set to 1 the number of vacant cars waiting in each zone is displayed to the driver when requested using the statistics button in the car. The column is headed V.
If set to 2 the number of jobs waiting in each zone is also displayed to the driver when requested. The column is headed J. |
| Suppress Automatic GPRS Switch | 0 – Don’t suppress
1 – Suppress Auto Switch |
If set to 0 the dispatch system will automatically switch to the second SIM card if connection to the server is lost. It will then keep switching until a connection is made.
If set to 1 the dispatch system will not automatically switch. The switch must be done by the driver if the unit is not connection. If the vehicle is connected the base operator can force the unit to switch. Switching carriers is advised when the vehicle is experiencing connection problems. This can happen if maintenance is being done on the mobile phone network. |
Dispatching Properties
These properties directly affect the algorithm for dispatching work to the drivers.
| Property Name | Typical value | Effect |
| Auto Activate Pending Booking Threshold | 600 seconds = 10 minutes | If the connection to the server is lost for any reason any bookings made are held in the pending queue. If the connection is re-established any bookings that have been made within this time are automatically activated and sent to the server. Any bookings older than the value given here need to be manually activated if they still apply.
During the outage the pending queue can be used for manual dispatch if necessary. |
| Booking Release Time List | 5,10,15, 20,30,45, 60,75,90, 120,150, 180 minutes | This list of numbers gives the possible choices for release times for pre-bookings. The values are used on the booking form. |
| Distance Calculation Multiplier | 1.0 | Scaling factor used to estimate the distance from the job to the vehicle. By default the straight line distance is used (multiplier = 1); a slightly higher value may give a more realistic estimate of distances. |
| Escalation Time 1 | 300 seconds = 5 minutes | Any booking that has been waiting in the cover list for this length of time will be marked as high priority.
If set to zero no bookings are escalated See also: Escalation Time 2. |
| Escalation Time 2 | 600 seconds = 10 minutes | Any booking that has been waiting in the cover list for this length of time will be marked as ‘no location dispatch’. This has the effect of allocating it to any available car irrespective of the distance to pickup.
If set to zero no bookings are escalated. See also: Escalation Time 2. |
| NoShowDistance | 0.2 km | If a driver marks a booking as a ‘no show’, and the driver is within this distance of the pickup address, then the driver will be restored to the queue position that applied with the job offer was made.
If the driver has changed zones before using the no-show button then the driver will be allocated a queue position based on the time the car was available before the offer was made. Example: Car A becomes available at 0900 and has queue position 1. The driver receives a booking and moves to another zone. There the driver marks the booking as a no-show. In this case the queue position in the new zone will be calculated assuming the car became vacant at 0900 in that zone. If car B is already in queue position 1 and was vacant before 0900 then car A will get position 2 behind car B. If the distance is set to zero the queue position is not restored. |
| Penalty Reject | 15 seconds | Length of penalty for not accepting a job offer. This applies if a job offer is rejected or simply not accepted (offer timeout).
No offer will be made while the penalty is in force. See also: Accept Time, Accept Time Out-of-Car |
| Penalty Resubmit | 30 seconds | Length of penalty for resubmitting a booking after accepting a job offer. This penalty does not apply if the job is changed before being resubmitted.
Many fleets had a longer penalty for resubmitting work to discourage drivers resubmitting work. No offer will be made while the penalty is in force. See also: Allow Resubmit. |
| Period Hold Plot | 600 seconds = 10 minutes | This property specifies how long the plotting by a driver is active. If a driver plots to a zone a job in that zone will not be offered to a car outside the zone – the dispatch system will wait for the plotted car to become available in the zone.
In some cases the plotted driver may be delayed and may not become available in a reasonable amount of time. To handle this situation the plotting is automatically cleared when the time specified in this property has elapsed. |
| Period Hold Pos Connect | 600 seconds = 10 minutes | This property specifies the maximum time a vehicle can be disconnected without losing queue position. If a car disconnects briefly for some reason then the driver’s queue position is restored when the car reconnections.
If the vehicle is disconnected for a longer period than in specified in this property then the vehicle is placed at the bottom of the queue. |
| Period Hold Pos Unavailable | 600 seconds = 10 minutes | This property specifies the maximum time a driver can be unavailable without losing queue position. This allows a driver to have a short break without losing queue position.
