Money in the car: cash, top-ups and receipts without the muddle
8. 9. 2026
Most senior transport schemes split the money: the passenger pays a token amount on the spot, the council covers the rest against the monthly report. It sounds simple, until the driver is standing by the car with a large note and no change.
Keep the passenger's price simple
The best price list for a passenger is one they can remember. What works is a single amount for a ride within the village, or bands by distance — not a calculation from a pickup fee and kilometres.
Kilometres and exact amounts belong in the report for the council. The passenger needs to know: "thirty crowns into town, fifty to the doctor in the district town". If a seventy-year-old has to work out what a trip will cost, they stop travelling.
Change is an operational matter, not a detail
Habits that have proved themselves:
- A float in every car — a few hundred in coins at the start of the shift, returned at the end.
- The passenger pays at the end of the ride. Paying at the start means the driver is holding money instead of concentrating on the road.
- Weekly settling for regulars. For somebody travelling three times a week it is easier to pay once a week than to find change every time.
- Cards pay off less with this group than you would expect. A terminal costs money and some passengers will not use it. Decide by who actually travels with you, not by what is modern.
Receipts: when yes, when a note is enough
Whether you must issue a receipt and record the takings depends on how the service is run and under what regime — that is a question for your accountant, not for the dispatch desk. What always applies: whatever is collected in the car has to end up written down somewhere, or the month will not add up.
The simplest workable practice: the driver records the amount against the ride as soon as it finishes, not from memory in the evening.
Make the report match the cash
At the end of the month three figures should agree: what is recorded on the rides, what is in cash, and what you invoice the council. When they do not, the fastest way to find it is through rides missing an amount or the distance.
Do this check before the report goes out, not after the council asks.
And what you do not pay us
To avoid any confusion: the payments this article is about are between you and your passengers. For the application itself you pay nothing — Viacurso is free, with no subscription and no payment card.
The ride price is calculated from the distance and the area's rate; both are visible on the ride and in the monthly report.
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