Name of Process:

Alternate Transportation & Uber

Process Owner:

Ajay Sharma

Created By:

Anurag 

Last Updated By:

Anurag

Date Created:

March 22, 2023 

Last Revision Date:

Process Purpose:

The purpose of the this process is:

• to lay down the steps required to book alternate transport

• to minimize the inconvenience caused to our passengers by providing alternatives to ensure they reach their destination

• expense recording so that it can deducted from the our partner bus operator wherever applicable

Process Scope:

This process document governs the steps to book alternate transportation and/or Uber for the passengers in case of emergency situations such as bus breakdown (mechanical issue), flat tire, accident, driver skipped stop, early departure from the stop, etc. Dispatcher on duty will be the owner of all the emergencies and as soon as the decision is made by them for alternate transportation, the CX team will start booking as per the steps laid out in the process.

Process Input:

1. Dispatch/CX team suggests booking uber/alternate bus in a situation which requires providing alternate transportation as a solution to the ongoing situation 

2. Details of the trips and passengers will be required to initiate the process. Trip ID, Location of emergency, Number of passengers 

3. Pick-up and drop-off location

4. Details of passengers (name, phone number and email address) of the passengers for whom the ticket/uber is to be booked

5. Passengers consent for alternate transport

Process Boundaries:

Alternate transportation and Uber is different from the relief bus/cab/taxi arrangement. Dispatch will be responsible for relief bus/cab/taxi arrangements

Process Flow:

Booking Uber for passengers

1. Inform the passengers about the plan of booking Uber for them.

2. Open the passengers list of the affected trip and start contacting them to get their luggage information. Also, request them to form a group of 3 (for UberX) or a group of 6 (for Uber XL). If they have extra luggage which can make it difficult for 3 passengers to travel in UberX, then book Uber XL to accommodate passengers and luggage accordingly

3. Open the Uber central portal using the this link

4. Click on OurBus Inc tab

5. Click on “Create New”’ then choose “Single Ride”

6. “One-way trip” would be automatically selected

7. In the ”Who's riding?” section, enter first name, last name and contact number of the passenger who has been contacted along with the correct country code. This detail can be fetched from the Passengers List on Admin Panel

8. Scroll down and enter the pickup and drop off address accurately.

9. If the uber is to be booked immediately, ensure “Scheduled” option is selected and “Choose when they'll ride” should be Today & Now

10. Scroll down and select ‘Vehicle Type’ according to the number of passengers in a group and their luggage. It should either be UberX or Uber XL 

11. Click on ‘Request Now’ and wait until the ride is assigned.

12. Inform the passengers when the booking is confirmed and share the vehicle details & ETA. Refer this document for uber portal walkthrough

13. Coordinate with the passengers during boarding.

14. Keep a record of the passengers traveling in the group

15. Relay this information on the slack channel along with the ticket Uber fare

Booking passenger(s) on bus with alternate bus company

1. Inform the passengers about the plan of booking alternate bus for them

2. Check on the links mentioned below if any other service provider has a scheduled trip from the desired trip

   1. Wanderu    - https://www.wanderu.com/: Select One way. Enter the origin, destination, date and search the scheduled trips.

   2. Greyhound    - https://www.greyhound.com/en: Scroll down to see the ‘Book A Trip’ section and proceed

   3. Best Bus    - https://www.bestbus.com/: Select One way. Enter departure pick-up, departure drop-off, date and search the scheduled trips.

   4. MegaBus    - https://us.megabus.com/: Enter the origin, destination, date and find tickets.

   5. Amtrak        - https://www.trainbuster.com/en: Enter the origin, destination, date and find tickets.

   6. NJ Transit    - https://www.njtransit.com/

   7. Go Transit    - https://www.gotransit.com/ (within Canada)

3. Book the ticket using the passenger(s)’ name, phone number and email address so that they receive the copy of the ticket

4. Contact the code red manager for credit card details

5. Make the payment and ask the passenger to check the ticket in their inbox

6. Relay this information on the slack channel along with the ticket fare

Process Output:

The output of this process will be that all the impacted passengers have been provided alternate transportation to their destination during uneventful situation with minimum impact to their travel plans

Exceptions to Normal Process Flow

1. If we are unable to book the alternate transportation, we can ask the passenger(s) to book the tickets on the alternatives provided themselves and share the receipt with us for reimbursement within 24 hours along with their PayPal email address.

Control Points and Measurements:

1. Make sure the contact number of the passenger used to book the uber is not a landline number or else they will not get the details of the uber in text

2. Expense recording: Once the ticket/Uber has been booked, update the total ticket amount on code_red channel in the thread and fill the expense form

3. Credit card usage recording