Can I plan a route that contains a ferry trip?
EasyRoutes supports creating delivery routes that require boarding a ferry between stops. Depending on the length of the ferry trip, EasyRoutes' routing algorithm may initially reject stops that are scheduled after the ferry journey, but they can quickly be added back on to complete the route by following these steps:
- Add all desired orders on both ends of the ferry trip to the map, and click the Create route button. In the example below, we have several stops in mainland British Columbia, and several more on Vancouver Island, which will require a ferry trip to reach:
- Stops after the ferry journey may be rejected at this stage - in this case, you'll receive a warning banner as shown below when viewing the newly created route; click into the Rejected stops tab:
- On the Rejected stops tab, scroll down below the map. Use the checkboxes to select all the rejected stops, and click the Add to route button that appears at the bottom of the page:
- Click the Save button within the search bar at the top of the page. The route will update to display all stops, including those after the ferry trip, and the ferry trip itself:
Additional Tips:
- Max route duration: When this route option is enabled, any stops that would cause a route to be longer than a defined time limit will be rejected due to time constraints. In order to minimize rejected stops due to time constraints, we recommend disabling this route option for routes containing long ferry trips, or ensuring the max route duration is set high enough to comfortably contain both the ferry trip, and all stops on either side of the ferry trip.
- If ferry schedules are infrequent or unreliable, it may be advantageous to plan two routes instead: one containing all stops before the ferry trip, with an end location where the driver will board the ferry; and a second route starting where the driver leaves the ferry, containing all remaining stops, which can be started as soon as the ferry trip is complete. This way, any customer notifications and order ETAs will more accurately reflect real-world conditions, and not contain any potential delays caused by infrequent ferry scheduling.