Rider trip messages

Settings → Notifications holds the automatic messages ZeitRide sends riders about their trips, and the switch that allows texting at all. Only company admins can change these settings.

Before anything goes out

• The SMS notifications switch at the top of the Notifications page must be on. With it off, no texts are sent — rider messages go out by email only (if email is on).
• Each rider's own Allow SMS setting (on their profile, next to the mobile number) must be on for that rider to receive texts. See Adding members.
• Emails go to the rider's own Email field on their profile — not to the billing contact.

The messages

The Rider trip messages card has a switch for each message:

• Booking confirmation — sent as soon as the trip is saved.
• Reminder before pickup — sent once, ahead of the scheduled pickup. Set the Reminder lead time (hours) (1–72, default 24). A reminder is never sent within the first hour after a trip is booked, so a rider who just confirmed a booking isn't texted twice in a row.
• Also call the rider — an automated call reads the reminder and lets the rider press 1 to confirm, 2 to cancel, 3 to ask for a call back. The outcome shows on the Dispatch board.
• Driver on the way — sent when the driver taps En route on the pickup.
• Driver has arrived — sent when the driver taps Arrived at the pickup.
• Also send by email — sends each message by email too, using the From email / From name you set (blank uses your company name).

Under Message wording, leave a field blank for the default or write your own. Wording can be set for all payers or overridden per payer, field by field — for example a payment link and cancellation policy for private-pay riders only.

Reminder call costs

When Also call the rider is on, a Reminder call costs box appears with two switches that lower what reminder calls cost. Each shows an estimate of what it would save your company a month ("Saves about $X a month"), worked out from your own reminder calls over the last 30 days.

• Detect voicemail on reminder calls (on by default) — ZeitRide tells whether a person or a voicemail picked up and shows Answered or Voicemail on the Dispatch board. Turn it off to lower your calling costs. The call and its message don't change, and riders can still press 1 to confirm, 2 to cancel or 3 for a call back. Calls where the rider didn't press a key simply won't show a label.
• Pause calls to riders who miss them (off by default) — if a rider's last two reminder calls went to voicemail or weren't answered, ZeitRide stops calling them and tries again once after 7 days. If they press a key on that call, calls go back to normal. Their text and email reminders keep going out.

Leaving both switches as they are keeps reminder calls working exactly as before.

Phone riders should call

Fill in Phone riders should call with your office number. It is used in the automatic replies riders get when they text back (see below). Leave it blank and the replies simply omit a number.

When a rider texts back

Riders often reply to a confirmation or reminder — "running late", "cancel today", "which door?". Those replies now reach your dispatchers:

• Everyone who dispatches gets a bell notification titled Text from <Rider> with the message, linking to that day's Dispatch board so you can act on it right away.
• The rider gets an automatic reply with the Phone riders should call number, so they know to call for anything urgent.
• Keywords are handled automatically: a rider who texts STOP has texts turned off (their Allow SMS switch goes off), START turns them back on, and HELP replies with the office phone.

Numbers that can't get texts

If a rider's number is a landline, doesn't exist, or keeps failing, ZeitRide stops sending automatic texts to it. Reminder calls and emails still go out. The rider's profile shows a note explaining why. See Texts that can't be delivered.

What it costs

Texts, automatic replies and answered reminder calls are counted each month. See Texting and call usage for what counts and the prices.

Tip: If a rider says they never get texts, check these four things in order: the SMS notifications switch, the rider's Allow SMS setting, whether they once replied STOP, and whether their profile shows a Texts can't be delivered note.

Related: Managing member information · Dispatch board · Texts that can't be delivered · Texting and call usage