Hey everyone!

We released Version 4.91.0 on Tuesday, November 4, 2025.

Run Suggestions Performance Improvement, Dispatcher Visibility, and Platform Reliability

This release focuses on making Run Suggestions faster and more reliable, improving dispatcher insight with historical results, enhancing routing accuracy through a new distance-matrix cache, and strengthening adjacent workflows (booking form, caregiver/portal connectivity, ETA events, and data syncs). The result: quicker, smarter suggestions, fewer retries, and clearer dispatcher controls.

Key Highlights

Run Suggestions — Performance, Accuracy, and Controls

What we observed

• Large batches could slow or stall Run Suggestions, especially during peak windows.
• Some tenants needed tighter control over when suggestions are eligible (earliest pickup / last drop-off windows).
• Dispatcher restarts of “All Assigned” scenarios were blocked by a legacy validation.
• No single place captured previous suggestion results for audit/comparison, limiting insight when outcomes changed from one cycle to the next.
• Subsequent cycles waited too long for the prior cycle to finish, delaying refreshed results.

Improvements Implemented

• Adaptive batching with buffer to keep the suggestion engine responsive during heavy loads.
• Next-cycle preparation: the system preps the next suggestion batch while the prior is wrapping up, reducing wait time.
• Site-level windows: added Earliest Pickup and Last (max) Drop-off configuration at the site level to sharpen eligibility and reduce unhelpful candidates.
• Start from scratch unblocked: removed the legacy validation that prevented fresh suggestions when “All Assigned” trips were in scope.

Historical Suggestions:

• Persist every run suggestion in a structured format designed for retrieval and comparison.
• Dispatcher UI to view historical results with improved list layout and map handling.
• Download historical results (with validations) for audit/comparison.
• Removed the old infinite-scroll/legacy flow; added real-time list refresh and general code improvements.

Value

Faster cycles under load, better control over who/what gets suggested, and transparent historical context for dispatcher decision-making.

Routing Engine — Distance Matrix Caching Migration

What we observed

Distance/time lookups were bottlenecked by geolocation service, causing variability in suggestion latency.

Improvements Implemented

• Migrated distance matrix caching from geolocation service to the Routing Engine’s centralised cache.
• Distance calculations can also source from configuration, allowing per-tenant tuning where needed.

Value

Reduced round-trip trips and more predictable suggestion timings; better routing inputs improve match quality.

Historical Suggestions — End-to-End Dispatcher Visibility

What we observed

Dispatchers had limited tools to understand how/why a suggestion changed compared to a prior cycle.

Fixes/Improvements Implemented

Store suggestions in a database purpose-built for history.

UI enhancements:

• List view and layout refinements.
• Map handling improvements.
• Real-time refresh as new results are generated.
• Download with validations to share, compare, and audit.

Value

Clear traceability across runs; easier to explain/defend changes and quickly course-correct.

Scheduling & Orchestration

What we observed

Suggestion generation and the “next day” workflows needed consistent scheduling across tenants.

Improvements Implemented

Job structure to schedule and prepare suggestion generation per tenant, including next-day processing.

Value

More reliable nightly/next-day readiness with less manual intervention.

Caregiver App & Booking Portal — Socket Migration to PubNub

What we observed

Socket connections occasionally caused reliability and scaling issues.

Improvements Implemented

Replaced sockets with PubNub in the Caregiver App and Booking Portal for more stable, scalable real-time updates.

Value

More dependable real-time experiences for caregivers and portal users.

Booking Form & Operations — UX and Stability Fixes 

What we observed

A set of UX defects caused friction or confusion on the booking form and operations screen.

Improvements Implemented

• Save button no longer remains disabled after background API calls complete.
• Selected biller persists correctly after entering an address (no disappearing on quick submit).
• “Other” school name path can be saved successfully.
• Improved validation visibility: booking form now surfaces validation errors more clearly so dispatchers can correct and proceed.
• Duplicate bookings issue fixed where editing current/future bookings could create multiple future-day duplicates.

Value

Smoother dispatcher workflows; fewer retries and less back-and-forth to resolve form states.

