Multiloading is a key benefit of route optimization software that significantly improves operational efficiency. Transporting multiple passengers on a single shared route cuts costs, reduces deadhead (empty) miles, and maximizes vehicle utilization. However, success depends on carefully balancing efficiency with duty of care.
Consider this example:
ABC Company picks up their member, Johnny, at 8 a.m. for his appointment. The vehicle makes four more member pickups before reaching the clinic, and Johnny gets carsick during the ride.
After the trip, Johnny informs his care coordinator he prefers riding alone because the trips are shorter. The care coordinator asks the broker/dispatch manager to update Johnny’s profile to specify no shared trips. The preference is noted, but it’s missed when planning next week’s manifest. Johnny is accidentally added to another shared ride based on his location, gets carsick again, and his family leaves a poor review of ABC Company.
This scenario highlights the delicate balance required to deliver efficient, care-focused transportation. While shared rides maximize vehicle utilization, overlooking member preferences can jeopardize comfort, and missing service requirements can put contract compliance at risk. The right technology protects your business by building member preferences into route planning, so improving vehicle use doesn’t come at the expense of the member experience.
Below, we share what a good multiloading plan should consider and what to ask technology providers when evaluating their multiloading features.
What a good multiloading plan should consider
Appointment and pickup windows
Every additional stop takes time. A good plan should account for the drive to each pickup, boarding and loading time, and travel to the appointment to build a shared route that meets each member’s pickup and appointment windows.
Vehicle capacity and accessibility
An available seat does not mean a vehicle can accommodate every member. Your plan should consider wheelchair spaces, seating configurations, required equipment, and space for attendants, if permitted.
Loading and unloading time
The time needed to help a member board or leave the vehicle varies by service level and location. A good plan should include that time when evaluating a shared route. Otherwise, a route that appears workable on a map may run late after the first few stops.
Time in the vehicle
A shared ride may reduce the number of vehicles you need, but additional stops can extend a member’s journey. Plans should check each member’s time in the vehicle against applicable contract and program limits. This helps protect member comfort and meet service requirements.
Shared-ride rules and member preferences
Broker requirements and service-level agreements (SLAs) may restrict which trips you can combine or require an individual ride. A member may also prefer not to ride with others. A good plan should apply these restrictions and recorded member preferences automatically when grouping trips.
How those considerations affect the original shared ride
Return to the ABC Company example.
Your team updates Johnny’s profile with a no-shared-ride setting. When his next trip enters the system, the software applies that setting during route planning and trip assignment, keeping his trip separate from shared routes.
The software then evaluates the other trips for opportunities to maintain efficiency by:
- Adjusting the pickup sequence: Recalculating the route for the remaining four members to determine whether a different pickup order would be more efficient.
- Reviewing available capacity: Checking whether another compatible trip could join the shared route without compromising service requirements.
- Checking the revised journey: Confirming that any new grouping or sequence meets SLAs, appointment windows, ride-time limits, and member preferences.
In this scenario, the software respects Johnny’s preference while checking for efficient ways to serve the other members. Automating these checks helps your team spend less time building routes and reduces the chance of overlooking the same preference again.
What to ask technology providers
A multiloading feature should do more than place several members in one vehicle. When evaluating technology providers, ask them to demonstrate how their system handles the following:
- Applies member preferences and SLAs: Show how the system applies recorded preferences and service rules during trip assignment.
- Checks whether a shared route will work: Demonstrate how the system accounts for vehicle capacity, accessibility, attendant space, loading and unloading time, and pickup and appointment windows.
- Responds to changes: Show what happens after a delay, cancellation, or new request. Explain which updates happen automatically, which require dispatcher action, and how the system preserves the rules for existing trips.
- Respects your settings: Show that your team can turn off multiloading for specific members, ensuring efficiency goals never override passenger care.
See How Move AI Plans Shared Rides for Your Operation
Move AI helps you put these considerations into practice, combining advanced matching and route optimization to group compatible trips where appropriate. When cancellations, delays, or new requests change the plan, reoptimization adjusts routes while applying those same requirements to help you meet SLAs.
See how this works for your business with our simulation tool. Using your trip data, we’ll show you how Move AI builds each plan to balance efficiency with duty of care—applying your service rules and member preferences while making better use of your vehicles. Compare the results with your current operations to see your potential savings.
Key Takeaways
- A strong multiloading plan improves efficiency while protecting member comfort. It accounts for appointment windows, vehicle capacity, boarding time, ride-time limits, member preferences, and other service requirements to make better use of vehicles while maintaining duty of care.
- Ask providers to demonstrate how their software plans shared rides. See how it groups compatible trips, applies member preferences and SLAs, and adjusts routes when trips change without overlooking those requirements.
