Refund & Cancellation Policy

How refunds work when a rider or driver cancels a monthly lift-club seat.

Last updated: September 2026

1. What this policy covers

This policy applies to every monthly lift-club seat booked and paid for through RouteMate SA. It explains what refund a rider can expect when a booking is cancelled, and what happens when a driver can no longer provide the trip.

2. How the monthly model works

Riders book and pay for a full calendar month of trips up front. The total amount includes the driver's fare plus a RouteMate SA rider service fee.

The service fee covers platform costs, payment processing, support and dispute handling. It is shown clearly before checkout.

3. Refund tiers

The refund amount depends on who cancelled and when the cancellation happens relative to the booked month.

4. How to cancel

Riders can cancel an active or upcoming booking from the Bookings section of their RouteMate SA account. Drivers can cancel or pause a route from their driver dashboard.

Once a cancellation is submitted, the refund tier is calculated automatically and any refund due is processed back to the original payment method.

5. Refund processing

Refunds are processed back to the card or bank account used for the original payment through PayFast or Ozow.

Depending on the rider's bank or card issuer, refunds usually reflect within 5–10 business days.

RouteMate SA does not charge an additional fee to process a refund, but the original payment provider's fees are non-recoverable.

6. Driver cancellations

If a driver cancels a route or declines a booking, the rider receives a full refund of fare and service fee.

RouteMate SA may also adjust or waive the driver's commission on that booking.

7. Subscription cancellations

Cancelling a RouteMate SA subscription stops future monthly debits. It does not cancel any existing monthly seat bookings that have already been paid for.

Those bookings remain active for the paid month and are governed by the refund tiers above.

8. Disputes and exceptions

If you believe a cancellation or refund was processed incorrectly, contact our support desk with your booking reference. We review each dispute case by case.

RouteMate SA reserves the right to withhold or reverse a refund where fraud, abuse or a breach of the Terms & Conditions is involved.

Refund tier summary

Driver cancels or declines100% refund — the fare and the RouteMate SA service fee are both returned to the rider.
7+ days before the month starts100% refund — the rider cancelled with more than 7 days' notice, so everything is refunded.
Less than 7 days before the month startsFare refunded, service fee retained — the seat had already been reserved close to the travel period.
Month already runningPro-rata refund on remaining days — the unused portion of the fare is refunded. The service fee is retained.
Month already finishedNo refund — the booked travel period has ended.