Facility Portal — Bulk Booking APIs & Event Ingestion

What we observed

Facilities needed bulk actions and timely signals from Dispatch to keep portal state aligned.

Improvements Implemented

• New List Booking Fetch API and Bulk Booking Fetch integration for batch processing.
• Metadata cache layer on booking fetch detail to reduce load and speed up responses.
• RabbitMQ channel established for the Facility Portal to receive event messages from Dispatch and trigger appropriate alerts.

Value

Faster bulk operations for facilities; real-time awareness of dispatch changes without manual refreshes.

ETA & Driver Status Signals

What we observed

Some driver state changes weren’t cascading as actionable events for ETA recalculation.

Improvements Implemented

Handle “Driver Clear Soon” by raising an event that the ETA job can consume, keeping ETAs current.

Value

More accurate and timely ETAs as driver status evolves.

Time-Zone Correctness — Migration Script

What we observed

Some legacy trip/standing-order records needed time-zone normalization to match address-based zones.

Fixes/Improvements Implemented

Migration utilities to convert pickup/drop-off and standing order fields to address-derived time zones (validated in QA, then ready for production execution).

Value

Cleaner scheduling logic and fewer time-zone related surprises downstream.

Platform & Observability

Fixes/Improvements Implemented

Sentry DSN updated for the Caregiver App to point to the new server, improving error visibility and triage.

Value

Better diagnostics and faster issue resolution.
 

Caregiver Notifications on Trip & Route Updates
 

Caregiver Notification on Trip Reassignment:

Caregivers are now notified when a passenger’s ride is reassigned to a new route.

Key Highlights:

• Push and in-app banner notifications are triggered upon route reassignment.
• Notification includes the student’s name, driver name (if changed), and updated ETA.
• Caregivers linked to multiple passengers receive separate notifications per passenger.
• Tapping the notification redirects to the Notifications section in the app.

Notify Caregiver When Driver Is Assigned:

Caregivers are informed as soon as a driver is assigned to their passenger’s upcoming trip.

Key Highlights:

• Push and in-app banner notifications sent upon driver assignment.
• Message includes passenger name, driver details, vehicle info, trip date, and pickup time.
• Tapping the alert opens the Trip Details screen.
• Multi-passenger caregivers receive distinct notifications per student.

Notify Caregiver When Driver Arrives at Pickup Location:

Ensures caregivers are aware when the driver reaches the pickup point to avoid delays.

Key Highlights:

• Notification triggered when the driver marks “Arrived at Pickup”.
• Includes passenger name, driver name, and vehicle details.
• Redirects caregivers to the Trip Tracking screen for real-time updates.
• Supports multi-passenger notifications with one alert per student.

Notify Caregiver When Trip Is Completed:

Provides reassurance that passengers have safely reached their destination.

Key Highlights:

• Push notification triggered when the driver marks the trip as “Completed”.
• Includes passenger name, drop-off time, driver and vehicle info, and trip status.
• Trip card on the home screen reflects “Completed” status with timestamp.
• Supports individual notifications for multiple passengers.

Notify Caregiver on Ride Cancellation by School District:

Keeps caregivers promptly informed if a scheduled trip is canceled.

Key Highlights:

• Push notification sent when a school district cancels a trip.
• Displays student name, trip date/time, and cancellation reason (if available).
• Notification redirects to the Notifications tab.
• Trip card displays “Canceled” status for the affected booking.
• Separate notifications for each impacted passenger.

Notify Caregiver on Address Change (Pickup or Drop-off):

Notifies caregivers of any updates to pickup or drop-off locations.

Key Highlights:

• Push notification triggered for any pickup/drop-off address change.
• Includes passenger name, type of change, updated address, and effective date.
• In-app banner appears if caregiver is logged in, redirecting to the Notifications section.
• Both old and new addresses are shown where applicable.
• Supports multi-passenger handling.

Communication Configuration

Configure Driver Chat Access Duration Post Trip Completion

Enables configurable control over how long drivers can access chat after a trip ends — supporting privacy and compliance requirements.

Key Highlights:

• New configuration key: chatAccessDurationPostCompletion.
• Value in minutes is stored and managed via the existing configuration system.

We value your feedback and appreciate your continued support! Thank you for choosing TOBI.