carshare

FAQ

> General FAQ
> Driver FAQ
> Passenger FAQ

General FAQ

Why do you have a new booking system? What are the advantages?
The advantages of the new booking system can be found here.
How does the new booking system work?
How the booking system works is explained in the following tutorials:
> Driver Tutorial
> Passenger Tutorial
Why do I need to register before I can use the booking system?
Registering makes it harder to misuse carpooling.co.uk, and also enables people to rate and be rated in our ratings system. Anyone who registers and abides by our rules, will receive good ratings. In time this enables people to see who they can trust, and these people will be the preferred choice for journeys. If journeys are booked anonymously, this is not possible.
Why should I rate other participants after the journey?
All feedback is important. That's why drivers can rate their passengers and passengers can rate their drivers. Building up plenty of positive feedback acts as a recommendation for people. If there were problems with the driver or passenger, you can give them a worse rating. To enter your rating you have up to 30 days. Please note that once you have entered a rating, you are unable to change it!
Why is it worth having a quick look at a driver or passenger's ratings?
In a persons ratings you can see how other people have rated them. The more good ratings they have, the more you can trust them. You can see a persons ratings by going to their public profile, and clicking on "ratings". You will find a link to their profile in the offer or request, or in the booking overview.

What should I be aware of before I give someone a bad rating?
Before you give someone a bad rating, you should try to contact them and clear up any problems. Please try to keep your ratings fair and factual. You should only refer to the recently taken journey. Please be aware that the other person also has the option to rate you.
Which criteria will drivers and passengers be rated for? How is the rating calculated from this?
After a journey that has been organised through the booking system, the participants will be asked to rate the journey. Therefore the driver will rate the passengers, and the passengers will rate the driver. As part of the rating there are 3 questions to be answered:

Driver being rated by the passenger Passenger being rated by the driver
Was the driver on time? (+/-5 minutes) Was the passenger on time? (+/- 5 minutes)
Did the driver keep to all the agreements? (Meeting point, contribution amount, etc.) Did the passenger keep to all agreements? (Meeting point, contribution amount, etc.)
Did you feel comfortable on the journey? Were you happy to take the passenger with you?


Additionally participants are asked to give the driver or passenger an overall rating out of 5. Where 5 stars is the best rating and 1 star is the worst. The general rating for the driver or passenger will be the average of all the overall ratings given to them after journeys.
When I use the booking system for the first time, my mobile number is verified. What does that mean, and does it cost anything?
For everything to run smoothly while using the booking system, it is very important that you are reachable on a mobile. Therefore, before the booking system is used for the first time, we verify your mobile phone number. You will receive a text message containing a verification code, which you enter into the corresponding field on your computer. The process is free for all users.

Without a mobile phone, unfortunately the booking system is unable to be used.
Does it cost anything to receive text messages while using the booking system?
No. The text messages that we send you will not cost you anything. However any text messages you send in reply will cost you your standard text message amount. Please be aware that text messages currently come from a German number, and will cost more to reply to than usual.

Driver FAQ

As a driver do I need to use the booking system?
No. Anyone who wants to forgo the advantages of the booking system, can add lifts into our system just as they used to. To see some of the advantages to the booking system please look here. Booked journeys are more reliable and safer, and are expected to have a higher chance of finding a passenger.
Does the driver need to pay a commission?
If cash payment is selected by the driver when using the booking system, there is no charge.

In order to increase the security of our car sharing system, it is now possible, as a driver to choose the online payment option. Online payment guarantees a certain level of security : you are paid the exact amount agreed with the passengers and even if he/she doesn’t show up. If you decide to choose this option when using the booking system we charge a 5% fee per seat to cover operational costs for paypal, sending sms etc services

The advantages of the booking system are a fair evaluation system, reliable commitments, secure payment and a more attractive offer for passengers making this small fee worthwhile.

I have activated the booking system for one of my lifts. Can I deactivate the booking system now if I want?
Yes. Please go to My Account: My Lifts and click on the yellow button next to your lift. Please select the "Disable" option under the title "Booking system".

Please be aware than any already confirmed lifts will be automatically cancelled.
I don't want passengers to call me to confirm details. I would like everything to be booked through the booking system without any telephone conversations. Is this possible?
Yes. In this case please choose to hide your mobile number when you are entering the lift. The details about contacting the driver before booking will then not be shown, and passengers will book the journey without phoning you.
What are the different payment options for the booking system?
Before you list your carpool you need to decide which of the following options you would like to do:

Cash payment

Passengers pay the fare directly to the driver before the journey in cash. You can evaluate each other after the journey has taken place using the booking system. The fare is not guaranteed.

Payment online through the Booking System

The payment is collected by us in advance from the passenger and transferred 24 hours after the trip has taken place to you. The advantage is booked trips are paid for in any case, even if the passenger does not turn up. As we use Paypal for this service we collect a 5% fee per booking. Please note that the payment method you have selected can not be changed at a later date and that it requires a Paypal account (money is not transferred by us directly to your private bank account.

How do I communicate with the passengers? Is confirming their booking enough?
Our highest recommendation is that passengers call you before they enter a booking request. If you receive a request withough the passenger calling first, you can also call the passenger. Their mobile number will appear in both the text message and email you receive when a booking request is entered, and is also available in the bookings overview on the website. Confirming their booking will let them know that the booking is confirmed, but will not pass on any other details.

