Trucker Buddy unveils mobile utilities

Pen-pal program Trucker Buddy announced that it teamed up with uFollowit (developer of the software in the TripPak Mobile service, among others) to develop a Trucker Buddy-branded smartphone application (for iPhone and Android) that allows drivers to take pictures on the road and automatically upload them to a secure site that Trucker Buddy teachers can access and share with students.

It’s a “way to circumvent the time and cost of mailing something – it gives drivers and teachers a direct link to each other,” said Trucker Buddy Executive Director Randy Schwarzenbach. Likewise, he added, “this app will dramatically speed up the communication between the driver and the classroom.”
 
The students will be able to see the pictures directly on computer terminals in the classroom, likewise tied to an interactive Google map that plots where the picture was taken. An optional breadcrumb trail the driver can leave on that map is another way of connecting geographically. The app also includes useful tools for drivers — a robust truckstop directory and weather/radar reports, and teachers can use the app to take pictures of student letters to send to drivers on the road. Both will be available within the next weeks.
 
New online partnership
Trucker Buddy also announced a partnership with online service SendOutCards.com to ease card-sending processes for its drivers. Trucker Buddy drivers will be able to select online the card they want to send, type in a message, click submit, and SendOutCards does the rest. Prices for cards on the site range from postcards as low as 78 cents to trifold cards for $1.96. Certain gift cards and other gifts are available to include. SendOutCards also has its own Greeting Card app for the iPhone and Android.  
 
Part of the proceeds from every card bought in the program goes toward supporting Trucker Buddy.
 
A gift
Heather Debaille of Cat Scales and the Iowa 80 Group presented Trucker Buddy a check for $3,250, a further token of her companies’ long support of the program. The funds were secured as part of BP’s Fueling Comunities program, which gave BP fuel retailers an opportunity to apply for money to give to organization their choice.