Carpooling

Help families coordinate rides to and from events. Drivers offer seats, scouts and parents request them, and everyone can see who's riding with whom.

How Carpooling Works

Carpooling is built into each event. When it's turned on, a Carpooling section appears on the event page where members can offer rides, request rides, and join carpools. The whole process is self-service for families, with troop leaders able to step in and help coordinate when needed.

There are three things a member can do:

• Offer a ride - A parent or adult with a vehicle posts how many seats they have and where they're leaving from.
• Request a seat in a specific carpool - A family sees a ride they like and asks the driver to join it.
• Request a ride (no carpool yet) - A family who needs a ride posts a request, and gets notified when a matching ride becomes available.

Enabling Carpooling for an Event

Carpooling is off by default. To turn it on, a troop leader edits the event:

1. Open the event in Admin Dashboard → Events and click Edit
2. Find the Carpooling section
3. Turn on Enable carpooling for this event
4. Optionally set a Carpooling request deadline - the last date and time members can offer or request rides
5. Optionally add Carpooling instructions - notes shown to everyone coordinating rides (for example, "Meet at the church parking lot by 7:45 AM")
6. Save the event

Once enabled, the carpooling section becomes visible to members on the event page. In the Events list, a truck icon indicates which events have carpooling turned on.

Offering a Ride (Drivers)

Parents and adult leaders can volunteer to drive. On the event page, in the Carpooling section, click Offer a Ride and fill in:

• Pickup Location - Where you'll depart from (for example, "Church parking lot")
• Available Seats - How many passengers you can take (1-15, not counting the driver)
• Vehicle Description - Optional, helps passengers spot you (for example, "Silver Honda")
• Departure Time - When you're leaving (defaults to the event start)
• Return Time - Optional, when you'll head back (defaults to the event end)
• Notes - Optional details (for example, "I have car seats available")
• Share my phone number with confirmed passengers - Check this to let confirmed riders see your phone number

Once you offer a ride, your carpool appears in the Available Carpools list for others to join, and anyone with a pending ride request is notified that a new ride is available.

Managing Your Carpool

After offering a ride, a "You're offering a ride" box shows on the event page with everything you need to manage it:

• Confirm or decline passengers - When someone requests a seat, they appear under "Pending passengers." Use the checkmark to confirm them or the X to decline. Confirming reserves a seat; declining frees it up.
• See your confirmed riders - Confirmed passengers are listed so you know exactly who's coming.
• Cancel the offer - Use Cancel Offer if your plans change. All passengers are notified that the carpool was cancelled.

Getting a Ride (Passengers)

There are two ways to get a ride, depending on whether you've already found a carpool you like.

Request a Seat in a Specific Carpool

If you see a ride that works for you in the Available Carpools list, click Request Seat on that carpool and optionally add:

• Your Pickup Location - Only if it's different from the carpool's pickup spot
• Notes for the Driver - Anything the driver should know

The driver is notified of your request and will confirm or decline it. While you wait, your status shows as "Ride request pending." Once the driver confirms, you'll see "Your ride is confirmed!" along with the driver's name, pickup location, departure and return times, and their phone number if they chose to share it.

Request a Ride When No Carpool Fits

If no carpool works for you yet, click Request a Ride to post a general request:

• Who needs a ride? - Choose yourself, or one of your scouts if you're a parent
• Preferred Pickup Location - Optional, where you'd like to be picked up
• Notes - Optional, any special requests or information

Your request sits in a "Ride request pending" state. You'll be notified when a driver accepts your request or when a new carpool becomes available. You can use Cancel Request any time to withdraw it.

For Parents: Your Scouts' Rides

Parents can arrange rides for their scouts, not just themselves. When requesting a seat or a ride, choose the scout from the "Who needs a ride?" menu.

A "Your Scouts' Rides" box on the event page lists each of your scouts who are riding in a carpool for that event, along with whether their seat is confirmed or still pending — so you can see all your family's rides in one place.

Managing Carpools as a Leader

Troop leaders have a dedicated tool to oversee all carpooling for an event and help families get matched up. Open the event in Admin Dashboard → Events and go to the Manage Carpools page.

At the top you'll see a quick summary: total carpools, seats available, confirmed passengers, and how many ride requests are still unmatched.

The Carpools Table

All carpools for the event are listed with their driver, vehicle, pickup location, departure time, seats (available out of total), confirmed and pending passenger counts, and status. You can:

• Add Carpool - Create a carpool on behalf of a driver, useful when a parent volunteers in person or by phone
• Passengers - View the full passenger list for a carpool, and confirm or decline pending requests
• Edit - Update any carpool's details, including its status
• Cancel - Cancel a carpool; all passengers are notified

Matching Ride Requests

People who requested a ride but haven't been matched yet appear under Ride Requests (the button shows a badge with the number of pending requests). For each request you'll see who needs the ride, who requested it, their preferred pickup location, and any notes.

Below each request, the carpools with open seats are shown as buttons. Click a driver's button to assign that person to the carpool — it works just as if they had joined the carpool themselves, and the seat is reserved automatically.

Notifications

The system keeps everyone informed automatically. Notifications are sent by email and in-app, following each member's notification preferences:

Best Practices

• Turn it on early - Enable carpooling when you create the event so families can plan rides well ahead of time
• Set a deadline - Give yourself a buffer before the event to match any leftover ride requests with open seats
• Use the instructions field - Note the meeting spot and departure time so everyone is on the same page
• Encourage phone sharing - When drivers share their phone number, last-minute coordination is much easier
• Check Ride Requests before the event - As a leader, scan the unmatched requests and assign them to carpools with open seats so no family is left without a ride
• Confirm promptly - Drivers should confirm or decline seat requests quickly so passengers know whether to look for another ride

Carpooling is tied to events, so see the Events & Activities section for details on creating and managing the events themselves.