Shuttle buses contribute to environmental conservation in several ways:

1. Reduced Emissions: Shuttle buses typically run on cleaner fuels or even electricity, emitting fewer pollutants compared to individual cars. This helps improve air quality, especially in urban areas where traffic congestion is a concern.
2. Reduced Traffic Congestion: By transporting multiple passengers in one trip, shuttle buses help reduce the number of individual vehicles on the road. This minimizes traffic congestion, leading to smoother traffic flow and fewer idling vehicles, which in turn reduces emissions.
3. Promotion of Public Transportation: Shuttle services encourage the use of public transportation, which is generally more efficient in terms of energy and resources per passenger mile traveled compared to private vehicles. Increased public transportation usage can lead to reduced overall emissions.
4. Optimized Routes: Shuttle routes are often optimized based on demand and passenger locations, leading to more direct and efficient routes. This optimization reduces the total distance traveled and the associated emissions.
5. Encouraging Sustainable Practices: Shuttle services often incorporate eco-friendly practices, such as using low-emission vehicles, implementing regular maintenance to ensure optimal fuel efficiency, and adopting green technologies. These practices contribute to environmental sustainability.
6. Lower Carbon Footprint: When passengers choose shuttle buses over private cars, they reduce their individual carbon footprint. Sharing a ride with others significantly decreases the emissions produced per person during the journey.
7. Support for Green Initiatives: Many shuttle services are part of broader initiatives aimed at reducing the environmental impact of transportation. These initiatives often involve the use of alternative fuels, efficient route planning, and the adoption of environmentally friendly technologies.

In summary, shuttle buses are good for the environment because they promote energy efficiency, reduce emissions, minimize traffic congestion, and encourage the use of shared, sustainable transportation options, contributing to a cleaner and greener planet. Add a comment

At the moment if you are using the software at booking.drivenot.com and your transfers business is affected by the pandemic of COVID-19 (coronavirus) it might be a good idea to convert one or more of your vehicles to a delivery service.
There are many people who stay under guarantee at home (which we all should - as much as possible). But all those people need food, toiletries and medical supplies. So why don't deliver those necessities to them? - of course, following the utmost care to keep everything and everyone protected from the coronavirus and possible infection by observing "fanatic" hygiene and wearing the best protective gear that can be found.

There isn't a delivery service type integrated into the software at the moment but it is quite easy to convert on of the existing services to Delivery.
Let's take the Address to Address (search) booking service for example.
The price is calculated by mile/kilometre with this service so this makes it the perfect candidate for the Delivery conversion.
Just change the name of the service that is displayed at the front end by going to your back office > Dashboard > Translations > English (or any other language you have installed) and search for "Address search" then change it to something like "Delivery".
Then go to the back office > Dashboard > Settings > General settings and set:
Default Adult seats: 1
Show Adult seats: No
Show Suitcase dropdown: No
These settings will hide the Seats and Suitcase selections at the front end while allowing the booking process to be completed.
If you would like to collect some additional information like a specific message eg. weight or message for a list of groceries, medical supplies etc. then go to the back office > Dashboard > Custom fields and click on New.
Select custom field type as Input box for simple requirements like Weight.
Add a title (eg. Weight in kg), Display on: First booking step, Show on Pick up: Yes, Show on Address: Yes, decide on Mandatory?: Yes/No and Save & Close.
Then add another custom field if you like. Select the field type as Text area and name it eg. List of groceries, medicines, other supplies. Again set Display on: First booking step, Show on Pick up: Yes, Show on Address: Yes, decide on Mandatory?: Yes/No and Save & Close.
Make sure that you also go to the back office > Dashboard > Settings > Base settings. Set Base latitude and longitude and then Base to Pick up calculation: Yes and Drop off to Base calculation: Yes to make sure that you are compensated for the "dead mileage" from your base to the shop and from the drop off address back to your base. 

You can also use a different booking type for Delivery eg. Hourly hire can be made delivery where you charge for the service by the hour. 

