Branch settings

The new branch structure and functionalities are being rolled out to goUrbans customers consecutive

Branch states

There are 5 branch states currently supported:

• • In preparation - the branch is in preparation for usage at a later point in time
  • Operational - The branch is fully operational and useable
  • Hibernation - The branch is in hibernation mode. I.e.: the vehicles of the branch are paused and will be available at a later point of time. Check maintenance state description as it has the same functionality but it shows the error message R105 instead.
  • Out of Business - The branch is out of business and will NOT be available at a later point of time virtually certain.
  • Maintenance - A branch can be set to maintenance mode to hide all vehicles in this branch from end users in the app. The vehicles will be still visible within the Dashboard.

Operational mode

• • On-Demand (Free Floating)
  • Booking
  • Booking with fixed time slots

App settings

• • App image
    • The image you add here is displayed in the end-user app on the coordinates set for that particular branch in the case when a user zooms out in the map. Please note that this is only visible in the case of a free-floating branch.

Low battery notification settings

User can find these settings under Rental tab → Low battery notification. Here user can create the rules and enable or disable the low SoC notification for end users.

Low battery notification settings

In order to enable low batter notification, user needs to click on switch to enable it, next to Low battery notification title.

• • Delay between notification with change in battery level
    • If the battery level changes from Low to Critical, operator can define what is the delay in case a Low SoC notification was already sent to the user. The minimum value is 1 minute.
  • Delay between notifications
    • After how many minutes the end user will get notified again that the battery is low and they are far away from the business area. The minimum value is 1 minute.
  • Tolerance in meters
    • Define how far away the end user has to be from the business area to receive the notification.

Booking settings

In order to configure booking settings, operator needs to go to the third step to manage branch settings, and then go to Booking tab. This is available only in case operational mode is Booking or Booking with time slot.

Booking settings

There user can configure following:

• • Maximum booking duration
    • Here user can set up the maximum amount a booking can last, in seconds.
  • Min time to book before the booking start
    • Minimum buffer time to book before the start of the booking
  • Allow for early pickups
    • The maximum amount of time allowed for pickup before the actual start of the booking.
  • Notification before start of booking
    • Here operator can define how long, in seconds, before the booking starts will the end user receive a notification. The notification itself can be set up in the Notification channel under the Booking Notification Before Start.
  • Notification before end of booking
    • Here operator can define, in seconds, how long before the booking end will the user receive a notification. The notification itself can be set up in the Notification channel under the Booking Notification Before End.
  • Min time to change booking
    • Here operator can define in seconds how long before the booking starts will the end user be able to make changes to their booking.
  • Minimum time for free of charge cancellation
    • Define how many seconds before the start of the booking can a user cancel a booking for free.
    • Example: booking starts at 13h, and the 'Minimum time for free of charge cancellation in seconds' is 3600 (or 1h). The user can cancel for free at any time before 12h and after that, the defined 'Cancelation price' will apply.
  • Notification before end of free of charge cancellation
    • Here operator can define how long, in seconds, before the free-of-charge cancellation expires will the user receive a notification that their free cancellation option will expire. Usually, a booking can be canceled for free if the starting point of the booking is far enough in the future, however, if it is defined in the Minimum time for free of charge cancellation it will be charged.
    • The notification itself can be set up in the Notification channel under the Booking Notification Free Cancel End.
  • Auto-approval
    • If enabled, bookings can be picked up without service personal approval.
  • Out of order vehicles count as available vehicles
    • If enabled, vehicles with service state OUT_OF_ORDER are included in the calculation of available vehicles.
  • Next available vehicle based on:
    • SOC / Mileage - higher state of charge, then lowest mileage.
    • Time since last rental - longest downtime first
  • Minimum charge level of vehicle
    • The minimum SOC % a vehicle needs to have for it to be available for pick up
  • Pick-up has to be during opening hours
    • If turned on the pick-up can only occur during the defined work hours
  • Return has to be during opening hours
    • If turned on the returns can only occur during the defined work hours

Business Hours

In order to configure business hours, operator needs to go to the third step to manage branch settings, and then go to Business Hours tab.

There, the user can set hours of operations of booking / free-floating branches.

In the case of a free-floating branch, operator can use these settings so that end users can only start a rental within the hours defined. Force this in the rental requirements.

