Truck routing: why a car route is not enough

What a truck route has to know

• Height, width and length, for bridges, underpasses and narrow streets.
• Total weight and axle load, for weight-limited roads and bridges.
• The cargo, especially dangerous goods under ADR, for tunnel categories and restricted routes.
• Low-emission zones and local access rules on the way and at the destination.

Tolls, country by country

In Europe, tolls for heavy vehicles depend on the country, the road, the vehicle's weight and axles, and often its emission class. A run from Porto to Lyon crosses three toll systems. Knowing the total before the truck leaves is what lets a carrier price the run correctly and compare route options: the fastest is not always the cheapest once tolls and fuel are counted.

Estimates are not routes

When a truck route cannot be calculated, many tools quietly fall back to a road-network estimate and show it as if it were the real thing, sometimes with tolls of zero. An estimate is useful for a first idea of distance, but it has not checked a single restriction. A good TMS labels it as an estimate, leaves its tolls unknown, and never marks it as compliant for the vehicle.

Comparing options

Most runs have more than one sensible route. Comparing the fastest, the cheapest and the most economical side by side, with driving time, distance, tolls and fuel for each, turns route choice from habit into a decision with numbers behind it.

How Truvio plans routes

Truvio sends the truck's height, weight, width, length, axle load and ADR class to PTV and gets back route options built for that vehicle, each with its driving time, distance, tolls per country and estimated fuel, and whether it is compliant for the truck. What PTV found on the way, such as a low-emission zone, is listed with the route. When a route is only an estimate, Truvio says so and leaves its tolls unknown.