This one will not only be efficient but also take care of the state of truckers who till now were always ignored or cared less.
The major advantage of the relay system apart from comparatively short sprints for the drivers. However, as a regular road user on our highways, the worst that I fear is the quality of drivers who will drive these trucks now that we are referring to relay system and drivers mostly belonging to localities/regions within.
There is no need to get into a deep study but the fact remains that short haul truckers are always ruffians on the highways while the long haul drivers are the best when it comes to road manners and exercising patience. Last thing I would want to see if employing a Sand and a Concrete mixer "Pilot" to drive a loaded truck for 250 Km which will be cakewalk for him but a huge risk to many others on road.
Regarding this:
Sensors and telematics on its trucks have also reduced fuel pilferage and accidents. A popular feelt operator in Karnataka to whom a friend is related has shown me how they have a fully functional 24X7 command center that monitors movements of trucks and buses along with scenarios of Political unrest and riots, fuel price fluctuations etc.
Based on regular inputs that is gathered, they help drivers of the trucks and buses perform certain actions to mitigate this. For instance, during the Patidar agitation in Gujarat when there were riots in Surat, this command center diverted their entire fleet through a safe passage asking drivers to exit out of the state and take alternate routes to avoid damage to their vehicles and passengers.
Even anticipation of a fuel price hike by a good margin has triggered them to send broadcast messages/calls asking all their drivers to tank up. For someone who has a fleet of at least 4000 vehicles on road at any given time, the savings made from this alone is HUGE!!
On Similar note, 2 years before while crossing Mumbai, I noticed too many trucks with a blue sticker behind (
https://www.truckbhada.com) and I wondered what it was till I opened the site it was absolutely comprehensive and exhaustive - B2B and B2C. Find Truck load, Find Driver, Calculate Toll, Find Live loads in each sector etc. Check it out some time and you will love the stats here too.
In a nutshell, I am glad to see trucking industry taking small little steps towards the right direction. It is the need of the hour. However, in the name of start-ups, there are other important things that we forget apart from efficiency, especially since this is to do with the trucking industry where people connect, collaboration, teamwork play very important role.