TransIT small trucking-company software

6 serious issues that a small trucking company face today

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If you are an owner of a small trucking company, you know how many challenges the trucking businesses face on a daily basis. When you are making plans for the new year, you want to avoid as many problems as possible while maximizing your profits. TransIT small trucking company software can help you become a winner even in the hardest situations. Here are the 6 serious issues the trucking business owners face today and how to avoid them.

TransIT small trucking company software

TransIT small trucking company software

 

  1. The Law

While the lawmakers seem to try to make the business easier and the trucker’s job safer, they often pass such regulations as trucking speed limiters or fuel emission requirements that are usually taking the toll on the owner’s pocket. New limitations and requirements are often expensive and slow down the business.

  1. Fuel Costs

Fuel prices go up and down and you never know what to expect. The fuel costs directly influence the profits of a small trucking company. High fuel prices can either make or destroy a small business. Since the fuel costs are unpredictable, the only thing the owners can do is track their fuel expenses and do a lot of planning. TransIT small trucking company software offers a useful fuel management system free of charge.

  1. Cash Turnover

Sometimes it takes up to 3 months for the trucking company to get paid by the shippers and the brokers. While such cycle might not be a problem for large companies, small trucking businesses can suffer significantly. The accounts receivable/accounts payable option offered by the TransIT small trucking company software can help you receive the payments on time.

  1. Lack of Drivers

The trucking industry is on the rise and many companies are suffering from the lack of truck drivers. The shortage of truck drivers in the USA is close to 50,000. Finding a good driver and keeping him is a challenge for small trucking companies that can’t always up the salaries. An “integrated HR” feature in the TransIT small trucking company software assists you with recruiting truckers through an integrated job portal.

  1. Congested Roads

Congested roads are an issue that can only be dealt with by the government. While the authorities plan for new roads, truckers suffer from heavy traffic. Long hours on the congested roads lead to boosted fuel consumption, delivery delays, health problems, and etc. The Truck routing feature in the TransIT small trucking company software can help you generate routes and calculate miles in order to avoid congested roads.

  1. Breakdowns

One of the most common causes of the truck driver’s injuries is the equipment breakdown. Bad-quality or missed vehicle inspections are becoming more and more common. The Service/Vehicle Maintenance feature in the TransIT small trucking company software keeps all the service records of your vehicle and helps schedule periodic maintenance.

Unfortunately, small trucking companies are the first to suffer from the above problems. But thanks to the modern technologies, most of these issues can be avoided with the help of proper trucking software.

 

nikola-hydrogen-powered-semi-truck-1200-miles-range

Nikola-One’s 1200 miles range semi truck about to make debut

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nikola-hydrogen-powered-semi-truck-1200-miles-range

nikola-hydrogen-powered-semi-truck-1200-miles-range

With manufacturers still trying to figure out how to give electric cars a range of more than 250 miles, Nikola Motor Company has just revealed its hydrogen-electric semi-truck here in Salt Lake City, and they’re claiming a total operating range of up to 1,200 miles.

Dubbed Nikola One, this Tron-like Class-8 rig has 1,000 horsepower and 2,000 pound-feet of torque. Just for comparison’s sake, note that the D13 diesel engine from Volvo Trucks is good for anywhere from 375 to 500 horsepower and 1,450 to 1,850 pound-feet of torque. The Nikola One gets the job done with zero emissions. In other words, this could well be a game changer.

The One’s hydrogen fuel cell feeds a set of h igh-density 320-kWh lithium batteries that power the fully electric drivetrain. This concept shown has six electric motors, one powering each axle. Because peak torque is reached the instant a foot touches the throttle, the Nikola One can shoot to 60 miles an hour in 30 seconds, compared to 60 seconds for a traditional diesel rig.

There’s more to the One than just the powerplant. Nikola claims the truck will come with your option of one or two full-sized beds, a 40-inch curved 4K TV with Apple TV, Wi-Fi and 4G LTE connectivity, as well as a full-size refrigerator, freezer and microwave. I’m not joking when I say the concept is nicer than my house.

An added benefit of getting rid of the diesel engine is better visibility. The driver sits farther forward and views the road through a panoramic glass windshield. An assortment of high-definition cameras, radar and sonar can produce a real-time aerial view of the truck and trailer, making blind spots a thing of the past.

Of course, as our very own Antuan Goodwin found out when he recently reviewed the hydrogen-powered Honda Clarity, fuel can be tough to come by. To counter that concern, Nikola is planning a string of hydrogen stations across the United States and Canada, with construction beginning in January, 2018. The 364 stations are slated to start coming online in late 2019. The One should take an estimated 15-20 minutes per fill-up, and yes, hydrogen-powered cars can use these stations as well.

