Vodoro Rideshare — User Guide

Welcome to Vodoro, the sustainable ride-sharing and carpooling app. This guide covers everything you need to know to use the app effectively.

Table of Contents

1. Getting Started
2. Your Profile
3. Vehicles
4. Creating a Ride (For Drivers)
5. Finding & Joining a Ride (For Passengers)
6. Managing Your Rides
7. Recurring (Periodic) Rides
8. Groups
9. Events
10. Messaging & Chat
11. Notifications
12. Ratings & Reviews
13. CO2 & Environmental Impact
14. Safety & Privacy
15. Account Settings
16. Customer Support
17. FAQ

1. Getting Started

Creating an Account

1. Open the app and tap Register.
2. Enter your first name, last name, email, and a secure password.
3. Complete the CAPTCHA verification.
4. Check your email and confirm your account via the verification link.
5. Log in with your email (or username) and password.

First Login Setup

On your first login you will be guided through a short setup: - Upload a profile picture (optional). - Enter your phone number (optional). - Write a short bio (optional). - Select your preferred language (English or German).

Logging In

• Enter your email or username and your password.
• If you have enabled two-factor authentication (2FA), you will be asked for a verification code from your authenticator app.

Logging Out

Go to your profile or settings and tap Logout. Your session will be ended and your tokens invalidated.

2. Your Profile

Viewing Your Profile

Tap the Profile tab to see: - Your profile picture, name, and email. - Your vehicles. - Your ratings (as rider and as passenger) with average star rating. - Total rides completed (as rider and as passenger). - Your CO2 savings (with a tree-equivalent visualization). - The date you joined.

Viewing Other Users' Profiles

Tap any user's name or avatar elsewhere in the app to view their public profile, including their ratings and vehicles.

Editing Your Profile

Tap Edit Profile on your profile page to change: - First and last name. - Phone number. - Bio / description. - Profile picture (take a new photo or choose from your gallery).

3. Vehicles

You can register up to 4 vehicles in the app. Vehicles are required to create rides as a driver.

Adding a Vehicle

1. Go to your profile and tap Add Vehicle.
2. Enter the make, model, year, license plate, color, and number of seats.
3. Save.

Managing Vehicles

• Edit any vehicle to update its details.
• Delete a vehicle you no longer use.
• Set as default: Mark one vehicle as your default. This vehicle will be pre-selected when you create a ride. If you delete your default vehicle, another vehicle will automatically become the default.

4. Creating a Ride (For Drivers)

Step-by-Step

1. Navigate to Create a Ride.
2. Start Location: Enter where you are departing from.
3. End Location: Enter your destination.
4. Vehicle: Select which of your vehicles you will use.
5. Max Passengers: Set how many passengers you can take (limited by your vehicle's seat count).
6. Date & Time: Pick the departure date and time.
7. Options:
8. Allow Pets: Toggle on if passengers may bring pets.
9. Allow Luggage: Toggle on if passengers may bring larger luggage.
10. Privacy Level:
11. Public: Anyone can see and request to join your ride.
12. Group: Only members of a selected group can see the ride.
13. Event: Only attendees of a selected event can see the ride.
14. Pricing (optional):
15. Set a price per kilometer in cents. Passengers will see the estimated cost based on their pickup/dropoff distance.
16. Set a max additional time in minutes — the maximum extra travel time you accept from detours to pick up passengers.
17. Description (optional): Add notes for passengers (e.g. "Meeting point at the main entrance").
18. Tap Calculate Route. The app will show you up to 3 route alternatives on a map.
19. Select your preferred route and confirm.
20. Your ride is created and visible to eligible users.

Ride Statuses

• Pending: The ride is upcoming and open for passenger requests.
• Running: The ride is in progress (you have started driving).
• Finished: The ride is complete.
• Cancelled: The ride was cancelled.

Starting and Ending a Ride

Ride status updates (start and end) are now automatic. When the scheduled start time is reached and the ride is in progress, the system will automatically mark the ride as started. When the estimated end time is reached, the ride will be marked as finished. All participants are notified automatically.

Editing a Ride

You can edit a ride's details (time, passengers, description, etc.) as long as the ride has not already started.

Deleting a Ride

You can delete a ride at any time. All accepted passengers will be notified automatically.

5. Finding & Joining a Ride (For Passengers)

Searching for a Ride

1. Navigate to Get a Ride.
2. Enter your pickup location (where you want to be picked up).
3. Enter your dropoff location (where you want to go).
4. Select your pickup date and time.
5. Set the number of passengers (1–8).
6. Tap Find Rides.

