As a taxi price calculator, CabGrid Pro supports several different calculation models – that is the method used to look-up and calculate the price. This article describes each of those.

The calculation mode can be set globally under the OPTIONS tab on the CabGrid Pro admin page, or independently for each instance of CabGrid Pro on a website using the ‘layout’ shortcode attribute.

Layouts can be customised through CSS allowing the taxi price calculator to be styled to match any website.  Out of the box, the built-in styling will automatically attempt to adjust for the space available to the calculator, whether it be full-width, side-bar widget or mobile device.

Jump to: Passengers & Luggage | Vehicles | Tickets | Time | Also see: Combined Layouts | Advanced price calculations

Example of passengers mode layout:

In Passengers mode, the number of passengers and amount luggage input by the customer is used to look up a suitable vehicle from the vehicles table. This, in turn, identifies which price table is used. (Available vehicles can be limited independently for each CabGrid Pro instance using the vehicles shortcode attribute.)

The pick up (origin) and drop off (destination) locations selected are then used to look up the appropriate price from the vehicle’s price table. If the return option is enabled and selected, the return journey price is also looked up and combined with the outbound price to return a total price.

Example of vehicles mode layout:

The pick up (origin) and drop off (destination) locations selected are then used to look up the appropriate price from the vehicle’s price table. If the return option is enabled and selected, the return journey price is also looked up and combined with the outbound price to return a total price.

Since this mode does not require exact passenger or luggage numbers, it may be advisable to add custom form fields to collect this information on booking.

Also, if there is only one vehicle defined (in the CabGrid Pro WordPress Admin), it will be pre-selected by default. This may be useful if no vehicle/passenger input is to be displayed (or hidden using CSS).

Example of ticket mode layout:

In Ticket mode, the number of tickets input by the customer is used to look up a suitable vehicle from the vehicles table. This, in turn, identifies which price table is used. (Available vehicles can be limited independently for each CabGrid Pro instance using the vehicles shortcode attribute.)

The pick up (origin) and drop off (destination) locations selected are then used to look up the appropriate ticket price from the vehicle’s price table – a vehicle with a greater capacity than the number of tickets required. If the return option is enabled and selected, the return journey price is also looked up and combined with the outbound price to return an initial price.

The initial price is then multiplied by the number of tickets entered. For example, if the initial journey price is $10.00 and the customer selects 3 tickets, the overall price will be $30.00 (3 x 10).

Note: CabGrid Pro v5 will make use of a new setting available via the _settings.php file or the Defaults Add-on plugin that will allow a custom formula to be applied when calculating a ticket price.
Example:
$cabGridTicketFormula="*0.8";
If price per ticket is $10, 4 tickets would cost $10 + ((10 x 0.8) x3) = $34

Example of time mode layout:

In Time mode, the length of time a vehicle is required for is input by the customer. The unit of time (minute, hour, day, etc.) is specified in the OPTIONS tab of the CabGrid Pro admin page. The time-unit box is only visible when Time mode is selected. This unit is not directly displayed in the interface by default, though it can be enabled through CSS. It may be advisable to give a written description of the calculator above it.

The number of passengers is also required. This is used to look up a suitable vehicle from the vehicles table which identifies which price table is used.

The passengers input field can be hidden through CSS. This may be useful if displaying separate CabGrid instances for each vehicle using the vehicles shortcode attribute. In cases where the passengers box is hidden and no vehicle limitations are set, the first vehicle price table will be used.

Specifying Rates and Calculations

The pick up (origin) and drop off (destination) locations selected by the customer are then used to look up the appropriate unit price. The return option is not enabled in this mode as it is considered irrelevant (time should include returning the vehicle).

It is also possible to set a flat unit rate for each vehicle. The flat rate is entered in the VEHICLES tab under the [Unit] Rate column. This column is not visible by default. Click ‘Show unit rate column‘ to reveal it. If entered, this rate will be used instead of the value found from the origin and destination locations. (This feature requires CabGrid Pro v4.5.1 or more recent)

The unit price is then multiplied by the length of time entered. For example, if the initial unit price is $10.00 and the customer selects 3 units (hours, days, or what-ever is set), the overall price will be $30.00 (3 x 10).

In Time mode, the destination address in not mandatory on the booking form. Therefore it can safely be hidden through CSS if necessary. Note: The destination place must have a price defined in the PRICES table for the unit-rate to work, even though this value will be ignored.

Advanced Calculations

CabGrid prices can be manipulated further based on customer input. For example, adjusting prices based on number of passengers.