What ground transportation brokering actually involves
A dispatch broker receives bookings from one or more sources — hotels, OTAs, travel agencies, corporate accounts — and fulfils them through a network of operator partners. The value you provide is coverage, coordination, and accountability. You are the single point of contact for clients, and you manage the complexity of a multi-operator network behind the scenes.
Building your partner network
Your partner operators are your product quality. Every operator in your network is a direct reflection of your reputation. Vet partners thoroughly: visit their operation, inspect their vehicles, and do a test booking before adding them to your active network.
Commission structures that work
The most common structure is a percentage of the client-facing price retained by the broker. Typically 15–25%, depending on volume and route complexity. The key is consistency: every operator in your network should understand exactly how their settlement is calculated, and payment should happen on a predictable schedule — weekly or fortnightly is standard.
Technology requirements
Manual broker operations — email confirmations, WhatsApp for driver details, spreadsheets for commission tracking — break down quickly as volume grows. The minimum technology requirement for a professional broker network is: a system that can route bookings to partners automatically, track acceptance, monitor ride status across all operators, and calculate and record commissions on completion.