Please be aware that if you confirm a booking by text, only reply with the code included (e.g. "Yes 033" or "No 033") to confirm or decline the booking. There is no way to communicate with the passenger through the text message.
What happens if I need to cancel a lift that I have entered through the booking system?
This can happen, and often for good reason. If you don't have any confirmed passengers for the lift, it is possible to simply cancel the lift without anything further happening. However if you do already have confirmed passengers, cancelling the booking is breaking a binding agreement. This can only be done up to 4 days before the journey start, without having any concequences, if you cancel later than this the passenger will have the option to give you a negative rating.
Why are free places for a journey not being shown?
As soon as a passenger starts to enter a booking request, the free places for a lift will disappear to avoid the possibility of a double booking. In this case it is probably because a passenger has started to enter a booking request but has not yet finished the process. But don't worry as any places left will soon be shown again in the search results.
Can part journeys (lifts to or from stopping points) also be offered through the booking system?
No. Currently only complete journeys can be booked through the booking system. The ability to book parts of journeys to or from stopping points will be added in a later version of the booking system.
Am I able to offer a journey through the booking system with a negotiable price?
No. Bookings are binding agreements and must include all journey details. Please choose a price per passenger.
Can I add in passengers who I have spoken to on the phone, but who have not booked the journey through the booking system?
No. In the booking system only bookings that are made through the booking system can be included. Please tell passengers that you would like them to use the booking system to confirm their place on the journey.

Should you have already agreed to do this for a passenger, or need to for some other reason, please reduce the number of free places available on the journey so that the journey cannot be overbooked. You can do this by going to My Account: My Lifts.
A passenger has phoned me to cancel a booking, but has not cancelled it in the booking system. How can I make this free place bookable again?
In this case please cancel the booking yourself as the driver. Go to "My Account: My Lifts" and in the "Bookings Overview" for the journey in question, click on the yellow button next to the name of the passenger who has cancelled. There please click on "decline passenger" and choose the reason "Journey was cancelled after consulting the passenger". The passenger will then be informed of the cancellation by text and by email, with the reason stated.

The place is now available again and can be booked through the booking system.

Passenger FAQ

As a passenger do I need to pay a commision to use the booking system?
No. For passengers, using the booking system is free.
How do I pay for a journey that I have booked?
The driver may ask you to pay through PayPal. In this case, please pay for your ride online. The money will be transferred to the driver 24 hours after the trip. If the driver cancels, you will get your money back.

If you pay the driver in cash, please do so at the start of the journey, as you would with a journey that is not through the booking system.
How do I contact the driver? Is the communicating through the booking system enough or should we also talk on the phone to be safe?
We strongly advise that you call the driver before you enter a booking request. Once all the journey details are confirmed over the phone, then please enter your booking request. You will find the telephone number of the driver in the journey details. Once the journey is confirmed you will be informed by a text message and email, the status of your booking can always be seen in My Account: Bookings.
Why was my booking request declined?
To create a booking both the passenger and driver have to enter into a binding agreement, therefore the driver is sent a binding booking request by the passenger, to which they will normally accept. One reason that a driver might decline a booking is if they have not had any contact with you over the telephone before the request was entered. We recommend that you contact the driver by phone before entering a booking request.

In addition to this, the better your rating in your profile is the better your chance of finding a lift will be.
Which journeys can I book through the booking system and which can't I?
In the search results all bookable journeys are highlighted in green and have a green "B" symbol in the details column. The advantages are that bookable journeys are more reliable, safer and easier.
What happens if I need to cancel an already booked journey?
The booking system provides more reliability for you. Cancelling a confirmed booking may result in you receiving a bad rating from a potential driver. It is allowed to cancel a booked journey more than 4 days before the departure date, and in this situation you will not receive a negative rating.If you paid online, please refer to question "Do I need to pay if I have booked a journey but then cancelled it?"

You can always see and edit your bookings through My Account: Bookings in the navigation bar.
Do I need to show my ticket at the start of a journey, or is it just for my information?
The ticket is just for your information, making sure you can have all the journey and contact details easily to hand. You can find the ticket through "My Account: Bookings" in the navigation bar, after the driver has confirmed the booking.
How long do I need to wait until the driver will accept my booking?
The driver will be informed of your booking request immediately by text and email. They then have up to 24 hours to confirm or decline the booking. On average you will receive a response within 2 hours or entering your booking request.If the driver has not responded after 24 hours, the request will automatically be cancelled.
Do I need to pay if I have booked a journey but then cancelled it?
Generally speaking: Yes! By booking a ride you are committing to a legally binding agreement. Yet there are some exceptions from this rule:

-If the driver has chosen Cash Payment, you cannot and do not have to pay.

-If the driver has chosen Online Payment, you do NOT have to pay if: a)You cancel in time, meaning more than 4 days before the journey is due to take place. Or b)The driver has not (yet) confirmed the booking before you cancel the booking.
I have paid online for my journey, but the driver didn’t show up. How do I get my money back?
Please click on “Report abuse” in the e-mail we sent you after the lift. We will transfer your money back immediately.

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