How Small Fleet Owners Can Track 20 Trucks for Under ₹2 Per Truck Per Day

If you own between 5 and 30 trucks in India, you already know the problem. You need to know where your vehicles are. Consignees call asking for status updates. Drivers go off route. EWBs expire while trucks are still moving. And the GPS companies want ₹800 to ₹1,500 per truck every single month.

For a fleet of 20 trucks, that is ₹16,000 to ₹30,000 a month. Just for tracking. Most small transporters simply cannot justify that cost — so they end up with no tracking at all, managing entirely on phone calls and faith.

This guide shows a practical alternative. You will not get second-by-second GPS updates. But for the typical long-haul transporter, you do not need them.

What You Actually Need vs What GPS Sells You

Think about the last time you actually needed to know where a truck was. What question were you really trying to answer?

• Is it on the right route, heading in the right direction?
• Has it crossed into the destination state yet?
• Why has it not arrived yet — is it still moving or has it stopped?
• When did it cross the last major toll — so I can estimate arrival time?

For these questions, you do not need a live GPS feed. You need reliable checkpoint data — proof that the truck passed through specific points at specific times. FASTag toll crossings give you exactly that.

How FASTag Fleet Tracking Works on LorryCare

Every commercial vehicle in India with a FASTag generates a crossing record every time it passes through a toll plaza. These records — including the vehicle number, toll plaza name, direction, and timestamp — are available through ULIP, the Government of India's logistics data platform.

LorryCare is integrated with ULIP. When you add a vehicle to your Fleet Tracking dashboard, our system automatically queries the latest FASTag crossing data for that vehicle twice a day — at 6 AM and 6 PM. You receive a push notification on your phone within minutes of each run, showing you the last toll crossed, the direction, and the time.

If the truck crossed a toll at 4 AM heading north towards Delhi and you see that update at 6 AM, you know the truck is moving, on route, and roughly 2 hours closer to destination than it was yesterday evening.

The Maths — 20 Trucks for Under ₹400 Per Month

Here is how the cost breaks down for a fleet of 20 trucks tracked twice daily:

One Fleet plan recharge of ₹999 gives you 1,500 credits — more than enough to track 20 trucks twice daily for a full month, with 300 credits left over for manual spot checks.

Compare that to GPS at ₹800 per truck per month. For 20 trucks, that is ₹16,000 versus ₹999. The FASTag approach costs 94% less.

Setting Up Fleet Tracking on LorryCare — Step by Step

Step 1: Create your account

Sign up at lorrycare.com with your mobile number. OTP verification takes 30 seconds. You get 10 free credits immediately — no credit card required.

Step 2: Add your trucks to Fleet

Go to the Fleet tab and add each vehicle by its registration number. Mark them as "My Truck" for owned vehicles or "Hired Truck" for vehicles on hire. Hired trucks can be set with a hire start and end date — they are automatically removed from your list when the hire period ends.

Step 3: Enable Live Tracking

For each truck you want to track automatically, tap the Live Track button and select your frequency — once or twice per day. Credits are reserved automatically from your balance. You can unreserve at any time if a truck is parked or off-hire.

Step 4: Receive push notifications

When you allow notifications on your phone (Android Chrome or iPhone Safari with home screen install), LorryCare sends you a push notification every time a tracking run completes — even when your phone screen is off. No SMS cost. No app store installation needed.

Step 5: Share credits with your team

If you have a branch manager or fleet manager, you can transfer credits to their account directly from the app. They track their own vehicles independently without needing to ask you every time. Transfers between accounts are always free.

What Happens When a Truck Has No FASTag Crossings?

FASTag data covers the last 72 hours. If a truck has not crossed a toll in 72 hours, the system will show no crossings — which itself tells you something useful. Either the truck is parked, has been idle, or is running on roads without toll plazas.

LorryCare shows this clearly — "No FASTag crossings found in last 72 hours" — rather than showing stale data or guessing. If you see this for a truck that should be moving, it is a signal to call the driver.

Tracking Hired Trucks — A Major Advantage

One of the biggest advantages of FASTag-based tracking over GPS is that it works for trucks you do not own. When you hire a truck from a market transporter, you have no access to their GPS system (if they have one at all). But the vehicle's FASTag still records every toll crossing.

Add the hired vehicle's registration number to your fleet, enable tracking, and you have the same visibility on a hired truck as on your own. This is particularly valuable for transporters who regularly hire market vehicles for peak season demand.

Beyond Tracking — EWB Expiry Alerts

The biggest hidden cost for many fleet operators is EWB expiry penalties — ₹500 per day per vehicle when an E-Way Bill expires before the goods reach their destination. This happens most often on long-haul routes where transit takes longer than expected.

LorryCare's EWB Watchlist feature lets you add any active E-Way Bill and receive an SMS and push notification before it expires — giving you time to extend it from the GST portal before any penalty is levied. Two credits per EWB per alert. A single avoided penalty more than pays for months of tracking.

Is FASTag Tracking Right for Your Fleet?

FASTag-based tracking through LorryCare is the right choice if:

• You operate long-haul intercity routes (any route passing through multiple toll plazas)
• You manage 5 to 50 trucks and GPS costs are prohibitive
• You regularly hire market vehicles and want visibility on them
• You need evidence of vehicle movements for dispute resolution or insurance claims
• You want your team or branch managers to independently track their vehicles

It is not the right choice if you need second-by-second real-time location for last-mile delivery or if your routes run entirely on non-toll roads.