Trip Needs are services that a client may require when being transported. Trip Needs can be Seating Needs, Equipment Needs, or just general identifiers for certain client/trip requirements.
Why Trip Needs are Important
Each trip has different requirements. Using Trip Needs is a quick way to take note of them.
The Trip Needs that you create will appear as checkboxes on every trip created.
A Seating Need is required in order to save a trip in RoutingBox, as it directly relates to the available Capacity of your vehicles throughout the day.
Using Trip Needs, different Service Rates can be calculated for different trip situations.
To Create New Trip Needs in RoutingBox
Routingbox lets you create Needs to make sure you have the right seating available for each client, the right equipment for each trip, and are charging the correct amount for each situation.
On the Homescreen, under Settings (at the bottom) Click Needs.
Two seating needs are already created for all transporters - Wheelchair and Ambulatory. Remember - you'll want to have Seating Needs to match each Mode of Transport.
To do that, Click New Need, and add a Name.
The "Need Code" field is a way to identify this Need on the Dispatch screen. The Need Code can be up to 4 letters.
Be sure to mark whether or not you're creating a Seating Need or Equipment Need. Seating Needs indicate what kind of Seat a passenger will occupy in a vehicle.
Seating Needs indicate a seating requirement for that client/trip. Equipment Needs can be created in RoutingBox too, such as wheelchairs, oxygen tank, carseat, etc.
Be careful if you're considering adding Loading time to your Trip Needs. Load time is an amount in minutes that is added to a trip TWICE = once for loading and once for unloading. Work with your Customer Support Manager if you have questions with this.
More information on Load Time can be found here: Load Time in RoutingBox Web