There are still a lot of questions surrounding the Nikola One, including how solid the company’s financial backing and business plan is. And many questions remain about the level of engineering that’s gone into the One up to this point. After all, the Nikola One was said to be powered by turbines running natural gas just earlier this year, and now it’s a fuel-cell EV.

There’s also still no word yet on where the Nikola One will be manufactured, but the company hopes to have that sorted out by the middle of 2017. In the meantime, trucking giant Fitzgerald will produce the first 5,500 trucks, and the company aims to have trucks on interstates come 2020.

Despite being so far out, Nikola has already ballparked pricing, at least if you’re interested in a lease. You can reserve a truck for just $1,500, and the One will include unlimited hydrogen fuel, warranty and scheduled maintenance, the latter provided by well-known trucking company Ryder Systems, all for $5,000-$7,000 per month, depending on trim.

Whether or not Nikola’s massively ambitious plan can be carried out remains to be seen. It may take a decade or longer to roll out all 350-plus planned hydrogen stations, and building a factory that can handle the planned 50,000 units per year will require an investment that’s beyond the pale. Remember, Tesla has been working on its game-changing cars since 2003, and its electric vehicles remain unprofitable. Still, if the commercial-trucking startup manages to achieve even some of its goals, the Nikola One could very well revolutionize trucking.

 

Ref. https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/nikola-one-ev-semi-fuel-cell-hydrogen/

web based dispatch software

Web Based Dispatch Software

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Web Based Dispatch Software helps trucking companies cope with huge overhead and save money. In the modern world of high-level technologies and constant lack of time, web based software is an absolute must-have for any business owner. Being always on the run is a way of life for many people. That’s why software

web based dispatch software

web based dispatch software

developers are coming up with efficient solutions to keep the business going regardless of the time constraints.

TransIT Web Based Dispatch Software is created to cater to all types of trucking companies regardless of the fleet size. TransIT follows the highest efficiency standard by optimizing the trucking business process. The services offered by TransIT take care of the needs of truckers who are ready to work with software to make their lives easier while maximizing the profits. The TransIT web based dispatch software is designed for first-time users. The intuitive interface allows truckers who never used trucking software before to start working immediately.

Free updates and lifetime support give even the busiest companies a chance to have the most useful features available at their fingertips without worrying about keeping their programs upgraded. The TransIT Web Based Dispatch Software offers easy access to all options absolutely anywhere you have an Internet connection, including your mobile devices. In fact, the program is designed especially for the needs of people who are always on the road and do not have everyday access to a home or office computer.

TransIT web based dispatch software offers a wide array of services, including vehicle and fuel management, document management, billing, load planning and dispatch, LTL order processing, fully integrated trucking website, service maintenance records, and many more. By taking full advantage of the options provided by the software, even large carriers can manage their business in a matter of minutes.

TransIT web based dispatch software is absolutely free for owners-operators who work with one or two trucks. Most of the important features are included in the free package. This is a great opportunity to cut costs when the business is in the initial stages of development. As the fleet grows larger and so do the profits, the owners can go on to purchase advanced packages with a greater number of useful features.

Any trucking business is a complicated entity even if the fleet is very small. There are still many details to take care of. Instead of struggling to keep the business going by using programs not adapted to the needs of the company, it makes sense to take advantage of versatile software designed especially for truckers by truckers.

The advantages of choosing TransIT Web Based Dispatch Software:

  • Free starting package for owner-operators
  • Free software upgrades
  • Free support through live-chat, email or by phone
  • Competitive rates
  • Easy to access from anywhere in the world
  • Easy to work with for people with any skill level
  • Personal trucking website

You do not have to search for special trucking software to cater to the growing needs of your business. TransIT has all your requirements covered. Besides saving you precious time and money, it offers your company an opportunity to grow.

 

Dash Cam for truckers

Don’t Have a Dashcam? Time to Get One!

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Dash Cam for truckers

Dash Cam for truckers

Don’t Have a Dashcam? Time to Get One!

Dashboard cameras have been around for a while. But for some reason, not everyone is taking advantage of them. A dashcam is a small camera, installed on the dashboard and facing the traffic. Basically, it records everything a truck driver sees when he is on the road. A dashcam is not a very expensive piece of equipment that can save you some serious money and protect you against unfair tickets or unnecessary inspections.

Evidence

Dashcam records whatever you see with your eyes and can become your lawyer in situations when your innocence is far from being obvious.

