Chauffeur Booking is a comprehensive WordPress plugin that enables chauffeur services, taxi companies, and transportation providers to accept ride bookings directly from their website. Powered by Google Maps integration, the plugin calculates real-time distances, routes, and travel times to automatically generate accurate pricing based on your custom fare rules.
The booking system your transportation business needs
Managing transportation bookings shouldn’t require expensive third-party platforms or complex integrations. Chauffeur Booking gives you everything you need to run a professional booking operation directly from WordPress, while providing your customers with a smooth, intuitive booking experience.
With support for distance-based, hourly, and flat-rate pricing models, the plugin adapts to virtually any transportation service — from airport transfers and executive car services to tour operators and limousine companies.
Quick and easy setup
Getting started takes minutes, not hours. Install the plugin, add your Google Maps API key, create your vehicles with pricing, and drop the booking shortcode onto any page. The step-by-step booking form guides customers through pickup/dropoff selection, vehicle choice, optional extras, and contact details — all while displaying real-time pricing and route previews.
Key features at a glance
Booking form features: – Multi-step booking process with Google Maps route visualization – Address autocomplete powered by Google Places API – Real-time distance and travel time calculations – Support for multiple dropoff locations – Return journey booking option – Passenger and luggage capacity selection – Mobile-responsive design
Pricing and vehicles: – Distance-based pricing with tiered rates for longer journeys – Hourly pricing for by-the-hour bookings – Flat rate trips for fixed-price routes (e.g., airport transfers) – Seasonal pricing adjustments for peak/off-peak periods – Time-of-day pricing rules (e.g., night rates) – Starting/base fare configuration – Per-kilometer or per-mile rate setting – Unlimited vehicles with individual pricing – Vehicle capacity settings (min/max passengers and bags) – Vehicle types and attributes taxonomy – Multi-company/fleet support via company taxonomy – Vehicle images and descriptions
Extras and add-ons: – Optional paid extras (child seats, meet & greet, etc.) – Fixed or per-quantity pricing for extras – Quantity selectors with min/max limits – Custom text inputs and dropdown selectors – Vehicle-specific extra assignments
Advanced pricing rules: – Distance threshold rules (different rates after X km/miles) – Time-based rules (evening, weekend rates) – Date-based rules (holiday pricing, seasonal rates) – Vehicle-specific rule assignments – Stackable pricing adjustments
Availability management: – Vehicle availability tracking – Date and time-based availability rules – Day-of-week restrictions – Hourly availability windows – Booking buffer time between trips – Automatic or manual booking confirmation
Tax configuration: – Multiple tax rate support – Percentage-based tax calculations – Tax breakdown in booking summaries
Admin booking management: – Dedicated booking dashboard – Booking status workflow (Pending, Confirmed, Cancelled) – Customer details with contact information – Trip summary with pricing breakdown – Vehicle and extras assignment – Manual booking creation from admin
Email notifications: – Admin notification on new bookings – Customer confirmation emails – Complete booking details in notifications
Settings and configuration: – Configurable date formats (DD/MM/YY, MM/DD/YY, etc.) – 12-hour or 24-hour time format – Kilometers or miles distance unit – Currency symbol configuration – Default map location and zoom level – Minimum/maximum passenger and bag limits – Booking buffer time setting
Developer-friendly architecture
Chauffeur Booking is built following WordPress coding standards with proper security measures including nonce verification, capability checks, and input sanitization throughout. The plugin uses custom post types for all data storage, making it easy to extend or integrate with other systems.
Requirements
– WordPress 4.9 or higher – PHP 7.0 or higher – Google Cloud Platform account with the following APIs enabled: – Maps JavaScript API – Geocoding API – Directions API – Places API (or Places API New) – Routes API – Static Maps API – Google Map ID for map styling
Setup Guide
Step 1: Google Maps API Configuration
- Go to the Google Cloud Console (https://console.cloud.google.com/)
- Create a new project or select an existing one
- Enable the required APIs: Maps JavaScript, Geocoding, Directions, Places, Routes, and Static Maps
- Create an API key under Credentials
- Create a Map ID under Map Styles
- Enter both values in Chauffeur → Settings → Google API
Step 2: Create Your Vehicles
- Navigate to Chauffeur → Vehicles → Add New
- Set the vehicle name, description, and featured image
- Configure capacity (min/max passengers and bags)
- Set up distance pricing with a starting price and per-km/mile rate
- Optionally configure hourly pricing for by-the-hour bookings
- Publish the vehicle
Step 3: Add the Booking Form
- Create a new WordPress page (e.g., “Book a Ride”)
- Add the shortcode:
[chaufb_booking_page] - Publish the page
Step 4: Configure Settings
- Set your distance unit (km or miles) in Chauffeur → Settings → General
- Configure date and time formats
- Set booking confirmation mode (automatic or manual)
- Enable vehicle availability tracking if needed
- Add your notification email address in the Emails tab
Step 5: Optional Configuration
– Add extras under Chauffeur → Extras – Create pricing rules for distance thresholds, time-of-day, or seasonal adjustments – Set up flat rate trips for fixed-price routes – Configure tax rates if applicable – Create availability rules to restrict booking times
External Services
This plugin connects to Google Maps Platform services to provide mapping and booking functionality.
Google services used:
- Geocoding API — Converts addresses to coordinates
- Maps JavaScript API — Displays interactive maps
- Directions API — Calculates routes between locations
- Places API / Places API (New) — Provides address autocomplete
- Routes API — Calculates distance and travel time
- Maps Static API — Generates map preview images
- Map ID — Applies custom map styling
Data transmitted:
- When customers use the booking form, pickup and dropoff addresses are sent to Google for geocoding, route calculation, and distance/time estimation
- Map coordinates and configuration are sent to Google to render map tiles and markers
- No additional personal data is transmitted to Google by this plugin
Terms and policies:
- Google Maps / Google Earth Additional Terms of Service: https://maps.google.com/help/terms_maps/
- Google Privacy Policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy
Use of Google Maps Platform services may incur costs based on your usage. Please review Google’s pricing at https://cloud.google.com/maps-platform/pricing.
