Motive Fleet Management: Driving Towards Innovative Results
Content
Updated: February 7th, 2024
Motive is a software company founded in San Francisco, California, in 2013. They offer fleet management software solutions that are widely used by businesses across the United States, with products such as Hours of Service (HOS) monitoring systems, GPS tracking systems, and dashcams. Is your business in need of Motive's services, and do they fill your every need?
Find out everything you need to know about Motive by reading our in-depth review. You'll learn about their features, tools, and pricing options. Plus, we'll discuss the benefits and drawbacks of their platform, as well as what their clients are saying about them.
Optimize Fleet Efficiency and Safety With Motive—Track, Comply, and Save!
Pros
Cons
Content
Quick Stats
Motive at a Glance
Motive, which rebranded and changed their name from KeepTruckin in 2022, is one of the more highly-regarded fleet management software systems in the United States, with offices in Canada, Pakistan, India, and Taiwan. They boast that they are trusted by more than 120,000 companies, with over 400,000 fleet vehicles in total. They serve all corporate sizes, from small businesses all the way to large enterprises, including some Fortune 500 companies. Their solutions can be made to fit many industry types, including construction, manufacturing, field service, agriculture, logistics and trucking, the public sector, food and beverage, delivery, passenger transit, and oil and gas. Motive's solutions and advanced technology are designed to help fleet operators and managers gain complete visibility of their vehicles and assets and maintain electronic logs on everything through physical logging devices.
Their systems run on Amazon Web Services (AWS), a secure and scalable cloud platform that is certified and eliminates the risk of a single point of failure. Motive complies with SOC 2 requirements and supports SSO, MFA, and user authorization.
Motive is highly esteemed in their industry, having won numerous awards and being featured on many top lists. They have received many accolades from G2 for their outstanding fleet management leadership and excellence, and have also been recognized as one of the Forbes Cloud 100 from 2018 to 2023. Motive is a member of the National Private Truck Council (NPTC), which is a national trade association dedicated to representing private motor carrier fleets. They receive an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB), although they are not accredited.
Motive Solutions & Features
They have many features meant to simplify everything to do with running and keeping track of your fleet, some of which leverage the power of artificial intelligence (AI). These features include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Software platform: Their integrated operations platform offers value-packed fleet management with data intelligence, extensibility, security, and scalability. You can manage all fleet operations on a single platform that's meant to be easy to use and customize. Larger fleets can be customized with no-code customizations and integrated with other systems using open APIs and their app marketplace
- GPS tracking: Their fleet vehicle tracking solution offers live GPS tracking and automated alerts, with industry-leading refresh rates. With live tracking and customizable alerts, you can easily monitor your vehicles and drivers, detect unauthorized activity, proactively identify vehicle issues, and improve driver safety. The solution also helps you deliver exceptional customer service by providing real-time location sharing, predictive estimated times of arrival (ETAs), and proof of service. Additionally, with the Motive Fleet app you can manage your fleet on the go and make informed decisions
- Telematics: Their telematics data analytics tools allow you to monitor speed, fuel, fault codes, temperature, and more. You can also retrieve temperature logs that meet FSMA compliance with a multi-point temperature monitoring system. Motive automates your fleet visibility through alerts and actions based on real-time vehicle and asset location obtained from GPS fleet tracking. You can also create geofences, pair drivers with vehicles, and provide the best delivery estimate with ETAs that continuously update based on current trajectory, traffic, and weather conditions. These solutions reduce the need for manual communication by providing full fleet visibility in one dashboard, in real time
- Dashcams: They have smart and AI-powered dashcams that function as their primary driver safety tools. Those cameras, along with their AI Omnicam, detect unsafe driving and other hazards with a 360o view of the vehicle with industry-leading accuracy. Their dashcams quickly identify unsafe driving behaviors and alert drivers in real-time, preventing false alerts with their high accuracy. This helps drivers react quickly to reduce accidents on the road