In the case of a booking branch, operator can use these settings so that end users can pick up and/or return their vehicle only during business hours. Operator is also able to force this in the booking settings.

Business hours under branch settings

Contact information

In order to configure contact information, operator needs to go to the third step to manage branch settings, and then go to Contact Information tab. This is available only in branches where operation mode is set to Booking or Booking with time slot.

This information can be used to be shown in the app.

Contact information for booking branch settings

Rental requirements

In order to assign rental requirements to vehicle categories in a branch, operator needs to go to the third step to manage branch settings, and then go to Rental requirements tab.

Assigning rental requirements to vehicle category in branch settings

Changes made in this list are being automatically saved when user changes selection.

Pricing

In order to assign pricing to vehicle categories or additions in a branch, operator needs to go to the third step to manage branch settings, and then go to Pricing tab.

Assigning pricing to vehicle category in branch settings

Changes made in this list are being automatically saved when user changes selection.

Rental reservation

In order to configure rental reservation, operator needs to go to the third step to manage branch settings, and then go to Rental tab. The section is called Reservation.

When an end user reserves a vehicle, there is a limit on how long each reservation is, and how many times the user can reserve vehicles consecutively without making a rental.

There are cases where a user will keep trying to reserve a vehicle over and over, or keep making really short rentals so it is flagged as a no-movement rental (see below), so they are not charged.

By configuring the reservation settings, operator can avoid these cases:

• Reservation time: how long is each reservation, in minutes?
• Maximum reservation time: How much the end user can reserve without making any rental. If the reservation time is 15 minutes, and the maximum reservation time is 30 minutes, after the user makes 2 reservations without making a rental they will reach the maximum allowed reservation time, and they will be blocked from reserving again.
• Buffer time: How long the user needs to wait to be able to reserve again after being blocked?
• Block rental for the same vehicle in minutes: how many minutes does the user need to wait to rent the same vehicle after a rental?

Rental reservation settings for on-demand location branches

Compatible branches

In order to configure compatible branches, operator needs to go to the third step to manage branch settings, and then go to Rental tab. The section is called Compatible branches.

By default, rentals can only be ended in the branch they started. However, operator is able to add Compatible branches which are branches in which you would be able to end the rental as well.

When a rental is ended in another Compatible branch, the vehicle is automatically assigned to the branch in which the rental has ended.

No movement

In order to configure no movement, operator needs to go to the third step to manage branch settings, and then go to Rental tab. The section is called No movement.

Let’s say a user has started a rental, but as the vehicle started, they noticed that the front light doesn’t work. The user ends the rental right after.

Charging the user in such a case could result in a call to customer service, where the customer would ask for a refund.

No movement configuration for location branch

By configuring the no movement rule, operator can avoid charging the user under certain conditions:

• • maximum distance (in meters): how much distance between the initial position and the end position is allowed. Consider that 0 is not an appropriate value because the GPS modules are not reliable enough.
  • maximum time (in minutes): how long can the rental last before the user gets charged?

Deposit

User can find these settings under Rental tab → Deposit. Here user can create the rules and enable or disable the deposit settings.

In order to enable deposit, user needs to click on switch to enable it, next to Deposit title.

A deposit is a refundable amount of money that serves as collateral.

For example: Operator offers car booking in Vienna, Austria. Whenever a user starts a car rental, they will be charged 500 euros. This amount of money will be released automatically to the user after a set amount of time.

In order to configure deposit settings, operator needs to input desired deposit amount and how long the deposit should be held (maximum 7 days).

How to release a deposit early

Operator can find details about the deposits in the rentals:

1. Click the Release money deposit button
2. Confirm

Private branch settings

In order for operator to setup a branch to be private, they need to first make it as private on the third step of branch creation.

After the branch has been marked as private, user will get new section called Private branch in third step, under Rental or Booking tabs, depending on the operational mode of a branch.

In that section, operator can define which users will have access to that branch.

Private branch section in branch settings

In order to add or remove users who have access to private branches, operator needs to click on Manage access button in order to open modal where users can be added or removed. Operator there can use search on top in order to find the user they want to add. Operator can select multiple users at once, and confirm it by clicking on Add button. User can be removed by clicking on a bucket icon next the the user name, email or phone number. No changes are being saved until operator clicks on a Save button.