Class-A CDL drivers can now apply for jobs, gain the confidence of shippers and manage documents using a secured profile with the new Truckerline smartphone app, available for both iOS and Android platforms. Combined with a web-based software, the app also enables drivers to connect with peers “to exchange best practices, stay connected and see when their buddies are close by,” said Chad Cashin, CEO and founder of Outset Partners, the app’s developer.
Cashin and company pitch Truckerline to drivers as an alternative to the Drive-A-Check (DAC) pre-employment screening program used by carriers, one over which driver exert much greater control. Using the app, drivers can scan copies of all their professional documents (CDL, resumes, TWIC cards, insurance documents and more, all stored in their secure profile’s lockbox and shared when authorized by the driver).
Tamperproof Motor Vehicle Records and driver-initiated background checks, then, can be quickly ordered and delivered through their Truckerline profile, too.
The app makes it easy, Cashin says, to “demonstrate a high degree of professionalism and provide both [prospective customers like brokers and shippers] and employers with all of the right information.”
The company is also working with fleets on ways to help them find drivers looking for employment through the system. In a recent briefing with media, Cashin detailed work with the Northern California-based Core-Mark fleet that is allowing it to use the application internally to enable drivers to “invite people that may be interested in using the application.”
Joe Wegener, vice president of human resources at Core-Mark, says he believes that “Truckerline will make its users increasingly sought-after in the industry by enabling employers to make faster and more accurate hiring decisions, which ultimately benefits everyone involved.”
“Carriers will eventually pay to selectively recruit,” Cashin says, promising “handpicked recruiting versus making noise” to see who can “shout the loudest.” Based on geography and need, carriers will target users through the activity feeds on Truckerline.
In some ways, says Cashin, you might think of the application as a trucking-specific LinkedIn, but offering some services unique to truckers.
Owner-operators may find utility from the app in the ability to manage customer reviews — Truckerline has adopted the Yelp model, Cashin says, only posting reviews that are requested by the operator. It’s also begun work with the Mountain View, Calif.-based CargoChief hybrid freight marketplace/broker on ways to utilize the software to communicate with owner-operators. “If they look toward being secure, verifiable, industry friendly, the easier their load transactions,” Cashin says, referencing plans to allow Truckerline users to eventual “opt in to see loads” and get or make calls on loads.
With the exception of any fees associated with MVRs or background-check orders, the Truckerline mobile app will be free to drivers, and the company says it never provides carriers, brokers or any third party access to driver information without explicit approval.