Create Vehicle Reservations to Manage Fleet Usage
Schedule vehicle usage and prevent double bookings with reservations
Vehicle reservations help you manage fleet usage efficiently and prevent double bookings. The reservation system gives you a complete overview of when, how, and by whom your vehicles are being used, allowing you to better plan and optimise your fleet. By creating reservations, you can allocate vehicles to specific drivers for specific time periods and ensure everyone knows which vehicles are available when.
What Are Vehicle Reservations?
Vehicle reservations are scheduled bookings that assign a vehicle to a driver or purpose for a specific period. Each reservation records which vehicle is being used, who's using it, what it's being used for, and the time period of use. Reservations appear in a calendar view that shows all your vehicles and their scheduled usage at a glance.
How Reservations Work
When you create a reservation, you specify a vehicle, optionally assign a driver, set a time period, and add details about the reservation's purpose. Track My Ride displays all reservations in a visual calendar format where each vehicle appears as a row and reservations appear as coloured bars across the timeline. This visual representation makes it easy to see which vehicles are available and which are already booked for any given time period.
Creating a Vehicle Reservation
Follow these steps to create a new vehicle reservation.
Step 1: Sign In to Your Account
Log in to your Track My Ride account at https://app.trackmyride.com.au.
Step 2: Navigate to the Vehicles Page
Click on the vehicles section in the main navigation menu to access your fleet list.
Step 3: Open the Reservations Tab
At the top of the Vehicles page, you'll see two tabs: "Vehicles" and "Reservations". Click on the "Reservations" tab to access the reservation calendar and management interface.
Step 4: Click the New Button
In the Reservations area, click the green "+ New" button to begin creating a new reservation.
Step 5: Fill Out the Reservation Information
A popup window appears with fields for configuring your reservation. Complete each field with the appropriate information about the vehicle booking.
Step 6: Save the Reservation
After filling out all the reservation information, click the "Save" button at the bottom of the popup window to create the reservation.
Step 7: Handle Overlapping Reservations
Your reservation should now be saved. If a popup appears indicating that your reservation overlaps with an existing booking, you have two options: edit the details to remove the overlap, or follow the onscreen prompts to allow the overlapping reservation if you intentionally want to double-book the vehicle.
Reservation Configuration Fields
The reservation creation popup contains several fields that define the booking details.
Name
Select which vehicle you want to reserve from the dropdown list. This field determines which vehicle will be allocated for this time period.
Driver
Optionally select which driver will be using the vehicle during this reservation. The field note indicates "Optional. Reserve the vehicle for a specific driver or yourself." You can leave this field empty if you're reserving the vehicle without assigning it to a specific driver, or if the driver hasn't been determined yet.
Title
Enter a title for the reservation that will display in the Track My Ride interface. This helps you quickly identify what the reservation is for when viewing the calendar. For example, you might use titles like "Sydney Conference", "Client Visit", "Delivery Route", or "Maintenance Appointment".
Description
Provide a description with additional details about the reservation. This is where you can add context that helps explain the booking. For example, you might write "Ryan is driving to Sydney for the 2023 TMR conference" or include other relevant information about the purpose of the reservation.
Classification
Choose whether journeys during this reservation period should be classified as "Business" or "Private". This classification will be used in the Journey and Tax Logbook reports. The field note indicates "Journeys that occur during this period will be classified as..." followed by your selection.
Select "Business" if the reservation represents work-related vehicle use. Select "Private" if the reservation represents personal use.
Repeating
Choose whether this reservation repeats on a regular schedule or represents a single one-off booking.
Select "Weekly" if the reservation repeats on the same days and times each week. Select "Disabled" (or the equivalent non-repeating option) for one-off reservations that don't repeat.
Days
If you've set the reservation as repeating weekly, select which days of the week the reservation applies. Check the boxes next to the days when this vehicle should be reserved:
- Mon (Monday)
- Tues (Tuesday)
- Wed (Wednesday)
- Thurs (Thursday)
- Fri (Friday)
- Sat (Saturday)
- Sun (Sunday)
You can select any combination of days based on when the vehicle needs to be reserved each week.
Daily Time
If the reservation repeats, set the daily start and end times. The first field represents when the reservation starts each day, and the second field (after "to") represents when it ends each day.
For example, for a reservation running from 09:00 to 17:00, enter "09:00" in the first field and "17:00" in the second field. These times apply to all selected days.
Period
Set the date and time range when this reservation is active. For non-repeating reservations, this is simply the start and end date/time of the single booking. For repeating reservations, this defines the date range during which the recurring pattern applies.
The field note indicates "Times are the vehicle or driver's local time", so make sure you've set the correct timezone for your vehicles and drivers in their respective settings.
Handling Overlapping Reservations
Track My Ride prevents accidental double booking by detecting when a new reservation would overlap with an existing one.
Overlap Detection
When you try to save a reservation that conflicts with an existing booking, a popup appears titled "Overlap with existing record". The message explains which vehicle has the overlap and the specific dates and times that conflict.
