Calendar Invite Options

Calendar Invite Options

Overview

We've expanded the Calendar Invite options available in BART, giving administrators more control over how calendar invitations are sent to crew members and passengers.

Important: This enhancement applies only to Calendar Invites generated by BART. It does not affect or replace the Outlook/iCAL Calendar integration. These are separate features with different functionality.

Calendar Invites vs. Outlook Calendar Integration

Because these features are often confused, it's important to understand the difference.

Calendar Invites

  • BART sends an email containing an iCalendar (.ics) invitation.
  • Recipients can accept the invitation and add it to their personal calendar application (Outlook, Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, etc.).
  • The calendar event is generated when BART sends the invite.
  • This feature is configured through the Calendar Invites settings.

Outlook Calendar Integration

  • Synchronizes scheduling information with Microsoft Outlook.
  • Uses a separate integration and configuration.
  • Is not affected by the new Calendar Invite options.

Configuration

Navigate to:

Gear → All Settings → Programs → Schedules → Reports tab → Calendar Invites

Administrators can choose one of three options.

Option 1: Disabled

Calendar Invites are disabled.

  • Users will not have the option to send calendar invitations.
  • No calendar events are generated.


Option 2: One Event for the Full Trip

A single calendar event is created that represents the entire trip.

For example:

  • Departure: Cleveland (CLE) → Miami (MIA) at 8:00 AM on July 4
  • Return: Miami (MIA) → Cleveland (CLE) at 7:00 PM on July 7

The recipient receives one email containing one calendar event spanning the duration of the trip.

This option is ideal when recipients only need to block off the overall travel period rather than track each individual flight leg.


Option 3: One Event per Flight Leg

A separate calendar event is created for each flight leg.

Using the same example trip:

  • CLE → MIA on July 5
  • MIA → CLE on July 7

The recipient receives calendar events for each individual flight segment (two separate emails are automatically created)

This option provides more detailed scheduling information and is useful for crew members or passengers who want each flight leg represented separately on their calendar.