Search Results

The app shows matching rides with: - Driver name and average rating. - Vehicle details (make, model, color). - Available seats. - Whether pets and luggage are allowed. - Estimated cost (based on price per km × your distance × number of passengers). - Departure time and route overview.

Requesting to Join

1. Tap on a ride that suits you.
2. Optionally add a message to the driver.
3. Tap Request to Join.
4. The system calculates an alternative route including your pickup and dropoff waypoints.
5. Your request is sent to the driver for approval.

After Requesting

• Pending: Waiting for the driver to accept or decline.
• Accepted: You are confirmed on the ride. You will receive a notification.
• Declined: The driver declined your request. Depending on the driver's choice, you may or may not be able to retry.
• Retry: The driver declined but allowed you to submit a new request.

Distance Rules

• Your pickup location must be within 20 km of the ride's start.
• Your dropoff location must be within 20 km of the ride's end.
• Your detour must not add more than 25 km to the ride.
• Your detour must not exceed the driver's configured max additional time.

6. Managing Your Rides

My Rides Dashboard

The My Rides screen has four tabs:

1. Calendar: A monthly view showing all your upcoming rides, passenger requests, and events on each date. Tap a date to see details. If no date is selected, your next 5 upcoming activities are shown.

2. Rides: Lists all your rides split into "Upcoming" and "Past" sections. This includes rides you offered as a driver and rides you joined as a passenger.

3. Events: Lists events you are attending, split into "Upcoming" and "Past".

4. Groups: Shows all groups you are a member of, with options to create or search for new groups.

Calendar Export

You can export your rides and events to your phone's calendar using the Export Calendar button.

Ride Details

Tap any ride to see full details: - Route on map. - Driver and passenger information. - Pickup and dropoff times for each passenger. - Ride status and actions (start, end, edit, delete).

7. Recurring (Periodic) Rides

If you drive the same route regularly, you can set up a periodic ride:

1. When creating a ride, enable Periodic Ride.
2. Select frequency: Every week, every two weeks, or every month.
3. Select the weekdays the ride should repeat on.
4. Set an end date for the series.
5. The app will automatically create individual ride requests for each occurrence.

Managing Periodic Rides

• Edit the periodic ride to update all future occurrences.
• Delete the periodic ride to remove all future occurrences.
• Individual rides in the series can also be edited or deleted independently.

8. Groups

Groups let communities, companies, or friend circles organize ride-sharing together.

Group Types

• Company: For corporate carpooling.
• University: For campus commuters.
• Community: For neighborhood or city ride-sharing.
• Sports: For sports club members.
• Hobby: For hobbyist communities.

Creating a Group

1. Navigate to Groups and tap Create Group.
2. Enter a name and description.
3. Select the group type.
4. Set the privacy level:
5. Public: Anyone can find and join the group.
6. Request: Users can find the group but must request to join. Admins approve or decline.
7. Closed: The group is not discoverable and no new members can join.
8. Optionally upload a group picture.
9. Optionally set a group location.
10. Configure admin-only restrictions:
11. Only admins can create rides in this group.
12. Only admins can create events in this group.
13. Enable or disable group chat.
14. Save.

Joining a Group

• Public groups: Tap Join on the group page.
• Request-based groups: Tap Request to Join. An admin will review your request.
• Closed groups: You cannot join.

Searching Groups

Go to Search Groups to find public and request-based groups. Filter by type and location.

Group Member Roles

• Creator: Full control, cannot be removed. Ownership transfers to an admin if the creator leaves.
• Admin: Can manage members (promote, demote, remove), approve join requests, edit group settings, create events and rides.
• Member: Can view group content, join rides and events, participate in chat.

Group Features

• View all group members.
• View group rides and events.
• Group chat (if enabled).
• CO2 reports (for licensed company groups).
• Leave the group at any time.

9. Events

Events help coordinate rides for gatherings, meetups, or activities.

Event Types

Meetup, Party, Sports, Concert, Business, Food & Drink, Charity, Culture, Outdoor, Other.

Creating an Event

1. Navigate to your group (or the Events tab) and tap Create Event.
2. Enter a title and description.
3. Select the event type.
4. Set the event location.
5. Set start and end date/time.
6. Set privacy:
7. Public: Open to everyone.
8. Group Only: Only members of the associated group.
9. Request: Anyone can find it, but must request to join.
10. Closed: Invite-only.
11. Set max attendees (optional).
12. Allow or disallow plus-ones.
13. Enable or disable event chat.
14. Save.

