Plan routes for multiple drivers
Plan routes for multiple drivers in Upper: add your stops, select the team in the Assign Drivers tab, and let Optimize Route split and sequence the work.
When you have a pile of stops and a team of drivers, Upper splits the work across the whole fleet and sequences each driver's route in a single optimization pass. You add the stops, pick the drivers, choose how the work should be balanced, and click Optimize Route.
This article uses the default driver labels (Assign Drivers, Optimize Route). If your workspace is set up for field service, you may see Technician and Service wording instead — for example Assign Technicians. Both label sets refer to the same features.
Single driver vs. multiple drivers
Upper offers two ways to turn a route plan into a dispatchable route:
- Optimize Route — optimizes the stop sequence and splits the work across the drivers you select. This is the option for multi-driver routes.
- Quick Share — keeps your stops in their current order and skips optimization. Quick Share is single-driver only. If you select more than one driver, it is unavailable, and its tooltip points you to Optimize Route.
For everything in this article, use Optimize Route.
Before you start
- Stops loaded — Add your stops first, on the Add Stops tab. You can add them manually or import a CSV or Excel file.
- Drivers available — Each driver you want to include should be set up with a shift start time and, where relevant, a vehicle type, so the optimizer can plan around them.
Plan routes across multiple drivers
Add your stops
Open or create a route plan and add every stop on the Add Stops tab — manually, or with Import File / Import with Preview. The stop count shows on the tab (for example, Add Stops (23)).
Select the drivers
Switch to the Assign Drivers tab. Use the checkboxes to select every driver you want to include in this run, or use + Add Driver to bring more drivers into the plan.
Select more drivers than you think you'll need. With the Min Drivers workload mode, Upper figures out how many are actually required — and on the other modes, more candidates give the optimizer more options for a better plan.
Set how the work is balanced (optional)
Open Advanced Settings (top right of the route plan) to control how Upper optimizes. The two settings that shape a multi-driver plan are Optimize for and Workload Distribution — see the sections below. If you skip this, Upper uses your account defaults.
Click Optimize Route
Click Optimize Route. Upper distributes the stops across the selected drivers and sequences each route. After a run, the button reads Re-optimize Route so you can run it again after any changes.
Optimize for: Time or Distance
In Advanced Settings, Optimize for is a choice between two goals:
- Time — favors finishing the work faster.
- Distance — favors fewer total miles.
Pick the one that matches what matters most for the run.
Workload Distribution modes
Also in Advanced Settings, Workload Distribution controls how stops are spread across your selected drivers. Upper offers five modes:
| Mode | What it balances |
|---|---|
| Auto Workload Balancing | Upper's default balanced distribution across drivers. |
| Equalize Workload (Equal Stops) | Aims for a similar number of stops per driver. |
| Balance Workload (Equal Time) | Aims for a similar amount of working time per driver. |
| Maximize Efficiency (reduce total time to complete all stops) | Sequences to reduce the total time to complete all stops. |
| Min Drivers | Uses the fewest drivers needed to cover the selected stops. |
These are the exact mode names as they appear in Upper. The label tells you what each mode optimizes for; you choose the one that fits the day's priority.
You can set a default Workload Distribution in your User Settings, and override it per route in Advanced Settings.
Review and adjust
After Optimize Route runs, Upper shows the planned routes on the map (numbered pins) and in the Timeline view, with each driver's stop sequence laid out. A few things to check before you dispatch:
- Eyeball the map. Look for an obvious mistake — a stop assigned to the wrong area, or a route that crosses the whole map.
- Re-optimize after manual edits. If you change the stops or selection, click Re-optimize Route to recalculate.
When the plan looks right, dispatch it with Share to Drivers.
Troubleshooting
Related
Monitor driver ETAs
Track driver ETAs in Upper from the Live Tracking page. See each driver's estimated time of arrival and route progress, updated as they work through their stops.
Re-assign routes between drivers
Move stops and whole routes between drivers in Upper using Reassign Route, swap, and box-select in the route builder—rebalance work without rebuilding the plan.