Overview
A Role decides what a User can do; Location access decides where they can do it. This article covers the second half — the practical question of how a User actually gets access to a given Location. There are three paths, and choosing the right one is the difference between an access model that scales and one you're forever editing User by User. For the bigger picture of how all the access pieces fit together, see How access works in Mobaro.
Why this matters: "I gave them the Role but they still can't see the ride" is the most common access question Mobaro gets. The Role was never the problem — the User just had no access to that Location. Knowing the three paths, and defaulting to the one that scales, prevents this almost entirely.
The three ways to grant Location access
Path | What it does and when to use it |
Direct on the Location | Add a User (or a User Group) to a single Location's Direct Memberships. Best for one-off or unusual access that doesn't fit a team pattern. |
Via a Location Group | Add a User (or a User Group) to a Location Group. Access cascades to every Location in that group and its nested child groups. The recommended default for team-based access at scale. |
Broad View permission | Grant View Locations or View Location Groups on the User's Role. Exposes every Location on the account. High-impact — reserve for a few admins. See Understanding Location permissions. |
Note: Access is additive. A User reaches a Location if any path grants it — direct membership, membership through any Location Group, or a broad View permission. Their Role then determines what they can actually do once they're there.
Direct membership on a Location
Open the Location
In the Mobaro Backend, go to Locations, select the Location, and click Edit.
Add to Direct Memberships
In the Direct Memberships section, add the Users or User Groups that should have access to this Location.
Save
Click Save. The added Users can now reach this Location, subject to their Role.
Heads up: Adding individual Users directly to each Location works at first but becomes painful to maintain — when coverage changes, you're editing many Locations one at a time. Prefer Location Group or User Group membership for anything beyond a true one-off.
Access through a Location Group
Open the Location Group
Go to Location Groups and select the group whose Locations the User should reach.
Add Users or User Groups
Add the Users or User Groups as members of the group.
Save
Access now applies to every Location in the group — and to every Location in its nested child groups.
Best practice: Mirror your real-world zones in your Location Group structure, then grant access at the group level. When a new ride opens, adding it to the group gives the whole team access automatically — no per-User edits. See How to create Location Groups.
The broad View Locations permission
The View Locations and View Location Groups permissions on a Role grant visibility into every Location on the account, regardless of membership. They're occasionally the right tool — for an account-wide compliance reviewer, say — but they bypass the scoping that keeps data confined to the people who need it.
Critical: Don't use View Locations as a shortcut for giving someone access to a handful of Locations — it exposes all of them. Use Location Group or User Group membership for scoped access, and reserve the broad permission for the few roles that genuinely need to see everything. Details in Understanding Location permissions.
Example: scoping a technician to one zone
Scenario
A new maintenance technician should work the East-zone rides only — complete and update their Checklists and Assignments, and nothing outside East.
Setup
Assign the technician the Maintenance Technician Role (View/Modify on Checklists and Assignments).
Add them to the Maintenance — East User Group, which is a member of the East Zone Location Group.
Result
The technician can reach every East-zone Location through the Group, with no broad View permission and no per-Location edits. Open a new East ride and add it to the East Zone group, and they get access automatically. Move them to the West Group later and their scope shifts — no Role change needed.
Frequently asked questions
Q: I assigned the Role but the User still can't see a Location. Why?
A: The Role grants the capability; it doesn't grant Location access. Add the User — or a User Group they belong to — to the Location directly or to a Location Group that contains it.
Q: If I add a User Group to a Location Group, does everyone in it get access?
A: Yes. Every member of that User Group gains access to every Location in the Location Group and its nested child groups.
Q: Does adding a User to a Location Group change whether a Location is active?
A: No. Group membership is purely about access and organization — it never affects whether a Location is active or operational.
Q: A User has access through two different paths. Is that a problem?
A: No. Access is additive, so overlapping paths simply both grant access. It's worth tidying up duplicates during an audit, but nothing breaks.