If you’ve been on the road long enough, you know that accidents are impossible to avoid. Even if you are the perfect driver, who never breaks any rules, there are plenty of other people who are much less law-abiding than you are.

One of the most frequent situations is a car hurrying up to get in front of a truck and cutting it off. Then for some reason, the car driver slams on the breaks and the truck can’t stop soon enough. A rear-ending accident is an obvious fault of the driver who’s behind, right? And no matter how convincing you may sound, in 90 % of the cases, a police officer will decide that the accident is your fault. However, if you have a dashcam, you can easily prove who really is responsible.

Security

If you buy a dashcam with a motion-detection sensor, it will activate the recording as soon as it senses any movement around your vehicle. This feature allows you to find out if someone was tampering with your truck and catch fuel thieves at rest stops. You can also get information about vandals and hit-and-run drivers.

Protection

A dashcam offers you a good protection against fraud. If someone claims that you caused an accident when you really didn’t, one of the easiest ways to prove it is a dashcam. It can be your best protector against brake-checking too. While these situations might seem rare, there are plenty of conmen on the road trying to set up accidents to get insurance and truckers often become their targets.

Disadvantages

It’s hard to find a disadvantage of owning a dashcam if you are a safe driver. Some companies might be against installing such a camera but it’s a rare occasion. However, you must remember that if you get into an accident that’s YOUR fault, the footage from the camera can be subpoenaed.

Any truck driver with experience will tell you that a dashboard camera is a good idea and if you haven’t gotten one yet, it’s time to do it. There are plenty of them on the market today, so you are in for some serious research. Make sure to read the reviews before buying one since there is plenty of cheap trash out there. A dashcam is a great way to protect yourself so the time and money you spend on it is definitely worth it.

truck speed limiter coming

Truck Speed Limiter: Is the Government About to Make a Mistake?

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Truck Speed Limiter is a huge concern for the government. The government is actively pushing through a law that will require installing electronic truck speed limiters on all trucks over 26,000 pounds. The rule will work only for the vehicles manufactured after the law goes into effect. The regulation can be finalized after the comment period that will end on November 7th. The speed might be limited to 60, 65 or 68 miles per hour.

Truck Speed Limiter

truck speed limiter coming

The supporters of the new rule are turning to physics and saying that the slower the truck is; the less damage will occur upon crashing. A study done by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration showed that 1044 people die every year as a result of an accident involving heavy trucks on the roads, where the speed limits are at least 55 mph.

They point out that if the speed was limited to 60 mph then about 500 lives per year would be saved since the crashes would be less serious. If the speed limit would be set at 65 mph, then over 214 lives would be saved.

The agency seemed to have done a thorough job collecting and analyzing the statistics, but did they ask the truckers? People with many years of truck driving experience believe that the government could be making a huge mistake by limiting the driving speed.  Will the new speed limit for truckers make the matters on the roads worse?

The traffic jams

Now the time has come to forget the physics and turn to logic. What will happen when one truck will try to pass another at a similar speed? The traffic jams will be unavoidable, the car drivers will be frustrated, and eventually some rules are bound to be broken.

The advantage of owning an old Truck

Truck owners will try to do their best to extend the lives of the old vehicles that don’t have an electronic truck speed limiter installed. Can it boost the cost of the used vehicles? It most certainly can. Accordingly, the sales of the new ones will go down. This approach can be rather dangerous since older and ill-conditioned trucks will be filling the roads.

The same speed limit for everyone?

While limiting the speed of trucks, the government is not even considering the same limitations for other vehicles. This can result in a reversed effect. If the truck is running slower than the rest of the vehicles on the road, it can cause a crash situation. A car with a higher speed that’s coming up behind a truck will run into its back every other time. More than 50 % of the truck-car accidents are caused by the cars, not the trucks. So will limiting the trucks really work?

The discussion is underway and the new regulation has plenty of supporters. Chris Spear, CEO of the American Trucking Associations, is fighting against the new rule.

“The various differentials in speed from what this rule proposes and what state speed limits are dangerous,” he said. ““We cannot afford to elevate risks for the motoring public with a rule that does not take into account the danger of differential speeds for cars and trucks.”

But will his efforts be enough to stop the government from making a mistake?

free trucking software

TransIT offering Free Trucking Software

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free trucking software

free trucking software

Irving, TX: TransIT TMS is offering free trucking software for owner operators and small trucking companies operating two trucks or less in their fleet. Interested owner operators and small trucking companies can sign up at the website selecting the package and following through the sign up process. Once you have signed up, you will be provided with the username and password to access the software within 24 – 48 hours (currently there is a delay). TransIT is the only software provider offering free web based trucking software in the trucking industry.