Joining an Event

• Public / Group events: Tap Join.
• Request-based events: Tap Request to Join. The organizer reviews your request.

Searching Events

Go to Search Events to discover public events. Filter by type, location, and time.

Event Rides

Drivers can create rides specifically linked to an event: - To Event: A ride heading to the event location before the event starts. - From Event: A ride leaving the event location after the event ends.

Only event attendees can see and request to join event rides.

Managing Events

• Edit event details (if you are the organizer or an admin).
• Cancel or Delete the event. Attendees will be notified.
• View the attendee list.
• Manage join requests (for request-based events).

10. Messaging & Chat

Chat Types

• Direct Chat: One-on-one messaging with another user. You can message users you share a ride with, or the Vodoro Support account.
• Ride Chat: A group chat with all passengers and the driver of a ride.
• Group Chat: A group chat with all members of a group (if enabled by the group admin).
• Event Chat: A group chat with all attendees of an event (if enabled by the event organizer).

Sending Messages

1. Open a chat from the Chats tab.
2. Type your message and tap Send.
3. You can also send image messages by tapping the image button, selecting a photo, and optionally adding a caption.

Chat Features

• View all your chats with the latest message preview and unread count.
• Tap the chat header to see info about the chat (participants, group/event/ride details).
• View the member list in group, event, and ride chats.
• Navigate to the associated group, event, or ride from the chat header.
• Tap any participant's name or avatar to view their profile.
• Pull to refresh to load new messages.

Customer Support Chat

You can message the Vodoro Support account for help. This is an AI-powered customer support assistant that can answer questions about the app, its features, and ride-sharing. See Customer Support for details.

11. Notifications

Notification Types

• Ride Updates: Passenger request received, accepted, declined; ride started, ended, cancelled, edited.
• Group Activities: Join requests, member changes, group updates.
• Event Activities: Join requests, event updates, cancellations.
• Ratings: New rating received.
• Chat Messages: New messages in your chats.

Managing Notifications

• View all notifications in the Notifications tab.
• Tap a notification to navigate to the related content.
• Mark as read individually or use Mark All Read.
• Delete notifications you no longer need.

Notification Preferences

In Edit Profile → Notification Preferences, you can configure each notification type: - Push only: Receive push notifications on your device. - Email only: Receive email notifications. - Both: Receive push and email. - Disabled: No notifications for this type.

You can also opt in or out of: - Promotional emails. - Feature update emails.

12. Ratings & Reviews

How Ratings Work

After a ride is completed, participants can rate each other: - Rate as Rider: Passengers rate the driver. - Rate as Passenger: The driver rates passengers.

Rating Scale

Leaving a Rating

1. After a ride finishes, you will receive a notification to rate the other participants.
2. Select a star rating (1–5).
3. Optionally write a comment.
4. Submit.

Viewing Ratings

• Your average rating (as rider and as passenger) is displayed on your profile.
• You can view all your received ratings in detail from your profile.
• Other users can see your public rating when viewing your profile.
• You can only leave one rating per user per ride.

Reliable (Reliability) Stat

Your profile also shows a "Reliable" stat (as rider and as passenger). This indicates how often you show up for rides you have committed to. A high reliability score means you rarely cancel or miss rides at the last minute. This helps build trust in the community.

13. CO2 & Environmental Impact

Vodoro tracks the environmental impact of every shared ride. Only rides with at least one passenger (shared rides) count towards your CO₂ savings and statistics.

How CO2 Savings Are Calculated

• Formula: Distance (km) × 0.12 kg CO2/km × Number of passengers
• Based on average car emissions of 120g CO2 per km.
• Tree equivalent: 1 tree absorbs approximately 21 kg of CO2 per year.

Where You Can See Your Impact

• Your Profile: Shows your total CO₂ saved as a rider and as a passenger (for shared rides only), plus the tree equivalent.
• Group Dashboard: Total CO2 saved by all group members.
• Event Dashboard: Total CO2 saved by event rides.

Company CO2 Reports (Licensed Groups)

Companies with a Vodoro license receive detailed monthly CO2 reports: - Monthly ride statistics. - Per-employee breakdown. - CO2 savings trends. - Downloadable reports.

Company Pricing: | Employees | Price/Month | |-------------|-------------| | 0–100 | Free | | 100–500 | €200 | | 500–2,000 | €500 | | 2,000+ | €1,000 |

14. Safety & Privacy

Location Privacy

• When you create a ride, the exact start and end locations are only visible to passengers whose request has been accepted.
• Other users only see the city name for ride start and end points.
• Your pickup and dropoff locations as a passenger are only visible to the ride's driver.

