Dispatch (matching)
Deciding which provider is offered a job, in what order and for how long, and what happens when nobody accepts.
Updated October 2026 · with examples from our own builds
What does dispatch mean in practice?
Dispatch takes a new booking or case and finds who should do it: the nearest eligible providers, offered the job in turns or rounds with a time limit, the search widening when nobody accepts. In the end it needs a fallback, such as an open board, a wider alert or telling the customer honestly that nobody is available.
These rules are the product's promise written in code. They decide how long a customer waits, how fairly work is shared and what happens at 2 a.m. in a quiet district, so the defaults deserve as much attention as the screens.
Dispatch must also respect money and safety rules: a booking that hasn't been paid, or a provider who isn't verified or on duty, should never be offered.
Dispatch at a glance
- Decides
- Who is offered work, in what order and for how long
- Needs
- Widening rings and a final fallback
- Never offer
- Unpaid bookings or unverified providers
Where has dispatch come up in our builds?
Rescue offers go to the nearest three eligible responders for 60 seconds at a time, widening from 3 to 8 to 15 km, with fallback responders alerted after 15 minutes. A probe found a 24-hour clinic 17 km away was never alerted at the fallback step because the query still applied its own 12 km radius, so fallbacks now answer country-wide.
Offers ring on drivers' phones in widening rings; if the timed offers lapse, the booking moves to an open board where every eligible driver sees it and the first to accept wins. If nobody accepts, the customer is reminded at 10 minutes and the booking is cancelled at 20.
Common questions about dispatch
What should happen when no provider accepts a job?
Widen the search, then fall back to an open board or a wider alert, and finally tell the customer clearly, with an alternative if there is one. Silence is the worst outcome.
Should every job go to the nearest provider?
To the nearest eligible one: verified, on duty, able to carry the job and covering that kind of work. Distance is the sort order, not the only rule.
Related terms
Planning a product and not sure where dispatch fits? Ask us, or browse all 116 terms in the glossary.