How to Track a Vehicle Without GPS: SIM-Based Truck Tracking

How to track a truck: the three common ways

Where is the truck now? A party wants an arrival time, a loading point wants to know when to expect the vehicle, and you need to plan the next trip. Fleet owners and transporters usually answer with one of three methods, or a mix of them.

1. Calling the driver

It needs nothing but a phone and works for a few trucks. But it takes up your team's time, depends on the driver picking up and answering accurately, and distracts drivers on the road, which is a safety risk.

2. A GPS device fitted in the truck

A GPS tracker is hardware installed in the vehicle. It works out its position from satellites and sends it over a mobile data connection, so it follows the truck whoever is driving, and the position is usually precise. The trade-offs are buying and fitting a device in every vehicle, often with a recurring fee, and the difficulty of fitting hardware to hired trucks you don't own.

3. Phone or SIM-based tracking

This uses the phone the driver already carries. The cell towers a SIM connects to give its approximate location, so nothing is fitted to the truck, which suits hired vehicles and mixed fleets.

Side-by-side comparison

How to track a vehicle without GPS using the driver's SIM

If you are working out how to track vehicle location for your own fleet without buying hardware, this is the simplest route. BilToz offers SIM-based tracking with location updates every 15 minutes, using the driver's existing SIM on Vi, Airtel or Jio, on 3G, 4G or 5G. In outline:

1. The driver consents. The driver confirms with an OTP on their own mobile number. Tracking starts only after this step.
2. BilToz reads the cell-tower location. From then on, BilToz reads the cell-tower location of the driver's SIM every 15 minutes.
3. You see it on the dashboard map. Each location is plotted on your BilToz dashboard map, so you can check where a truck is without calling the driver.

If a driver uses a network other than Vi, Airtel or Jio, check with support before relying on it.

What SIM-based tracking can and cannot do

SIM-based tracking is not the same as a fitted GPS device. Know these limits before you rely on it:

• Approximate location. Cell-tower location is less precise than GPS. It is usually enough to see which town or stretch of highway a truck is on, and less exact in rural areas, where towers are far apart.
• Every 15 minutes, not continuous. A truck can cover a fair distance between two updates, so treat each point on the map as a recent position, not a moving dot.
• Needs network coverage. Where the signal is weak or missing, as on some ghat sections and remote routes, or when the phone is switched off, a location may not be available.
• Follows the phone, not the truck. If the driver leaves the vehicle or a relief driver takes over, you still see that phone's location.
• Consenting drivers only. Tracking needs the driver's OTP consent, and it is not a way to look up any vehicle by its registration number.

If you need a precise position for every vehicle, a fitted GPS device is the better fit. If an approximate position every 15 minutes is enough to plan trips, SIM-based tracking avoids the hardware.

Driver privacy and consent

A person's phone location is personal information, so track with your drivers' agreement, not around them.

• Consent comes first. In BilToz, tracking starts only after the driver confirms with an OTP on their own number.
• Explain before you ask. Tell each driver what you will see (their phone's approximate location), how often (every 15 minutes) and why, including drivers of hired vehicles.
• Use it for work. Because tracking follows the phone, agree when tracking is expected and use location only for running trips.
• Data protection. BilToz data is hosted on Indian-region servers, and the site is served over encrypted HTTPS connections. The BilToz Privacy Policy explains what account, KYC and business data BilToz collects, how it is used and who it is shared with.

Truck tracking online alongside your LRs and PODs

In BilToz, tracking is in the same account as your LRs, PODs, party payments and reports, so you can check a truck's location and handle the paperwork in one place:

1. Create the LR. BilToz gives the LR the next number from your LR number series, and you download one PDF with consignor, consignee and driver copies. The lorry receipt format guide shows the fields an LR usually carries.
2. Check progress. While the truck is on the road, open the dashboard map for the driver's latest location instead of calling.
3. Upload the POD. Once the trip is completed, upload the POD (proof of delivery) to the order.
4. Settle the payment. Record the party's payment against the order's invoice, settle several invoices together, and use the aging days and Overdue status on the party payments screen to follow up on dues.

For the billing side, read about transport billing software for GST invoices and party payments, or see everything in BilToz's online LR and bilty software.

What it costs and how to get started

Every BilToz feature, including SIM-based tracking, is free during the launch period: Rs 0, with no credit card and no GPS hardware. Paid tiers may come later, with advance notice.

1. Sign up with your mobile number and an OTP as a Transporter account. Company accounts are for businesses that send goods and cannot create orders, LRs or invoices.
2. Explain tracking to your driver, and have them consent with the OTP on their own number.
3. Check the dashboard map, where the location updates every 15 minutes.

Complete KYC within 30 days of sign-up: Aadhaar OTP and PAN, with GSTIN and GST certificate optional for Transporter accounts. For help, email support@biltoz.com, call +91 7600667785 or use the BilToz contact page. Support aims to reply within 4 business hours on weekdays.

Frequently asked questions