The clock is ticking quickly towards December 18 and the imposition of the electronic logging device (ELD) mandate. For late adopters, T-Mobile is offering a smart phone-based ELD service through its SyncUP FLEET service – a feature that will be free through the end of March next year and then cost $5 per month per vehicle after April 1, 2018.
“Complying with this new regulation is expected to cost businesses almost a billion dollars every year,” noted Mike Sievert, COO for T-Mobile, in a statement, and it will impact an estimated two million commercial motor vehicle operators who cover 140 billion miles on the road annually, he added.
T-Mobile believes it can make it easier for drivers to log all those miles, automatically recording them in a “digital logbook” in the SyncUP FLEET cloud.
In addition to giving businesses the data they need to comply with the HOS mandate, the company said its SyncUP FLEET service can help fleets of all sizes:
- Save Time: It allows for a “bird’s eye view” of all the vehicles in a fleet and to make decisions with reports on traffic delays, delivery arrival times, driver time in location, and more.
- Cut Costs: Data from the system can help cut fuel consumption by analyzing driver routes and idle time, while regular vehicle maintenance notifications can help prevent costly repairs with scheduled reports, emails or alerts.
SyncUP FLEET is the second product in T-Mobile’s SyncUP family and does not require an annual service contract. It costs $3 per month on T-Mobile’s interest-free 24-month equipment installment plan (EIP) with a $15 per month service plan per vehicle, the company noted.
For a limited time, though, T-Mobile said a SyncUP Fleet device is available per every line activated at no cost via 24 monthly bill credits – a $72 retail value per device, the company noted.