If you prefer to have a cleaner, separate Delivery service type then please contribute your thoughts or help financially at the crowdfunding page here.
Add a comment

Shuttles for transportation, commonly known as shuttle buses, operate on fixed routes and schedules, providing a convenient way for people to travel between specific locations, such as airports, hotels, parking lots, or tourist attractions. These shuttles are typically larger than regular vans and can accommodate more passengers.
Here's how they work:

1. Fixed Routes: Shuttle buses follow predetermined routes, stopping at designated locations to pick up and drop off passengers. The routes are carefully planned to cover areas with high demand, like airports and hotels.
2. Scheduled Timings: Shuttles operate on fixed schedules, with specific departure times from each location. Passengers can plan their journeys based on these schedules, ensuring they reach their destinations on time.
3. Shared Service: Shuttle transportation is often a shared service, meaning multiple passengers travel together. This shared arrangement helps reduce costs for individual travelers and promotes a more sustainable mode of transport.
4. Ticketing and Payments: Passengers typically need to purchase tickets or pay a fare to board the shuttle. This can be done at the shuttle terminal, online, or sometimes directly on the shuttle. Some services might offer electronic ticketing systems or mobile apps for convenience.
5. Luggage and Facilities: Shuttles are equipped with storage compartments for luggage, making them suitable for travelers with bags. Some shuttles also provide amenities like air conditioning, comfortable seating, and sometimes Wi-Fi, enhancing the passenger experience.
6. Reliability and Convenience: Shuttles are known for their reliability and punctuality. They offer a convenient way for passengers to travel without the hassle of driving, parking, or navigating public transportation systems.
7. Specialized Shuttles: Apart from general transportation, there are specialized shuttles, such as those for airport transfers, hotel shuttles, and theme park transportation. These shuttles cater to specific needs and are often coordinated with other services.

In summary, shuttle buses provide a cost-effective, efficient, and convenient mode of transportation for people traveling between specific locations, offering a shared service that benefits both passengers and the environment. Add a comment

Google Maps has started charging for Google Maps API usage on July 16th and the charges are quite steep.

We will no longer be able to provide discounted subscriptions to our service.
Prices may go up from the next billing period for your company. Please see the Pricing page. 
All recurring subscriptions under those amounts will be manually cancelled on our side and you will have to resubscribe if you wish to continue using the service.
If you are on the latest subscription prices you don't have to do anything.

This decision is not taken lightly and for the last 2 months, we have been working hard to make it possible to still operate and stay competitive in pricing to help your business run smoothly, faster, better and to sustain growth.
However, when something changes in the whole system we have to adapt to it.

The price increase will be used for support of the back end system which includes Google Maps API usage for things like back office orders, address auto-complete, geocoding of places, base maps, zones etc.
You will still have to provide your own Google Maps API keys which will be used for the front-end booking engine.
Here is the link to Google's tutorial on how to create your account and get the API keys. Activate Maps, Routes and Places.
The APIs that you need to enable are: Maps JavaScript API (might be renamed to Dynamic Maps), Places API, Directions API, Geocoding API and Geolocation API.

After you have enabled the API services you will need to create a set of 2 separate API keys:
The first one you can call a Browser key:
In the Console > APIs & Services > Credentials section click on Create credentials and you will see your API key.
It is very important to click on Restrict key link in the popup window (if you already have an API key you can click on the edit API key pencil icon next to it). In the Application restriction tab select HTTP referrers (websites) option and in the input field copy and paste your unique company URL followed by * eg. https://booking.drivenot.com/en/company/YOUR-COMPANY-NAME*
The second one you can call a Server key:
Repeat the procedure above but in Application restriction tab select IP Address radio and add this server IP in the field: 178.62.66.206

This will ensure proper work of the API key as well as securing it against fraudulent use by anyone else. You can read more about API key security on Google's support pages.
After you have done that, please copy and paste the API keys at your back office > Dashboard > Settings > Map Settings > Browser key and Server key, then Save. Add a comment