More truckers are using mobile apps tailored for the long haul

Global Business

For truckers, finding the right route is no trivial matter. In the San Francisco Bay area, for example, there are a number of roads and highways that heavy trucks are not allowed to drive on, so they could end up paying hundreds, and perhaps thousands, in fines. CCTV America’s Mark Niu reports.

More truckers are using mobile apps tailored for the long haul

For truckers, finding the right route is no trivial matter. In the San Francisco Bay area, for example, there are a number of roads and highways that heavy trucks are not allowed to drive on, so they could end up paying hundreds, and perhaps thousands, in fines. CCTV America's Mark Niu reports.

That’s why truckers such as Edgar Rodriquez are using mobile apps such as Trucker Path Pro that connects him with information from other truckers that show the fastest routes and locations of weigh stations and parking spots.

Traditional GPS also don’t always work for him because it’s not designed for vehicles that take up as much space as his, Rodriquez said.

“If you are going into the city, you won’t be able to turn, it’s complicated you have to know exactly where, what exit you can take and which exit you cannot,” he said.

Founder and CEO of Trucker Path Ivan Tsybaev is a former trucker. He said his startup has been described as the “Uber of trucking”.

“Less and less people want to be truckers, because they realize that it is a tough job, basically alone on the road and there is a lot of inefficiency that makes the job even more tough,” Tsybaev said.

“So first of all, by connecting to the community, we help them to feel less lonely and they can exchange information more effectively with each other. It will help them to do the job like better and easier.”

Trucker Path recently raised $20 million, including an investment from Chinese social networking company, Renren.

The startup’s strategy is to get as many truckers on their app as possible so they become prime candidates for subscriptions to the Trucker Path Truckloads marketplace, which matches truckers with jobs.

If it grows, the market potential is huge. While the U.S. taxi limo industry is a $16 billion market, the U.S. trucking industry generates roughly $700 billion in revenue each year.


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CCTV America’s Michelle Makori interviewed Arun Sundararajan, professor at NYU Stern and NYU CUSP, about how are governments and municipalities are utilizing technology and apps to alleviate traffic.

Arun Sundararajan of NYU on how technology will reduce traffic

CCTV America's Michelle Makori interviewed Arun Sundararajan, professor at NYU Stern and NYU CUSP, about how are governments and municipalities are utilizing technology and apps to alleviate traffic.