TransIT TMS helps you manage trucking operation efficiently by offering complete truck management system. Set up and dispatch easily from anywhere.

As always, we will be here when you need support.

Thank you for your continued support.

Operations Manager

TransIT

news@transittms.com

Uber Acquired Otto 90+ team of Self driving Truck Company

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Uber Acquired Otto

Uber Acquired Otto

Uber Acquired Otto

I’m excited to announce that Uber has acquired Otto, a 90-plus person technology startup whose mission is to rethink transportation, starting with self-driving trucks. Anthony Levandowski, Otto’s co-founder, will now lead our combined self-driving efforts reporting directly to me—across personal transportation, delivery and trucking—in San Francisco, Palo Alto and Pittsburgh.

If that sounds like a big deal—well, it is. More and more the world of atoms is interacting with bits. In order to provide digital services in the physical world, we must build sophisticated logistics, artificial intelligence and robotics systems that serve and elevate humanity.

Screen Shot 2016-08-18 at 10.39.10 AM

When it comes to this advanced technology stack, Otto plus Uber is a dream team. Anthony is one of the world’s leading autonomous engineers: his first invention, a self-driving motorcycle called Ghostrider, is now in the Smithsonian. Just as important, Anthony is a prolific entrepreneur with a real sense of urgency.

Together, we now have one of the strongest autonomous engineering groups in the world; self-driving trucks and cars that are already on the road thanks to Otto and Uber’s Advanced Technologies Center in Pittsburgh; the practical experience that comes from running ridesharing and delivery services in hundreds of cities; with the data and intelligence that comes from doing 1.2 billion miles on the road every month.

In the last six years we’ve seen the profound impact that smartphone technology has had on transportation, as well as the delivery business. When people can push a button and reliably get an affordable ride across town, things change for the better—and quickly. Ridesharing helps cut drunk driving. It complements public transit, getting people to places that other means of transportation don’t reach, replacing the need to own a car over time. Most important of all, the smartphone has made mass carpooling a reality. By getting more people into fewer cars, we can reduce congestion and pollution in our cities.

Otto truck Driverless

Otto Truck Driver less

Of course, this is just the start, especially when it comes to safety. Over one million people die on the world’s roads every year and 90 percent of these accidents are due to human error. In the US, traffic accidents are a leading cause of death for people under 25. This is a tragedy that self-driving technology can help solve. That’s why our partnership with Swedish car maker Volvo, which we’re also announcing today, is so important. Volvo has consistently been a leader when it comes to safety. And partnership is crucial to our self-driving strategy because Uber has no experience making cars. To do it well is incredibly hard, as I realized on my first visit to a car manufacturing plant several years ago. By combining Uber’s self-driving technology with Volvo’s state-of-the art vehicles and safety technology, we’ll get to the future faster than going it alone.

Here’s to a great partnership with Volvo. And to Anthony, Lior and the Otto team—welcome to Uber. We’re pumped to have you on board. It’s time to move.

–Travis Kalanick, CEO and Co-Founder, Uber

www.uber.com

Uber’s First Self-Driving Fleet Arrives in Pittsburgh, PA

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Uber’s First Self-Driving Fleet Arrives in Pittsburgh This Month

The autonomous cars, launching this summer, are custom Volvo XC90s, supervised by humans in the driver’s seat.

 

Uber-first-Self-Driving-Car-pittsburg-pa

Uber-first-Self-Driving-Car-pittsburg-pa

Starting later this month, Uber will allow customers in downtown Pittsburgh to summon self-driving cars from their phones, crossing an important milestone that no automotive or technology company has yet achieved. Google, widely regarded as the leader in the field, has been testing its fleet for several years, and Tesla Motors offers Autopilot, essentially a souped-up cruise control that drives the car on the highway. Earlier this week, Ford announced plans for an autonomous ride-sharing service. But none of these companies has yet brought a self-driving car-sharing service to market.

Uber’s Pittsburgh fleet, which will be supervised by humans in the driver’s seat for the time being, consists of specially modified Volvo XC90 sport-utility vehicles outfitted with dozens of sensors that use cameras, lasers, radar, and GPS receivers. Volvo Cars has so far delivered a handful of vehicles out of a total of 100 due by the end of the year. The two companies signed a pact earlier this year to spend $300 million to develop a fully autonomous car that will be ready for the road by 2021.