Note that the out-of-car feature is different. Out-of-car should be used if the driver is able and willing to return to the car if an offer is made whereas no offer is made if the driver is unavailable. If the driver is unavailable for a longer period than in specified in this property then the vehicle is placed at the bottom of the queue. |
| Period Move to Action | 600 seconds = 10 minutes | After the time a job in the cover queue will be moved to the action queue. This is intended to remove jobs that have been sitting in the queue for an extended period of time. Operator action is required to re-queue the job. |
| Period Prebook Queue | 600 seconds = 10 minutes | This property specifies the default release time for pre-bookings. This value is used only if a release time hasn’t been specified for a zone. |
| Reject Threshold | 5 | This property specifies the maximum number of times a booking will be offered to a driver. |
| Resubmit Threshold | 3 | This property specifies the maximum number of times a booking can be resubmitted by a driver before it will stop being offered to that driver. |
| ReverseDBthresholdKM | 0.1 km | This property is used when the dispatch system is trying to determine an address given a latitude and longitude. This occurs, for example, when a walk-up job is started and the dispatch system determines the address where the job was started.
A street name/place name must be within this distance of the latitude/longitude to be considered. |
| Set User Passwords | Y or N | If set to Y the dispatch system users must enter a password to log on. In the vehicle the password is entered as a PIN number but other users can use a string. |
Call Centre Operator Properties
These properties directly affect the call centre operators or the information that they see.
| Property Name | Typical value | Effect |
| Auto Dispatch by Default | Y or N | If set to Y new bookings are marked for dispatching.
If set to N new bookings will not be automatically dispatched and must be handled by the operator. |
| Max Client Names | 5 | Maximum number of names displayed on the booking form. This is used to prevent a large list of names being offered when bookings are taken from a public phone number. |
| Operator Send Pre Bookings Days | 14 days | This property affects the number of pre-bookings shown in the client. For fleets with a very large number of pre-bookings it may be useful to reduce the number of bookings being displayed to shorten the list.
See also the ??? parameter used with recurring bookings |
| PhoneNumberList | 0312345678|Local Base, 028765421|After Hours Base | This property may be used to pre-set phone numbers that will be offered when setting the phone number to be used for voice calls from the driver and for panic (duress) calls.
A list of numbers can be given. The entries are separated by commas and each entry consists of a number, a |, and a short description for the number. See also: PhoneNumberVoice, PhoneNumberPanic. |
| PhoneNumberPanic | 0312345678 | Phone number to be called by the car when a panic signal is accepted by the base operator. |
| PhoneNumberVoice | 0312345679 | Phone number to be called by the car when a voice call request is accepted by the base operator. |
| Vehicle Location Period | 0 – No updates
5 – 5 seconds 10 – 10 seconds 30 – 30 seconds 60 – 60 seconds 300 – 300 seconds |
This property is used to control how frequently the vehicle position is reported to the booking client software.
If set to 0 the client is notified only when a vehicle changes zones. If set to some other value then the client is sent the vehicle position periodically. This is used when displaying the vehicle’s distance from the pickup point. |
General Fleet Properties
These are general properties about the fleet and its operation that do not fit under other categories
| Property Name | Typical value | Effect |
| Alternate Shipping Address | 189 South Road, Mile End SA 5031 | This address is used as the standard shipping address for spares. |
| Driver Wording Address | DRIVER | This property contains the text to appear before the addresses in a booking created by a driver using the book here screen. Normally the work DRIVER is used.
See also: Hail Wording Address |
| GPS Default | -34.998069, 138.516462 | This property gives the assumed location for the vehicle in cases where the vehicle has not received a valid GPS signal since being installed. It enables the vehicle to be shown on the map, albeit in the wrong position.
The value is entered as latitude (negative for South) and longitude. |
| Hail System Username | HAIL | This property contains the name to be used as the operator name for walk-up jobs.
If nothing is entered the name <HAIL> is used. |
| Hail Wording Address (walk up jobs) | HAIL | This property contains the text to appear before the addresses in a walk-up job. Normally the work HAIL is put before the address to highlight that the job was a walk-up job and not one from a booking.
See also: Driver Wording Address, Hail Wording Booking History (walk up jobs), Hail Wording Booking Updates (walk up jobs). |
| Hail Wording Booking History (walk up jobs) | HAIL | This property contains the text to appear in the booking history section of the client when describing walk-up jobs. Normally the work HAIL is put before the address to highlight that the job was a walk-up job and not one from a booking.
See also: Driver Wording Address, Hail Wording Booking History (walk up jobs), Hail Wording Booking Updates (walk up jobs). |
| Hail Wording Booking Updates (walk up jobs) | HAIL | This property contains the text to appear in the booking updates section of the client when describing walk-up jobs. Normally the work HAIL is put before the address to highlight that the job was a walk-up job and not one from a booking.
