Parent Ride Offers — Simple and Structured
When an activity is created in Wampums, the carpool module automatically opens a ride-offer period. Parents receive a notification in their preferred language asking whether they can offer seats for the trip. They respond directly from their phone — specifying their vehicle's available seats, whether they are available to drive to the activity, from the activity, or both directions, and any notes for the leader (such as a departure point different from the usual meeting location).
All ride offers are collected in a single view for the leader, organized by direction and seat count. There is no need to chase responses through a group chat or compile a tally from individual messages. The leader can see at a glance whether there are enough seats for all participants who need rides, which directions are covered, and whether any gaps need to be addressed before the event. The entire offer collection process happens in the platform, with automatic reminders sent to parents who haven't responded as the activity date approaches.
Leader Assignment — Thoughtful, Not Random
Once ride offers are in, the leader opens the carpool assignment view for the activity. Each participant who needs a ride is listed alongside available carpool offers showing the driver, vehicle, available seats, and direction. The leader drags participants into carpool slots — or uses the automatic suggestion feature, which proposes assignments that balance seat utilization and minimize the number of vehicles needed.
The assignment view respects constraints automatically: a participant cannot be placed in a vehicle that has no remaining seats, and assignment conflicts are flagged in real time. The leader can override any suggestion and manually assign based on factors the system doesn't know — neighbours who prefer to ride together, a participant with a special need, or a family situation the leader is aware of. When assignments are finalized, all drivers and passengers receive an instant notification with the complete carpool details for their vehicle.
Quick-Access Carpool Modal — Vehicles and Seats at a Glance
At the event, leaders need fast access to carpool information without navigating through multiple screens. Wampums provides a quick-access carpool modal that can be opened from the activity view with a single tap. The modal shows all vehicles for the activity, the driver's name and contact number, the number of available and occupied seats, and the names of all assigned passengers — for both trip directions simultaneously.
This modal is designed for the exact moment a parent asks "is there room in a car for my child today?" and a parent driver needs to quickly verify their passenger list before the activity ends. It loads instantly from cached data, which means it works even without an internet connection at the event location. The information is current as of the last sync and displays the complete picture in a compact, readable format on any screen size.
Activity-Specific Carpools — Each Event Stands Alone
Scout groups run activities with very different carpool requirements. A Tuesday evening meeting in town may need no carpool coordination at all, while a Saturday hike 40 kilometres away requires careful seat allocation and precise pickup logistics. Wampums treats each activity's carpool as independent — ride offers, assignments, and notifications are scoped to the specific activity, not carried over from previous events or blended across concurrent activities.
For multi-day events like camps or jamborees, Wampums supports separate carpool coordination for the departure trip and the return trip. Parents who offered seats for the drive to camp but cannot drive home are reflected accurately in the system. Leaders who manage multiple sections simultaneously can view carpool assignments across all sections for a given activity without the data from different groups mixing together. Each section's carpool is clearly labeled and manageable independently.
Bilingual Carpool Notifications — Every Parent Informed
A parent who receives a carpool notification in a language they don't read well is a safety concern, not just a communication inconvenience. They may miss critical details about pickup location, departure time, or the driver's identity. Wampums sends every carpool notification in the parent's preferred language — set once during onboarding and respected for every communication the platform sends thereafter.
Carpool notifications include: the driver's name and contact information, the vehicle description, pickup location and time, departure time, return trip details if applicable, and the names of other passengers in the vehicle. The same notification, with all the same safety-relevant information, goes to French-speaking and English-speaking families simultaneously — each in their own language. Leaders don't need to draft two versions of anything; the platform handles translation of the notification template automatically based on each parent's preference.
Offline Access — Carpool Data Available Without Internet
Scout activities regularly happen in locations where internet access is unavailable. An outdoor hiking trail, a provincial park campsite, or a remote sports facility may have no cell signal at all. At these locations, a leader who needs to verify that every participant has a ride home — or a parent who needs to know which car to look for at pickup — cannot rely on a connected web application.
Wampums caches carpool data to the leader's device before the event. The complete carpool manifest — all vehicles, all drivers, all assigned passengers, and all contact information — is available offline through the quick-access modal. Updates made to carpool assignments while offline are queued and sync automatically when the device reconnects. This offline capability extends to parents as well: assigned parents can view their pickup responsibilities and passenger list without a data connection. Carpool safety information is always available, regardless of connectivity.
