Backup Zones - 365 Management

What is This Section?

The Backup Zones screen allows you to configure which zones will be used as backups for the main zones. This is useful when you don't have a vehicle available in a certain zone, and can instead send the job to a vehicle in a backup zone.

How Does It Work?

Using a table of your system zones, you can add backup zones in the adjacent cells to the default zone, using the numbers above to order precedence. If configured in your system, when a driver cannot be located in the default zone, the system then searches the backup zones, starting at number 1. You can have up to 25 backup zones.

You can also select the type of dispatch mode to configure your zone, for example 'Nearest Vehicle' or 'Shortest Waiting', allowing you to fully configure and tailor the backup zones to your operational needs.

Before creating backup zones, you must already have existing zones within your system. For information on creating zones, refer to the Zone Maker article.

Live Mode & Draft Mode

There are two different modes you can switch to and from.

In Live mode, you can view the live configuration of your backup zones. Any changes you make while in this mode are automatically published to your live system.

In Draft mode, you can view and edit your backup zones configuration as a draft, and then apply this draft to live.

Once in Draft mode, you can create a new draft of your current configuration.

Note: When you create a new draft, the current draft will be overridden and any changes made will apply to all zone areas (e.g. Zone Maker, Zone List...).

Once you are happy with your current draft, you can select the Apply Draft to Live button, publishing your new backup zones draft to your live system.

How to Create Backup Zones - Dispatch Mode

You create backup zones by interacting with the table on the Backup Zones screen. To add a zone, double-click on a cell. To change the dispatch mode type, click on the dispatch type (e.g. Longest Waiting, Nearest Vehicle) before selecting a cell.

Depending on your choice, the cell displays the colour matching the dispatch type (e.g., Longest Waiting = Green, Shortest Waiting = Blue), easily highlighting which zone has which dispatch mode.

To create backup zones:

1. In Management, navigate to Dispatch > Zones > Backup Zones.
2. Select the Draft Mode button to begin creating your draft, followed by the "I'm Sure" button in the popup.
3. We recommend creating a new draft. Click the New Draft button. 
4. Use the relevant dropdown menus to select the Day and Hour when your backup zones configuration will be active.

   Note: You can clone your zones, so if you want your configuration to be active multiple times per day and on multiple days per week, see Cloning Backup Zones.

5. To begin with, if not already selected, change your view to Dispatch Mode. For the other two modes, see Reject Penalties or Recover Penalties.
6. Use the scroll button on your mouse or the scrollbar to navigate to the zone in the table you would like to configure with backup zones.

   Note: Use the Zones column to the left of the table to easily find a zone.

7. Select the Dispatch Mode Type that applies to your desired configuration.
   Longest Waiting: The system searches for the vehicle within this backup zone that has been waiting the longest time for a job. This mode is good for promoting fairness among your drivers as it allows those who are struggling to receive some work a chance to take a job.
   Nearest / Soonest Vehicle: This Dispatch Mode changes depending on your configuration in Dispatch > Dispatch Configuration > General Settings > Nearest or Soonest Vehicle. For more information, see Dispatch Configuration - General Settings. The system calculates which vehicle within this backup zone is the nearest OR soonest to the pickup location of the booking. This is useful in large backup zones, where you do not want the passenger waiting too long to receive a vehicle if the system cannot locate a driver in the main zone.
   Shortest Waiting: The system searches for the vehicle in this backup zone that has been waiting for the shortest amount of time for a job. This is useful for dispatching at certain times and within certain zones, for example, rank zones as drivers who have joined the back of the queue are likely to accept lower-value jobs compared to those waiting at the front of the queue.
   Nearest/Soonest Vehicle vs. Longest Waiting: The system looks for the vehicle in this backup zone and weighs up the options of the nearest vehicle to the pickup point versus the vehicle that has been waiting the longest time for a job. 
8. Double-click on the nearest empty cell adjacent to the default column. You cannot add a zone to a cell if there is a cell earlier in the backup column empty.
9. To merge cells, click and drag along the cursor to combine zones. You can then click once on the cell to separate the zones.
10. Continue to add zones until you are happy with your configuration.
11. To delete any zones placed in error, select the Eraser button and click on the tile in the cell to remove.
12. You can replace a filled cell by double-clicking and choosing a different zone from the dropdown.

How to Clone Backup Zones

To easily configure your already created backup zones to be active at multiple times per day and on multiple days, you can clone your zones:

1. Set the Day and Hour of the specific configuration you would like the copy.
2. Select the Clone Zones button located on the right-hand side of the screen.
3. In the Clone Backup Zones modal, use the dropdown menus for Days and Hours to select one or multiple days of the week and one or multiple hours of the day.
4. To easily add all the days of the week and/or hours of the day, use the (+) All button located at the bottom of the modal upon opening each dropdown menu.
5. Select the Confirm button to apply your backup zones to your selected days and hours.

Adding and Removing Reject Penalties

The Reject Penalties view allows you to apply penalties for drivers who decline jobs in specific backup zones. You can also ensure penalties are not applied in certain zones and give the option to your drivers to reject jobs in distant backup zones without facing a penalty. Additionally, you can set up penalties in closer backup zones where drivers will be in close proximity to the default zone and should not be rejecting.

1. Click the dropdown menu and select Reject Penalties or use the 'V' shortcut key to quickly change between views (Dispatch Mode, Reject Penalties, Recover Penalties).
2. Single-click on cells to apply the Reject Penalty type to that backup zone. You can click and drag to apply it to multiple cells in a single action. Zones with a penalty type are highlighted with a green outline.
   
3. To remove a penalty type, single click on the cell to remove the penalty and resulting green outline. You can also click and drag to remove the penalty from multiple zones in one action.
   

Adding and Removing Recover Penalties

Along with rejection penalties, you can also configure your backup zones to apply penalties if a job is recovered from a driver.

1. Click the dropdown menu and select Recover Penalties. Or, use the 'V' shortcut key to quickly change between views (Dispatch Mode, Reject Penalties, Recover Penalties).
   
2. Single-click on cells to apply the Recover Penalty type to that backup zone. You can click and drag to apply it to multiple cells in a single action. Zones with a penalty type are highlighted with a green outline.
3. To remove a penalty type, single click on the cell to remove the penalty and resulting green outline. You can also click and drag to remove the penalty from multiple zones in one action.

How to Edit Backup Zones

To edit your backup zone configuration:

1. Switch into Draft Mode.
2. Select the Day and Hour you would like to modify.
3. You can quickly replace zones in a cell by double-clicking and selecting a new zone from the list.
4. Use the 'V' shortcut or dropdown menu to swap between views (Dispatch Mode, Reject Penalties and Recover Penalties).

Deleting Backup Zones

To delete any backup zones:

1. Select the Eraser button.
2. Single-click on any zones to remove them from the table.
   
3. The table automatically reshapes and moves cells upon deleting a zone.