ShuttleSnap
- Tech
- Ruby on Rails
- Backbone/Marionette
- Neo4J
- Twilio
- Apache Cordova
No reservations…
The visionary behind ShuttleSnap, a Montana fishing guide and photographer, decided one day during a client trip that it was ridiculous that he couldn’t manage his river shuttle reservation via the web. River shuttle services exist on almost every river with a fly fishing presence, and allow the customer’s vehicle to be moved so that it’s waiting for them at the end of their float trip.
The Old Way
Most shuttle services take reservations via phone or text message, and are unable to take credit cards. They also don’t present a standard experience to the customer, and tracking down the local shuttle service when you are traveling to a new river can be troublesome. Customer communication is also a major time expenditure for the shuttle provider.
The Now
BitForge worked with the client to model and build a web-based workflow that is broadly applicable across all shuttle companies and customers. It models river traffic flows, and allows customers to be matched with a suitable shuttle provider, schedule their shuttle, and provide any required information that the shuttle provider needs to complete the trip. It also allows customers to save a credit card using Stripe’s PCI-compliant storage service, as well as their commonly used preferences (vehicles, etc). The result is that a shuttle customer can make a return reservation in under 30 seconds from their phone, and then receive text messages and emails updating them about the status of their shuttle. This provides peace of mind, knowing that their vehicle will be waiting for them when they arrive.
The tool also allows providers to delegate fulfillment to employees, who can claim shuttles and update their status on the fly. Using websockets the admin interface updates instantaneously, allowing multiple users to stay in sync with the status of their reservation pool.
Voice and SMS integration with Twilio ensures that shuttle providers are immediately aware of new reservations, and that customers are notified within seconds when their reservation is confirmed, and when it’s completed.
Automated payment routing via Stripe Connect means that shuttle providers receive payment nearly immediately and ShuttleSnap personnel don’t need to manually reimburse providers, making operations nearly hands-off for everyone involved.