For example, the popup might state: "Unable to save your reservation for TMR Blue as it overlaps with an existing entry on 2019-12-01 00:00:00 to 2025-12-01 23:59:00."
Resolving Overlaps
The popup gives you two options for handling the overlap:
Option 1: Adjust the Reservation - You can click "Cancel" to close the popup, then edit your reservation details to change the dates, times, or selected vehicle to eliminate the overlap.
Option 2: Allow the Overlap - If you intentionally want to double-book the vehicle, the popup provides a text field where you can type "OVERLAP" (in capital letters) to confirm your choice. A note below the field states "Confirmation - Type OVERLAP in the above text box to continue." After typing this confirmation, click the "Overlap" button to save the reservation despite the conflict.
Viewing the Reservations Calendar
The Reservations tab displays a visual calendar showing all your vehicle bookings.
Calendar Layout
The calendar shows vehicles listed vertically on the left side, with time displayed horizontally across the top. Each reservation appears as a coloured bar on the timeline for its corresponding vehicle, spanning the duration of the booking.
Calendar Views
The reservation calendar offers multiple view options accessible through buttons at the top of the calendar:
Day View: Shows reservations for a single day in detail
Week View: Displays a full week of reservations
Month View: Provides an overview of the entire month
List View: Shows reservations in a text list format rather than a visual calendar
Calendar View: The default visual timeline view
Navigation Controls
Use the left and right arrow buttons to move backward and forward through time. A "Today" button quickly returns you to the current date. The calendar displays the currently selected date prominently in the centre of the controls.
Reservation Display
Each reservation bar on the calendar shows the vehicle name followed by the reservation title. Different reservations are displayed in different colours to make them easy to distinguish visually. For example, you might see bars labeled "TMR Blue - Business use", "TMR BMW reserved for Jesse - Holiday", or "TMR Landcruiser reserved for Auren - GPS Conference".
Editing or Deleting Reservations
You can modify or remove reservations after creating them if your plans change.
Editing an Existing Reservation
To edit a reservation, click on it in the calendar view to open the reservation details. Make your changes to any of the fields and click "Save" to apply the updates. If your changes create an overlap with another reservation, you'll receive the same overlap warning as when creating a new reservation.
Deleting a Reservation
If you no longer need a reservation, you can delete it from the reservation management interface. This frees up the vehicle for other potential bookings during that time period.
Reservations and Journey Classification
Vehicle reservations can automatically classify journeys for tax reporting purposes.
Classification During Reservations
When you set a reservation's classification to "Business" or "Private", any journeys that occur during the reservation period are automatically classified accordingly. This classification appears in Journey reports and Tax Logbook reports.
Relationship with Rosters
Reservations work alongside work rosters for journey classification. If both a reservation and a roster apply to the same journey, Track My Ride uses the classification from the reservation. This allows reservations to override normal roster classifications for specific time periods when vehicles are being used for different purposes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between reservations and rosters?
Reservations are about vehicle allocation and scheduling, showing which vehicles are booked for use during specific periods. Rosters are about driver schedules, showing when drivers are working. Reservations focus on vehicle management and preventing double booking, while rosters focus on automatic journey classification based on working hours.
Can I create a reservation without assigning a driver?
Yes, the driver field is optional. You can reserve a vehicle without specifying who will use it. This is useful when you know a vehicle needs to be allocated but haven't yet determined which driver will use it.
What happens if I allow an overlapping reservation?
Allowing an overlap means the same vehicle is reserved to multiple people or purposes for the same time period. The system will track both reservations and display them both in the calendar. This doesn't prevent the vehicle from being used; it simply indicates that the vehicle has been double-booked.
Can I see who's reserved a vehicle?
Yes, the reservation calendar displays the driver name (if assigned) as part of the reservation title on the timeline. You can also click on any reservation to see its full details including the driver, description, and classification.
How far in advance can I create reservations?
You can create reservations as far into the future as you need. There's no specified limit on how far ahead you can book vehicles.
What happens when a reservation period ends?
When a reservation's end time passes, it simply becomes historical. The reservation no longer appears in the current calendar view but can be seen when viewing past dates. The vehicle becomes available for new reservations starting from when the previous reservation ended.
Can I reserve multiple vehicles for the same driver?
Yes, you can create multiple reservations with the same driver assigned to different vehicles. This might be useful for planning scenarios where a driver might use different vehicles on different days.
Do I need to create reservations if I only have one vehicle?
Reservations are optional. They're most valuable for fleets with multiple vehicles and multiple users who need to coordinate vehicle usage. For single-vehicle operations with consistent usage patterns, reservations may be unnecessary.
Can I export or print the reservation calendar?
The reservation calendar is viewable within Track My Ride through the web application or mobile app. Check the calendar interface for any export or print options that may be available.
What happens if a journey occurs during a reservation period?
The journey will be automatically classified according to the reservation's classification (business or private). This classification will appear in your Journey and Tax Logbook reports.
Do reservations work with both hardware tracked and mobile tracked vehicles?
Yes, reservations work with all vehicle types in your Track My Ride account, regardless of whether they use hardware trackers or mobile phone tracking.