The Best Route Planning Software for UK Businesses

The best route planning software is attached to Verizon Connect. Verizon scores a 4.7/5 for its overall offering, and a perfect 5/5 for tracking, which is what we’re concerned with today. The only shortcoming is its cost, scoring a 2.5/5 for affordability.

If your fleet drivers are still using Google Maps – or even paper maps – to get around, we’re here to tell you that there’s a better way. It’s called route planning software, and it’s a dynamic tool that can plot the most efficient, safe, and traffic-free routes for your drivers’ jobs. This smart software will slash your fuel costs, cut down on admin, and save your drivers valuable time and patience.

So, let’s take a closer look at what route planning is, how it will benefit your business, and – most importantly – who’s doing it best. But if you’re in a rush, you can get your own personal answer to that question. By filling out your business’ info in our free quote comparison tool, you’ll be matched with providers that suit your needs.

Verizon Connect

Best route planning software for defining territories

Verizon Connect commands huge respect as vehicle tracking system that, basically, does it all. Scoring the highest overall score of all the providers we looked at (4.7/5), Verizon Connect is known for its ease of use, which makes staying on top of your fleet an easy feat. Its live tracking dashboard is easy to understand at a glance – colour-coding vehicles according to whether they’re moving, stopping, or idle.

You can also create bespoke dashboards filled with reports replete with insights that can help guide crucial business decisions. We also think Verizon is great because of its range of driver and vehicle management features, scoring a perfect 5/5 for both of these categories in our research. With access to customised locations, geofencing, driving style data, and idling alerts, you have all the necessary tools to adapt your operation in real-time. This will ensure you’re being efficient and help you meet your lead time on contracts.

Verizon’s mobile app includes a leader board for drivers based on performance metrics. This helps to create a friendly, competitive, and safe environment. The app also includes navigation, the ability to see job updates in near real time, and detailed vehicle and driver statuses and histories.

To install a panic button, you’ll need to speak to your Verizon account manager. Panic messages are dealt with differently so these are responded to much quicker.

Verizon Connect runs into significant speed bumps when it comes to flexibility and price. The typical offering asks subscribers to commit to a three-year contract, and investing in Verizon can represent a big commitment for fleets that are still on the fence about switching their vehicle tracking system. Verizon is also pricier than the other providers we look at on this list, which is why it scores an average 2.5/5 for price in our research – the lowest score of all the providers we look at. If you’re looking for an option with short-term contracts, we’d recommend swerving towards Teletrac Navman TN360. For something on the cheaper end, we think RAM is a great alternative.

Samsara

Best all-in-one route planning software solution

When compared with other vehicle tracking companies, Samsara is still in its infancy. However, it’s already made all the right strides to become a major player in the industry. Scoring an impressive overall 4.6/5 in our research, our favourite aspects of Samsara are its quick, live mapping refresh times, and its range of vehicle management features that place your fleet’s wellbeing at the heart of your operation. What we believe sets Samsara apart from the bunch is its driver messaging system, which prevents drivers from reading messages while driving. Once you are alerted to your employee’s erratic driving, you can communicate directly in real time, ensuring that your fleet is safe in real time as well. A panic button comes as standard, it comes integrated into the device and can be triggered by the driver from inside the vehicle. Thanks to its strong set of vehicle management features, Samsara takes home a stellar 5/5 for driver management features.

Samsara provides safety scores for drivers based on a mix of harsh events, speeding events, and AI-detected unsafe driving behaviour. These safety scores help establish a culture of safe driving behaviours.

The downside to Samsara is that it’s not for everyone because it only scores an above average 3.1/5 for price in our research, Samsara is on the pricier end of the spectrum, ranging from £10.83 to £23.75 for a monthly licence. Samsara also requires you to take out a contract of at least three years, representing a long-term commitment that might not be the best course of action for all fleets. If this sounds like a dealbreaker for your business, we’d recommend looking at Teletrac Navman TN360, which scores a slightly higher 3.4/5 for price.

Teletrac Navman “TN360”

Best route planning software for driver management

Being able to collect lots of data to identify gaps in performance – or optimise your routes – is crucial when it comes to fleet management. Scoring an overall 4.6/5 in our in-depth research, Teletrac Navman speeds ahead with its innovative reporting features that will give you the confidence to make crucial business decisions. We also like Teletrac because it scores a 5/5 for driver management in our research. With features available like driver performance, crash reporting, and idling data, you’ll be in a great position to improve your efficiency and understand points of improvement within your fleet with Teletrac.

With its smart and futuristic reporting feature, you can simply write in search phrases like “show me fuel consumption by x vehicle for the past 7 days”, and – magic! Teletrac will generate a report and a chart graphic on command. It also has a solid range of vehicle and driver management features, including driver messaging, history, and behaviour management.

To ensure safe driving behaviours, Teletrac has driver scorecards which take into account unsafe behaviours, such as harsh braking, cornering, and acceleration. It’s mobile app includes key features such as messaging, the ability to replay a day, and navigation.

Scoring an above average 3.4/5 for price, it also isn’t the most affordable solution on the market. So, if this is a deal-breaker for your fleet, we’d recommend looking at RAM or Radius Fleet Services instead.

RAM

Best route planning software for affordability

Scoring a 4.6/5 for price in our in-depth research, RAM Tracking takes the pole position, alongside Quartix, as one of the best providers for fleets that aren’t looking to drop lots of money on their new vehicle tracking app system. With a low starting price of £14, RAM Assist has short contract lengths so, if your fleet doesn’t want to commit lots of money just yet, you’ll have that very welcome breathing space to make up your mind.

