Truckola enables truckers to beat demonetisation blues by adopting FASTags and Diesel Cards

At a time when many cargo transport companies have been facing issues due to a shortage of cash, Truckola, an asset-free, full-solution, tech-enabled interstate FTL transportation service provider, has been achieving healthy business growth.

The platform has posted a 23% month-on-month revenue growth in December 2016, thanks in large part to the post-demonetisation adoption of cashless transaction tools such as FASTags and diesel cards. Cashless toll payments accounted for more than 98% of all transactions conducted through Truckola in December, as opposed to the pre-demonetisation average of 21%.

More noteworthy, however, is the benefit that this adoption has brought to truckers associated with Truckola. With 10% cashback on FASTags transactions and more than 1% cashback on diesel card payments currently being offered by the government and the fuel companies, Truckola’s move to go cash-free has enabled massive savings on capital expenses for truck owners associated with its platform.

Raghav Himatsingka, Founder & CEO, Truckola, said, “Toll taxes and fuel costs are two of the biggest expenses for truck owners; toll charges alone account for 15-20% of the overall direct running costs. Cashback offered on the use of FASTags and diesel cards gives truckers associated with our platform an opportunity to significantly cut down on their overall costs and make decent savings on their operational expenses. This financial incentive is the reason why almost 92% vehicles on Truckola now use diesel cards and 60-65% of our vendors have moved onto FASTags for toll payments.”

But financial incentives are not the only factor behind Truckola’s adoption of cashless payments mechanisms for transport operations. As FASTags operate on radio frequency identification (RFID) technology and automatically debit the toll amount from prepaid bank accounts linked to them, fleet owners have greater transparency over toll payments made for their trucks and can avoid the unnecessary hassle of keeping track of toll receipts from every vehicle. The vehicle idling times are also drastically reduced, which in turn gives the overall cargo movement a big boost. Moreover, as drivers don’t have to carry large amounts of cash on them, the physical risk to their person due to robbery is also reduced.

“Truckola was established with the vision of leveraging technology to make transparent, swift, and hassle-free cargo transportation a tangible reality for all stakeholders. Adopting these cashless payments mechanisms has allowed us to enhance the operational convenience for truckers on our platform. Our focus on tech is the reason why we have been able to protect vehicle owners on our platform from the side-effects of demonetization, and have registered substantial revenue growth despite the current instability in the Indian economy,” adds Raghav.

With nearly 50,000 trucks listed on its platform, Truckola uses proprietary technology to deliver transparency, reliability, and cost efficiency for all transportation requirements of its clients, who are mainly manufacturers and traders. The company operates out of 15 locations across India with a partner network in an additional 40+ region in the country.