Blocking Users

If you feel uncomfortable with another user: 1. Go to their profile. 2. Tap Block User. 3. Blocked users cannot: - Send you messages. - See your rides. - Request to join your rides. - Interact with you in any way. 4. You can unblock users at any time from Edit Profile → Blocked Users.

Reporting Users

If a user violates community guidelines: 1. Go to their profile. 2. Tap Report User. 3. Select a category: - Harassment or Bullying - Inappropriate Content - Spam or Unwanted Messages - Fake Profile - Dangerous Driving Behavior - No Show / Unreliable - Scam or Fraud - Privacy Violation - Hate Speech - Other 4. Provide a description of the issue. 5. Submit. Our team will review the report.

Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

For extra security, enable 2FA in Edit Profile → Two-Factor Authentication: 1. Tap Enable 2FA. 2. Scan the QR code with your authenticator app (e.g. Google Authenticator, Authy). 3. Enter the verification code to confirm. 4. On future logins, you will be asked for a code from your authenticator app.

Account Lockout

After 3 failed login attempts, your account will be temporarily locked for security. Wait and try again later, or reset your password.

15. Account Settings

Changing Your Password

1. Go to Edit Profile → Change Password.
2. Enter your current password.
3. Enter and confirm your new password.
4. Password must meet strength requirements (minimum length, not too common, not similar to your name).

Changing Your Email

1. Go to Edit Profile → Change Email.
2. Enter your new email address.
3. A verification link will be sent to the new email.
4. Click the link to confirm the change.

Language

Switch between English and German in Edit Profile → Language.

Theme

Switch between Light Mode and Dark Mode in Edit Profile → Theme.

Deleting Your Account

1. Go to Edit Profile and scroll to the Danger Zone.
2. Tap Delete Account.
3. Confirm the deletion. This action is permanent and cannot be undone.
4. All your data, rides, ratings, messages, and group memberships will be removed.

16. Customer Support

Getting Help

You can contact Vodoro customer support directly from the app:

1. Open a Direct Chat with the Vodoro Rideshare account (the official support account).
2. Type your question or describe your problem.
3. The AI-powered support assistant will respond with helpful information about the app and its features.

What Support Can Help With

• How to use any feature of the app.
• Questions about ride creation, searching, and joining.
• Group and event management.
• Account and profile settings.
• Pricing and company licenses.
• CO2 tracking and reports.
• Safety and privacy features.
• General ride-sharing questions.

What Support Cannot Help With

• Topics unrelated to the Vodoro app or ride-sharing.
• Access to internal technical details.
• Issues requiring manual intervention — for these, email info.vodoro@gmail.com.

Email Support

For issues the in-app support cannot resolve, reach out via email: info.vodoro@gmail.com

17. FAQ

Q: How much does Vodoro cost? A: Vodoro is free for individual users. Companies can purchase licenses for advanced CO2 reporting features (see CO2 & Environmental Impact).

Q: Can I use the app without creating a ride or being a passenger? A: Yes. You can join groups, attend events, and message other users without offering or requesting rides.

Q: How are ride costs calculated? A: The driver sets a price per kilometer (in cents). Your cost is calculated as: price per km × your trip distance × number of passengers.

Q: Can I cancel a ride request after it was accepted? A: Yes. You can delete your passenger request at any time. The driver will be notified.

Q: What happens if the driver cancels a ride? A: All accepted passengers are notified immediately. The ride is marked as cancelled.

Q: Can I rate a user more than once for the same ride? A: No. You can only leave one rating per user per ride.

Q: How do I find rides near me? A: Use the Get a Ride feature and enter your pickup and dropoff locations. The app will find rides whose route passes near your locations.

Q: Can I message any user? A: You can only message users you share a ride with (as a driver or fellow passenger), or the Vodoro Support account. Blocked users cannot message you.

Q: What languages does the app support? A: English, German, French, and Spanish.

Q: How do I enable push notifications? A: Go to Edit Profile → Notification Preferences and configure push notifications for each notification type. Make sure notifications are also enabled in your device settings.

Q: My account is locked. What do I do? A: After 3 failed login attempts, your account is temporarily locked. Wait a few minutes and try again, or use Forgot Password to reset your password.

Q: How do I share a group or event? A: Open the group or event and use the Share button to copy a link or share directly with friends.

Vodoro — The sustainable ride-sharing app. Website: https://vodoro.net Support: info.vodoro@gmail.com © Vodoro GmbH