Online trucking platform BlackBuck, on Wednesday announced a slew of measures to catalyse freight movement and bring the logistics industry out of its current state of limbo. The ‘Move India’ initiative by BlackBuck aims to kickstart the movement of trucks and goods across the country and revive the broken supply chain. Manufacturers, traders and other shippers who have either started production or have stock ready can use the BlackBuck platform and gain access to a million trucks which can be booked instantly, at the lowest possible prices to transport products across the country. BlackBuck has completely waived off commission to encourage the trucking community to come on the platform and resume operations. It has also come up with several safety nets including direct money transfers (DMTs) and trip insurance to ensure the next line of COVID warriors, truckers, are supported and cared for as they work towards bringing India’s economy back on the road.
The Move India initiative will enable over 5,00,000 fleet owners, with over 10 lakh trucks, to discover demand, get access to services including FASTag, GPS and Fuel Cards and earn more. The waiving of commission will lead to an added incentive of Rs. 2,000 to 3,000 for fleet owners on every trip they undertake. For several large fleet owners, the added incentive alone will run into lakhs, encouraging them to start full-fledged operations. Not only that, in its effort to bring the entire logistics industry back on track, the company has decided to extend its platform and commission waiver to small time transporters, mandi sellers and distributors who are currently not a part of the BlackBuck platform. The company will extend the zero-commission benefit to over 20,000 such transporters and sellers via a one call booking helpline over the next one month.
COVID-19 relief fund for truckers
BlackBuck has also committed to taking responsibility for the health and protection of its driver partners. It has established a Rs 50 crore relief fund for its driver partners who may contract COVID-19 in the line of duty. It will offer a relief package of Rs 50,000 in the form of Direct Money Transfer (DMTs) to the affected truck drivers. The company has opened a free helpline for the affected drivers to reach out to BlackBuck.
In addition to this, on every trip undertaken, the company will offer free trip insurance inclusive of hospitalisation expenses of up to Rs 50,000 for its drivers in case of any accident and a term cover of Rs 3 lakh for the driver families in case of demise or permanent disability.
Rajesh Yabaji, Cofounder and CEO, BlackBuck said, “With the government restoring the truck movement, the main objective of “Move India” campaign is to bring trucks back on the road, through incentivising the fleet owners and providing protection to our driver community. After almost 2 months of lockdown, nothing is more important for our economy than the immediate revival of the logistics sector, which will help the country through the harvest season, move the needed essentials, and make India bounce-back to its growth path!”