Overview

A boarding point is a location defined in the system where passengers can be picked up or dropped off as part of a charter.

Boarding point addresses are shown as hyperlinks in the fleet tablets & the driver’s app to allow drivers to tap the links and be directed to the address using Google Maps.

Notes can be added for the driver or the customer that will be shown each time the boarding point is used.

When a boarding point is updated, the changes flow through automatically to all active quotes, bookings and jobs using that location.

The following topics will be covered in this article:

• Add, edit, and delete boarding points
• Create boarding points directly while building a quote
• Use Google address lookup for accurate location data
• Capture GPS coordinates with adjustable map pins
• Add driver notes and customer-facing notes
• View, search and filter the Boarding Points list
• Clean up or merge boarding points in bulk
• Export the list to Excel

Viewing and searching the Boarding Points list

1. Navigate to Sales → Boarding Points.
2. Find the boarding point using the search tool 🔍, or by scrolling through the list.
3. Click on the Name to open the Manage Boarding Point page.

Two indicators appear to the left of each name:

• 🚌 In use - the boarding point has an upcoming booking or open quote, an incomplete job, or is used on a shift template. Hover the icon to see the reason.
• 📍 Has GPS - the boarding point has GPS coordinates captured.

Boarding Points list, showing the In Use and Has GPS indicator icons next to each name

Filtering the list

Click Filter to narrow the list:

• In Use - show only boarding points that are, or aren't, currently referenced by a booking, quote, job or shift.
• Has GPS - show only boarding points that do, or don't, have GPS coordinates.
• City
• State
• Archived - defaults to No. Set to Yes to view boarding points that have been deleted.

Bulk Select Mode

Bulk Select Mode lets you act on more than one boarding point at a time - either to clean them up or to merge duplicates together.

1. Click Bulk Select Mode in the Triple Dot Menu.
2. Tick the checkbox beside each boarding point you want to work with, or tick the header checkbox to select every row currently matching your search and filters.
3. Use Clean Up Selected, or Merge Boarding Points, described below.
4. Click Exit Bulk Select to leave the mode without taking any action.

Boarding Points list in Bulk Select Mode, showing the row checkboxes and the Clean Up / Merge buttons

❕Note: Bulk Select Mode is not available while the Archived filter is set to Yes - switch it back to No first.

Cleaning up boarding points

Cleaning up removes boarding points you no longer need. You can clean up your ticked selections, or every boarding point currently matching your search and filters.

1. In Bulk Select Mode, either tick the boarding points to remove, or tick the Select All option to target every result that matches your current filters.
2. Click Clean Up [n] Selected (for a ticked selection) or Clean Up All [n] Matching (for everything matching your filters).
3. Review the confirmation, then click Clean Up.

❕Note: You'll be notified when the clean-up completes.

What happens to each boarding point depends on how it's used:

• Boarding points with current or upcoming usage are skipped and left untouched.
• Boarding points with only historical usage are archived, and can be restored later from the boarding point's own page.
• Boarding points with no usage at all are deleted permanently and cannot be restored.

Manually selecting rows allows you to either clean up or merge. Only selected rows are targeted for the selected operation.

Selecting the top checkbox in the header row allows you to select a range of rows based on your active filter and search.

Merging boarding points

Merging combines duplicate boarding points into a single record. Every booking, quote, shift and job that referenced any of the merged-away boarding points is repointed to the one you keep.

1. In Bulk Select Mode, tick at least one boarding point you know is a duplicate.
2. Click Merge Boarding Points.
3. Your ticked boarding points appear under Boarding points to merge. Under Similar boarding points, the system also suggests duplicates by matching name or nearby location - click Add on any of these to fold them into the merge.
4. Select the radio button beside the boarding point to keep. The rest will be archived.
5. Under Merge result, edit the kept boarding point's Name, Driver Notes and Customer Notes as needed. The Notes from the archived boarding points panel on the right shows what the others held, so you can copy across anything worth keeping.
6. Click Merge.

Merge Boarding Points screen, showing the boarding points to merge, similar suggestions, keep selection, and merge result panel

❕Note: A merge needs at least two boarding points - the one you're keeping, plus at least one being merged into it.

❕Note: If the name you enter for the kept boarding point matches another active boarding point outside the merge set, you'll be asked to choose a different name.

❕Note: Only Sales department members see Bulk Select Mode, Clean Up and Merge. Other users can still search, filter and open boarding points.

Creating a Boarding Point

1. Navigate to Sales → Boarding Points.
2. Click the + button in the header to add a new boarding point.
3. Enter a Name for the boarding point.
4. Start typing the address in the Address field. Google will suggest matching addresses as you type.
5. Select the correct address from the suggestions. The system will automatically populate the address fields and capture GPS coordinates.
6. Review the map pin location. If needed, press the ‘Adjust Pin Location’ button which allows you to drag the pin to the exact pickup/drop-off point (see Adjusting the Map Pin below).
7. If the State is not already prefilled, select the State as this determines the time zone for pickup and drop-off times.
8. Click Submit to save the boarding point.

Create a Boarding Point form

Google Address Lookup

When entering an address, Central-Ops uses Google's address lookup to provide accurate location data. As you type, matching addresses appear as suggestions.

Selecting an address automatically:

• Populates the street address, suburb, and postcode fields
• Captures the GPS coordinates (latitude and longitude)
• Places a pin on the map at the location

Adjusting the Map Pin

The GPS coordinates determine where drivers are directed when using navigation from the Driver's App or Fleet Tablet. Sometimes the default pin location from Google may not be the exact pickup spot, for example, a specific gate or entrance.

To adjust the pin location:

1. Press the Adjust Pin Location button
2. Click and drag the map pin to the precise pickup or drop-off location.
3. Press the Save button

💡 Recommendation: For locations like schools, stadiums, or large venues, drag the pin to the specific entrance or gate where passengers will board. This helps drivers navigate to the correct spot.

Adjusting the map pin location

Editing a Boarding Point

1. Open the boarding point from the Boarding Points list.
2. Click the edit icon ✏️ in the header.
3. Make the required changes to name, address, or notes.
4. Click Submit to save.

❕Note: When you change a boarding point's name or address, any quotes or bookings that have not yet been completed will be updated to reflect the new information.

Deleting a Boarding Point

1. Open the boarding point you want to delete.
2. Click the ⋮ menu and select Delete Boarding Point.
3. Click Ok to confirm.

❕Note: If a Boarding Point is deleted, it will remain on any Quotes, Bookings or Jobs but will display a yellow triangle warning that the boarding point is no longer valid.

The yellow triangle warning on a job/quote/booking referencing a deleted boarding point

Creating a Boarding Point Within a Quote

You can create new boarding points directly while building a quote, without leaving the quote screen.