10 Best Mobile Phone Apps if you Drive a Van
While the basics of being a van driver hasn’t changed much over the last few decades, advances in technology around us have gone a long way to removing some of the stress associated with being behind the wheel day-in, day-out.
After all, driving a van is one thing, it’s another to navigate the organised chaos of commutes, avoid those costly traffic hold-ups and keep on top of your business expenses too.
Fortunately, help is at hand with all manner of handy business tools distilled into a raft of mobile phone apps. Whether it’s live traffic monitoring, or pin-point accurate geo-location data, or simply finding a parking space, there is an app for that and so much more.
So, if you’re a van driver who is always on the move, these are the mobile phone apps you need on your device.
Google Maps
The world’s most popular navigation app with more than a billion users every month, Google Maps has succeeded where others have failed by keeping its interface simple and intuitive.
Indeed, the sight of that arrow following a blue lined route on a clearly mapped road network is a familiar reassurer that you’ll get to where you want to go. And you’ll do it in exactly the time it has calculated.
Over the years Google has introduced subtly helpful new features to run in the background – such as more itemised route planning for fuel saving, points of interest and user-generated information gathering – but the basics remain en pointe to ensure it is as easy-to-use and understand as ever.
Waze
Waze has earned itself a loyal customer base over the years with its community-sourced live alerts and detailed real-time updates, in addition to its primary function as a navigation tool.
Whereas Google Maps will quickly pick up on any traffic build-up, Waze offers tools to communicate the reasons why there is a hold-up, information that can be used by other road users to help them determine whether to re-route.
Together with reliable up-to-the-minute information about potential mobile speed enforcements and proactive rerouting, Waze is a handy tool to avoid being caught out by whatever might be around the bend.
Route4Me
Route4Me is a popular navigational app designed primarily to assist van drivers completing multiple stops on last-mile delivery services.
Optimised for shaving those precious few minutes from your route, Route4Me excels in being able to quickly adjust on the move to keep you on track.
Features include quick methods of adding multiple stops – through speaking the location, scanning it or uploading a list – and being able to adjust your route to prioritise time, fuel or effort.
Petrol Prices
As the cost of living continues to rise, it is becoming more and more imperative for businesses to save those precious pennies wherever possible.
A good place to start is with the Petrol Prices app, which allows you to search and compare the price of diesel and petrol in your area, so you always know where to go to get the best deal on fuel.
After all, every little helps.
what3words
Sometimes the simplest ideas are also the best, which is a good way to describe what3words.
The app divides the world into three-squared metres and gives each of those squares a three-word designation that is unique to that specific space. By quoting those three words, it provides an accurate location of those three-square metres.
Perfect for e-commerce, delivery and navigation, what3words is also a vital tool for emergency services as it goes beyond the familiar road addresses to narrow locations down to a specific position.
RingGo
There are multiple apps available for parking, though RingGo is arguably the most prolific in the UK.
However, while RingGo is best known as the method used to pay for parking in a particular location, its functionality has broadened to now show live availability to ensure you don’t come unstuck trying to find a space.
Apps like RingGo – as well as Pay By Phone and Just Parking – are also handy tools to retain a record of parking expenses and receipts.
MileQ
If you’re self-employed, you’ll be aware of the drudge that comes with collating expenses and keeping a record of mileage.
With the MileQ app, however, you won’t need to give it a second thought thanks to its seamless mileage tracking that operates in the background once you’ve set it up.
Whether you’re tracking deductible miles for tax or reimbursing miles for work, MileQ automatically logs your drives using motion detection and location data without you having to physically start or stop a timer.
You can then log your drives as either Business, Personal and Custom Purpose.
Zapmap
If you’ve made the switch to an electric van, then Zapmap is an invaluable tool to ensure you can keep your vehicle juiced when out and about.
Zapmap presents the location of all electric charging stations across the country allowing you to plan your journeys more efficiently, as well as ensure you won’t be caught short when your battery needs replenishing.
Better still, using Zapmap gives you full details of the type of charger that is located there, whether it is available for use and live pricing details.
Spotify
While driving for long hours can be rather dull, there are multiple apps out there that can help for when the boredom does start to set in.
Whether you’re happy putting on the radio or blasting a few of your favourite tunes out with the window down, there are countless ways to keep yourself entertained on the go.
Alternatively, why not use the time to learn something new or get inspired by listening to a podcast?
Spotify has more than seven million podcast shows on its platform, so you can be sure to find something that speaks to you.
Headspace
As a van driver, it is important to invest time and energy into preserving your mental health, especially if your job involves a lot of driving and time-keeping pressures.
As such, incorporating an app like Headspace into your daily routine could have huge benefits to your mental wellbeing further down the line.
Headspace offers hundreds of themed sessions to improve your sleep and focus, as well as alleviate stress and anxiety.
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