Overview
The Meter App booking system enables drivers, dispatchers, and riders to request a trip on-demand or reserve in advance, similar to ride-hailing platforms such as Bolt, Uber, and Didi. This feature is currently available for Meter Fleet customers only.
Booking Setup
Booking Options & Pricing
Fleet operators configure Booking Options to define ride types offered. Each option controls:
User-facing name — The label riders see when selecting rides (for example Standard, XL, or Hourly)
Passenger capacity — How many riders the option is meant to fit
Booking type — Point-to-point or time booking
Default fare — The fare Meter uses behind the scenes to calculate the price
Riders choose a booking option, not a fare name directly. The fare stays in the background and powers the price for that option.
Example booking options include Standard, XL, Premium, and Hourly for different service levels.
For a full explanation of how fares and booking options work together, see Fleet Fares.
Important limitation: Booking options apply across all zones with no zone-specific disabling capability.
Booking Availability Configuration
Fleet operators configure operational hours and days at the booking settings dashboard to control when the fleet accepts bookings. When a rider opens the booking form on a day the fleet is closed, the form automatically selects the next available day and time so the rider can book without needing to manually search for an open slot.
Auto Dispatch
Auto dispatch is on by default. When a booking is ready to dispatch, it goes into the fleet's dispatch queue so available fleet drivers can claim it in the app. This applies to both point-to-point and hourly bookings — if a rider selects "Pickup now" for an hourly booking, the trip is dispatched immediately just like a standard on-demand ride.
Drivers have 60 seconds to accept a dispatch before it expires and moves to the next available driver.
Zone Pricing
Advanced operators can use zone-based pricing rules to override standard booking option pricing across different operating areas.
Examples include:
Airport pickup fees
Airport-to-downtown fixed prices
How to Take Bookings
Four methods exist for creating bookings:
Personalized Fleet Website — Riders book directly through the fleet's unique website
Rider App — Riders access the fleet within a competitive marketplace
Admin Web Console — Fleet members create bookings on riders' behalf
Meter App — Fleet members use the Bookings tab to create customer bookings
Payments
Default Payment Flow
When Meter Pay is enabled, the rider's card is authorized before the trip and captured when the trip is completed. Funds are then distributed through Meter Pay.
For more details about booking payments and payouts, see About Meter Pay.
Booking In Advance
Riders can book up to 90 days in advance.
If the ride is booked within 12 hours of pickup, Meter may try to authorize the card right away. Otherwise, Meter usually attempts authorization during the 12 hours before pickup. If the card still cannot be authorized by about 1 hour before the ride, the booking may be canceled automatically.
Cancellation Policies
Who cancels | What happens |
Rider - Before Grace Period Ends | No cancellation fee is charged. Any authorized amount is released back to the rider. |
Rider - After Grace Period Ends | Only the cancellation fee is captured and the rest is released back to the rider's card. |
Driver or fleet member | The rider's prepaid amount is released or refunded back to the rider. |
Cancellation Grace Period
Fleet operators can set the cancellation grace period in the fleet's booking settings.
This setting controls how long after the booking is created a rider can cancel without being charged a cancellation fee.
For new fleets, the default cancellation grace period is 12 hours.
Prepaid Trip Receipts
When a prepaid trip is completed, the receipt always reflects the quoted price shown at booking time — regardless of the actual distance or duration recorded during the trip. Toll fees estimated during booking (such as highway or bridge tolls from the route) are automatically included in the final receipt, so riders see the same toll charges from their estimate through to the completed trip.
Disabling Pre-Payment
Operators can disable mandatory pre-payment in booking settings or allow individual booking exemptions.
Driver Notes
Riders can leave a note for their driver when booking a trip. Notes can only be added or edited while the booking is in a pending or confirmed state. Once a trip is in progress, completed, or canceled, the driver note section is no longer available.
Booking Notifications
Event | Rider | Driver |
Booking Requested (By Rider) | Available fleet drivers may get a push notification that a new booking is ready to claim. | |
Booking Created (By Fleet Member) | Gets a booking confirmation or payment-required notice by SMS or push. | Available fleet drivers may get a push notification that a new booking is ready to claim. |
Driver Accepts the booking (assignment) | Gets an assignment update by SMS or push. If no phone number is on file, email may be used instead. | |
Driver Starts the booking | Gets an SMS or push that the driver is on the way. | |
Driver Arrived at Pickup | Gets an SMS or push that the driver has arrived. | |
Driver Picked up | ||
Driver completed the trip | Gets a completion update by SMS or push. If no phone number is on file, email may be used instead. | Gets a push notification that the ride was marked complete. |
Booking Event Log
Fleet users can view a structured event log on each booking's detail page. Each dispatch event shows notification deliveries with channel information (SMS, Push, Email), per-device delivery status, and content previews. Push notification entries identify the specific device that received (or failed to receive) the notification, including platform details. Fleet admins have access to additional debug information in the event log.
For help with booking address or routing errors, see Why Do I See a Route or Address Error When Booking a Trip?.