Locus and Highway Delite come together to help stranded drivers in India

The country-wide lockdown in India has had an impact across industries, but at the heart of it all is logistics and supply chain. Drivers, who are the lifeline of this industry, have been deeply affected right now. A sizable population of drivers is stuck on the highways with nowhere to go and with very few resources to survive. 

“The national lockdown is proving to be a nightmare for nearly 36 lakh truck drivers across the country,” says a recent report in the Business Line. 

“Arranging two square meals a day is a task for truck drivers amid the lockdown as all shops and markets are closed. With limited money in their pockets, they are not able to stock up on essential commodities for even a week,” reads another report in India Today. 

Keeping in mind the dire situation, Locus initiated the ‘Driver Seva mobile app’ project along with Highway Delite, a travel app startup. The app is doing its bit in easing the situation for the drivers who are on the ground. This project is supported by the Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd, in association with the All India Motor Transport Congress. Agarwal Packers and Movers Ltd (APML) is also a partner in this initiative. 

This app aims to help drivers in the current lockdown with information regarding food, water, and safe parking near their location, across the country. 

“We heard from many clients about their drivers being stranded on highways with nowhere to go and bleak availability of essentials like water and food. We immediately got into the act and reached out to Highway Delite to set this up. Once again, I am glad that technology is acting as an enabler in these uncertain times. We all need to come together and help each other out in the present situation,” said Nishith Rastogi, CEO and Co-founder, Locus. 

“Highway Delite has added more than 400 BPCL Pumps (140 BPCL company-owned pumps), 6 APML Hubs, and 30+ dhabas. The team is working to increase this count to 1000+ within four days by listing more pumps and dhabas, where food facilities will be available to drivers,” said Rajesh Kumar G, Founder, Highway Delite. Dhabas are hotels/eateries on highways across India. These dhabas cater to travelers on highways, truck drivers, and are usually open throughout the day. 

A user can view facilities available Pan India, nearby (their location), or also search for any given location using the ‘Place’ option on the app. This feature can help operations managers to better coordinate with their fleet remotely and guide them to the nearest facility or dhaba. 

The petrol pump owner and the dhaba owner can update the availability of food and water on a real-time basis by logging into the same application. 

To download the app:

• Visit https://digipitstop.com/
• Go to https://drive.google.com/open?id=1lnIRje9bDeeFYEnzT8Fsq7zdqRADWR8e
• Scan QR Code