An operator guide from CAB-X

From booking to drop-off: a taxi dispatch workflow guide

A practical guide to keeping bookings, driver updates and passenger information together throughout a private hire journey.

Published by CAB-X · For UK taxi and private hire operators

Keep one clear record of each journey

A booking can arrive by phone, through a website or from a passenger app. The source may differ, but the dispatch team still needs the same essentials: where the passenger is, where they are going, when they need to travel and which vehicle can do the job.

This guide follows that record through four stages and suggests checks to use in a software demonstration. For the product features behind the workflow, explore CAB-X taxi dispatch software.

The dispatch workflow

Four stages, one booking record

Make it easy for the next person handling a job to understand what has happened and what needs to happen next.

01 · Capture

Confirm the details before dispatch

Check the pickup point, destination, passenger contact details, pickup time and vehicle requirements. A building name alone may not identify the entrance. Add useful pickup notes to the booking so the driver receives the same information as the office.

02 · Assign

Choose a driver who can do the job

Consider availability, location, vehicle suitability and existing commitments together. For a scheduled pickup, a nearby driver may still have another journey to finish first. Check what dispatch shows when a driver cannot accept, or an assigned job needs to move.

03 · Track

Keep the office and driver in step

Once a job is accepted, arrival and passenger-on-board updates should stay attached to that booking. Check how a change made by the office reaches the driver, and how the driver can find pickup notes or contact the passenger without searching another screen.

04 · Complete

Close the journey with a clear payment outcome

Confirm the final fare and payment method before closing the job. Cash, an account booking and a confirmed online payment need different instructions. The completed record should help the office answer a passenger query without asking the driver to reconstruct the trip.

A practical demo checklist

Try the changes that happen on a busy shift

A normal booking is only part of the picture. Ask to see how the system handles these everyday situations.

  1. A timed pickup with a changed destinationEnter a scheduled booking, assign it, then change the destination. Check which details update in dispatch and on the driver's job screen, including the pickup time and any revised fare.
  2. A driver who becomes unavailableTry reassigning a job and cancelling a prebook. Check what each driver sees, whether the office can follow the sequence of actions, and whether an old assignment remains visible anywhere.
  3. A booking arriving onlinePlace a booking through the passenger-facing flow. Check that the office can identify its source and that the passenger receives the correct journey details. CAB-X's web booker is one way to connect website bookings to dispatch.
  4. A driver reconnecting after a signal gapCheck that the active job and its latest instructions return when connectivity resumes. Review the CAB-X driver app alongside the dispatch screen so you can compare both sides of the same booking.
  5. A completed job with a payment queryOpen the completed journey and find the fare, payment method and job history. Confirm which information the driver sees and which details the office uses to investigate the query.

Walk through your own booking scenarios

Bring a typical shift, a scheduled pickup and a difficult booking to a CAB-X demonstration. See how the workflow fits your operation.

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