See also: Driver Wording Address, Hail Wording Booking History (walk up jobs), Hail Wording Booking Updates (walk up jobs). |
| IVR Multiple Booking Name Threshold | 5 | This property is used only with the SmartVOIX phone system. It allows callers to make multiple bookings with the IVR system. See IVR Multiple Booking Option for more details. |
| IVR Multiple Booking Option | 0 – Allow All Bookings
1 – Send All to Operator based on Name Threshold 2 – Warn caller and allow to add booking |
This property applies to the SmartVOIX phone system only. It specifies the action to be taken if an identified caller rings when there is already a booking for that caller in the dispatch system. Choices are:
0 – caller is offered IVR and is not prevented from making another call. 1 – the caller will be put through to the operator unless the number of names associated with that phone number exceeds the threshold given in the IVR Multiple Booking Name Threshold property. This is intended to apply to numbers used in public places that often have multiple bookings. 2 – the caller will be advised that a booking is in the dispatch system then permitted to make another booking. |
| Mapping Requires Login | Y or N | If set to Y a login is required to access the map.
If set to N no login is required for the map. Note however that there are privacy issues in allowing general access to the map data. |
| Payout Amount for VTD NSP WAT | $5.10 | This value applies when generating the report for the Victorian Taxi Directorate. It specifies the rate per job for wheelchair work. |
| Period Scheduled Polling | 0 | This property is used with recurring bookings and indicates how often the dispatch system should check the recurring bookings to create new bookings.
If set to 0 the dispatch system will process the list at midnight. If set to some other value then the dispatch system will process the list periodically at the interval given. See also: Period Scheduled Release Days. |
| Period Scheduled Release Days | 7 days | This property is used with recurring bookings and indicates how far in advance bookings should be transferred to the pre-bookings list.
If a change is made to the model booking then instances of that booking already in the pre-booking queue will not be changed. Conversely if a change is made to a booking in the pre-booking list it will not affect the model booking. As a general rule the value of this property should be no more than 14. |
| Send Prank from Vehicle | 0 – Pranking is done from server
1 – Pranking will be done from vehicle |
If set to 0 pranking of the driver when out-of car is set is done by the server.
If set to 1 pranking of the driver when out-of-car is set is done by the unit in the vehicle. This option is normally used by fleets handling their own call charges. |
| Send SMS From Vehicle | 0 – Don’t allow SMS
1 – Allow SMS Send Only 2 – Allow SMS Send and Receive |
If set to 0 any SMS to the passenger will be sent by the dispatch system . Any reply sent by the passenger will be lost.
If set to 1 any SMS to the passenger will be sent from the vehicle. Any reply sent by the passenger will be lost. If set to 2 any SMS to the passenger will be sent from the vehicle. Any reply sent by the passenger will be displayed to the driver as a message. See also: Allow Customer SMS. |
| SendMultipleSMS | Y or N | If set to Y long SMS messages will be split into several messages, each no more than 160 characters.
If set to N long messages are truncated at 160 characters. See also: Send SMS From Vehicle, Allow Customer SMS. |
| Treat Extras as Tolls | Y or N | If set to Y all extra amounts entered on the meter will be shown as tolls in the reports.
If set to N any extra amounts entered on the meter will be listed as extras. |
| Vehicle Download Configuration Key | 4356 | This property gives the download key that must be used when configuring the vehicle. The value will be set by support staff. |
| Voice Recording Email Address | basename@gmail.com | If this property is set drivers will be given the option to send recorded messages to the base operator. The value used here should be e-mail address used to receive the recorded messages.
Recorded messages should not be used for urgent issues but are useful for non-urgent messages to the operator. Entering future bookings are a common use. |
| ZeroOutFares | Y or N | This property may be used to zero out fares collected by the dispatch system when the Meter Silent property is set. It does not affect fares collected using the fare payment screen in the car.
The fare discrepancy report cannot be used if this property is set to Y as the original metered amounts are not retained. Note that in order to have walk-up jobs recorded by the dispatch system either the Meter Silent property must be set or the fare payment screen must be used. See also: Meter Silent, Requires Fare Details (Account), Requires Fare Details Non account. |
Fare Calculation Properties
These properties relate to the fare estimator calculator that is available in the dispatch client and the express booking website.