Aside from its alluring price point, we also like RAM Tracking because of its tracking features. Scoring a 4.6/5 in this category in our research, RAM Tracking gives you access to user-friendly fleet summary reports, 60-second update of data (or every 1,000 metres or every 90 degree turn), traffic alerts, and it allows you to customise your locations. All of this helps streamline your vehicle tracking and remove any noise that might put metaphorical speed bumps along your way.

RAM provide Driver Behaviour scorecards so you can easily compare driving behaviour and deal with any unsafe behaviours.

Where RAM Tracking has more ground to cover is when it comes to its vehicle management features. Compared with other providers, like Verizon or Teletrac Navman TN360, which all score above 4/5 in our research in this category, RAM Assist scores a disappointing 1.9/5. This is because you miss out on fuel management, vehicle diagnostics, fleet maintenance, cargo temperatures, and engine temperature.

Quartix

Best for managing fuel costs

The one thing that is on every fleet manager’s mind in this economy is fuel prices – and we don’t blame you. Whether it be because of inflation or supply shocks, paying for fuel is becoming a definite pain point of your operation. Quartix comes equipped with fuel management features that will help you take some of that stress off your shoulders and avoid gas wastage.

Scoring an overall 4.1/5 in our research, Quartix gives you CO2 emission reports to estimate the emissions of all your vehicle. It is also integrable with Fleetcheck, allowing you to access data obtained from fuel cards. This gives an extra level of depth to fully understand how you’re using your fuel, and which areas of your fleet you can target to help cut back on spending. Thanks to its low price range, short contracts, and strong tracking functions, Quartix is great for small, field service companies. All of these features highlight why Quartix scores a high 4.6/5 for price in our research, making a great option for fleets that don’t want to stretch their wallets.

Quartix’s driver league table ranks the best to the worst drivers so you can easily pick up on bad and unsafe driving behaviours. You can also access a panic button feature for an extra £1 a month.

However, Quartix doesn’t have the strongest performances when it comes to driver management and product features. Scoring a 3.5/5 for both categories, its mobile app gives you the ability to track vehicles in real time but Quartix misses out on key features, such as crash reporting, driver messaging, and asset tracking, which can handicap the agility of your fleet. If you want providers that are stronger in these arenas, we’d recommend looking at Samsara or Teletrac Navman TN360.

What is route planning software?

Route planning software allows you and your fleet managers to plot out the best routes for drivers, before they hit the road. By optimising the journey, you can help trim fuel and labour costs, while navigating any road closures and avoiding the worst of any traffic.

Route planning comes in three types:

1. Dynamic route planning

A dynamic route planning solution lets you plan routes in real time, redirecting and reassigning vehicles as you see fit. You’ll be able to see exactly which vehicles are available, where they are, and whether they’re right for the job at hand – all from your smartphone or tablet.

To achieve this, though, you’ll need to integrate your route planning software with a vehicle tracking tool. This involves both hardware (the part that actually tracks the vehicles) and software (the bit allowing you to see you vehicles’ status in real time, and reroute them accordingly). We’ll get to vehicle tracking and fleet management a bit later, but first…

How does dynamic route planning work?

Well, let’s say an urgent piece of work comes up. Looking at your dynamic route planning tool, you see Tom’s stopped to fill up on fuel, and Dick’s on the wrong side of the city. 

Don’t fret, though – Harry’s just finishing up a delivery in the area! You tap into his live location via your route planning tool, and divert him to the site of the job. Simple!

2. Multi-stop route planning

If your fleet deals in jobs requiring stops at several different destinations, this type of software is for you. Essentially, it calculates the quickest, most economical routes between stops, allowing your drivers to get there with minimal fuss, and ensuring your customers stay satisfied. 

Multi-stop route planning software factors in real-time conditions out on the tarmac to offer the right route, every time. You’ll also get ETAs for each stop, helping you keep customers in the loop while their deliveries are on the way. 

3. Plan vs. actual route comparison

Of course, you can plan to your heart’s content, but if your drivers aren’t actually following your neatly-optimised routes, then… well, it’s just not going to work.

That’s why plan vs. actual route comparison tools are so handy. By comparing the prescribed route with the one your driver actually took, you can ensure your drivers are sticking to the plan. This method also allows you to understand the reasons behind any deviations from the set route – helping to drive better strategic planning, and ensure more effective, accurate schedules going forward.

So, that’s what route planning software looks like. But which providers are doing it best?

How did we find the best route planning software?

Our team of independent researchers looked at a selection of the best and most popular vehicle tracking systems. After finding all the information we need, the researchers then compare each platform against its competitors, allowing us to find the cream of the crop. The criteria we look at include:

Price: Simple enough – the platform with the lowest price tag scores the best

Tracking: How robust and effective are the platform’s tracking features? For example, how quickly does the tracking map refresh, does the map factor in traffic, etc.

Driver Management: Tracking and logging the behavior of each of your drivers. Does Driver #3 idle his vehicle for too long? Does Driver #4 tend to speed?

Vehicle Management: Checking up on the health of your vehicles. Are they in need of maintenance? Are they well protected against theft?

Product Features: What else can the product do? Can it sync up with third-party satnavs? Is there a phone app?

Customer Support: Again, easy enough – look at the options available and see what each platform offers its customers when it comes to their support resources

After factoring in all this information, alongside the scores they received, we were able to calculate a final overall score for each vehicle tracking system.