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Rates & Pricing

Understanding the Rate Engine

How pricing works in Pickup Dispatch: one page, four types of rate matrices, and where cities, zones, surcharges and account rates fit in. Read this before the other pricing guides.

2 min read Updated September 2026
On this page
  1. The four types of rate matrix
  2. The building blocks
  3. Which price applies to a reservation
  4. Recommended order

All pricing lives in one place: Rates, under System Setting in the sidebar. The page is called Rate Engine Management, because this is the engine that prices every reservation from the rules you configure there.

The four types of rate matrix

A rate matrix is a set of prices of one kind. Every workspace starts with one default matrix of each type, and you can create more from the Rate Matrix tab:

  • Fixed: a fixed price between a pair of cities or zones, per vehicle type. Typical for airport transfers.
  • Distance: a price per kilometer with tiers, per vehicle type. Peak-time and seasonal surcharges are configured here.
  • Hourly: a rate per hour with minimum hours and included kilometers, for hourly and as-directed service.
  • Per passenger: a price per seat, for shared or shuttle-style services.
The Rate Matrix tab of Rate Engine Management with the four matrix types: Fixed, Distance, Hourly, Per passenger
The Rate Matrix tab: (1) the tab, (2) Fixed, (3) Distance, (4) Hourly, (5) Per passenger.

The building blocks

The other tabs of the same page hold what the matrices rely on: Cities and Zones define where you operate and are the endpoints of fixed rates; Service Types classify the ride; Rate Groups and Promo Codes adjust the result. The Fixed Rates, Distance Rate, Hourly Rates and Passenger Rates tabs are where you fill in the prices of each matrix.

Which price applies to a reservation

The engine looks at the vehicle type of the ride and at the account you are booking for. An account can have its own matrices and rate rules; if it does not, the default matrix of that type is used. You never pick a price by hand unless you want to override it on the reservation.

Set things up in this sequence, one guide each: cities and zones first, then fixed rates, distance rates with their surcharges, hourly rates, and finally custom rates for your corporate accounts. All guides are in Rates & Pricing.

Need help? Open a free support ticket from HELP → Open a ticket in your workspace (unlimited) and follow the answers in HELP → My tickets. Pricing is a good topic for a paid one-to-one Live training session, bookable from HELP → Book a live training session.

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