The fare is calculated as <flag fall> + <estimated distance> x <per kilometre rate>
| Property Name | Typical value | Effect |
| Fare Calculation Distance Padding Rate | 10% | This property allows for some padding to be added to the estimated distance. It is expressed as a percentage to be added. |
| Fare Calculation Distance Round Value | 0.1km | This property affects the distance used to estimate the fare by causing the distance to be rounded. See the Fare Calculation Distance Rounding Up Only property for details on how this value is used.
No rounding is done if this value is zero. See also Fare Calculation Distance Rounding Up Only |
| Fare Calculation Distance Rounding Up Only | Y and N | If this property is Y then the distance used to estimate the fare is always rounded up to the nearest value specified in the Fare Calculation Distance Round Value property.
If this property is N then the distance used to estimate the fare is rounded to the nearest value specified specified in the Fare Calculation Distance Round Value property. See also Fare Calculation Distance Round Value |
| Fare Calculation Flag Fall | $5.40 | This property is used when calculating the estimated fare for a job. It gives the flag fall to be used. |
| Fare Calculation Hourly Rate | $50 | This property is used for vehicles booked on a time basis. It specifies the cost per hour for hiring the vehicle. |
| Fare Calculation KM Rate | $1.67 | This property is used when calculating the estimated fare for a job. It gives the rate per kilometre to be used. |
| Fare Calculation Minimum | This property is used when calculating the estimated fare for a job. It gives the minimum fare to be quoted. | |
| Fare Calculation Rate Options | [20.0|20% Increase for weekend work],
[-5%|5% Discount for pensioners] |
This property allows different formulas to be used when calculating the estimated fare for a job. A list may be given and the entries separated by commas.
Each entry in the list must contain a scaling factor to be applied to be basic calculation and a description. The two fields are separated by a | and enclosed in []. Thus if one has 20% extra for work after midnight one would write [20%|20% extra after midnight] |
| Fare Calculation Round Up Only | Y or N | If this property is Y then the final fare estimate is always rounded up to the nearest value specified in the Fare Calculation Round Value property.
If this property is N then the fare is rounded to the nearest value specified in the Fare Calculation Round Value property. See also Fare Calculation Round Value |
| Fare Calculation Round Value | $5 | This property affects the final fare estimate by causing the fare to be rounded. See the Fare Calculation Round Up Only property for details on how this value is used.
No rounding is done if this value is zero. See also Fare Calculation Round Up Only. |
Shift Restriction Properties
Parameters used by the shift restriction settings. Blank results in the defaults for the Algorithm.
NOTE that the parameter structure depends on the algorithm being used
New Zealand Government
Needs exactly 6 OR 8 comma-separated parameters (values in MINUTES). Defaults are from ShiftRestrictionData.ShiftParameters
Example: 30,600,1440,420,780,4200
Which represents:
| 30Min_Break | = 30 * MIN | |
| 10Hour_Break | = 10 * HOUR | |
| 24Hour_Break | = 24 * HOUR | |
| Max_Time_Before_30Min | = 7 * HOUR | |
| Cumulative_Time_Before_10Hour | = 13 * HOUR | |
| Cumulative_Time_Before_24Hour | = 70 * HOUR |
OPTIONAL – 100km distance parameters:
Example: 30,600,1440,420,780,4200,100000,330
Which represents (above plus):
| Distance_Long_Trip | = 100000 (metres) | |
| Max_Time_Before_30Min_Long_Trip | = 5 * HOUR + 30 * MIN |
General Fatigue Management
Parameters that are suitable for the General Fatigue management shift restrictions.
This parameter structure is based on specification in the National Heavy Vehicle Register (NVHR) recommendations:
https://www.nhvr.gov.au/safety-accreditation-compliance/fatigue-management/work-and-rest-requirements/standard-hours
Example: Y,N,Y,330:315:15,480:450:15:15,660:600:15:15:15:15,1440:720:420,10080:4320:1440
Which represents:
| Parameter 1 | Whether unavailable counts as not working (ie. break). If ‘N’ only logout is counted as break. – Y/N | ||
| Parameter 2 |
Determine whether short breaks (less than minimum) should be excluded from work time calculation – Y/N |
||
| Parameter 3 (optional) |
Whether time OOC (out of car) should be considered as break – Y/N Note: Fleet Property ‘Disable Out Of Car OOC Distance’ can be used to automatically disable OOC car when vehicle moves to end break |
||
| Parameter 4+ |
Defines a break in the format A:B:C1:C2:C3 |
Where: In any period of A a driver must not work more than B and must have minimum breaks of C1, C2, etc