- Driver safety solutions: They offer automatic video review and coaching services to improve your fleet's safety. Dashcam videos are analyzed after each trip to pinpoint critical events. Coaching tips are sent to drivers based on the insights gathered. The Motive Driver app provides a risk score benchmarked against the broader Motive network of over 400,000 vehicles, which helps you understand your drivers' performance and determine how often to hold coaching sessions. Driver Insights shows the impact of these sessions, helping you improve your fleet's safety performance
- Other hardware: Aside from their dashcams, they have several other hardware tools. Their Vehicle Gateway, which features an Electronic Logging Device (ELD) for workplace compliance, uses cellular connectivity to sync driver and vehicle data with the Driver App and Fleet Dashboard. It offers real-time GPS tracking, maintenance monitoring, and compliance records. Their Asset Gateway monitors high-value equipment and reefers, or environmental controls, with solar power and cabled options, and the Asset Gateway Mini tracks high-volume inventories with a small form factor and 5-year battery life. Finally, the Motive Environmental Sensor, mounted on the Asset Gateway, provides accurate temperature and humidity measurements for multi-point reefer monitoring. Some hardware, like their ELD, may be found at popular truck stops like Pilot Flying J
- Compliance management: Motive offers an all-in-one compliance management system that includes ELD compliance, Internal Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA) reporting, and Compliance Safety and Accountability (CSA) insights. This system is meant to reduce violations, boost productivity, reduce risk, and cut costs. It provides automated compliance management, real-time alerts, and full visibility into compliance health. Their Driver App makes ELD compliance easy and reliable, with pre-violation alerts and Inspection Mode to help drivers pass roadside inspections. Their system also includes accurate Hours of Service (HOS) countdown clocks and automated trip and driver matching. The Compliance Hub and Fleet App offer a complete view of fleet compliance health, and CSA monitoring makes prioritizing easy
- Vehicle maintenance: To reduce downtime and save on repair costs, they create electronic inspection records for your asset and vehicle health. They simplify inspections with customizable forms and implement automatic diagnostic checks to prioritize and catch defects. You can set up automated reminders and track upcoming, overdue, and completed services for a comprehensive maintenance history. This proactive approach may extend the life of your fleet and improve productivity, on-time work orders, and schedule forecasting
- Dispatch and workflow: Their tracking solution helps you manage dispatch and optimize driver workflow, wherein your dispatchers can monitor progress, build out order details, assign orders to drivers, and track deliveries in real time. Your drivers can manage dispatches and messaging through the Driver app, and at each stop, the app auto-generates arrival and departure confirmations. Real-time visibility, route optimization, and dynamic ETAs help you deliver on time and meet customers' expectations
- Fuel efficiency: Your fleet's sustainability requires fuel efficiency, and Motive's AI-powered insights and fleet fuel management can help reduce environmental impact and fuel costs. Their fleet fuel management can help you save up to 13% on fuel, and offers fuel monitoring, benchmarking data, recommendations for improvement, coaching, and optimization. You can discover areas to optimize and benchmark your fuel performance to reduce operational costs, and improve fuel economy by changing driver behavior and vehicle upkeep with fleet fuel management
- Spend management: They offer their Motive Card service as a comprehensive solution that links fleet and spend management to unlock savings and increase productivity. With the card, you can manage everything on one dashboard, access competitive discounts, and enhance productivity. The card automatically captures all transaction data needed for IFTA reporting and protects your business from fraud and unauthorized spending with telematics-backed fraud detection and spend controls. Finally, it maximizes fuel efficiency and offers savings expertise for larger fleets
Plans
Motive doesn't advertise plans or prices on their website. You'll need to fill out a form with your business needs, company size, and contact information. They contact you to offer options that fit your needs.
According to online sources, Motive may offer you a choice between multiple plans. They previously had a Free plan with electronic log books, messaging, and inspection reports, although some online reports state that this 'freemium' option may not be available to everyone— if at all. Other plans may be as follows:
- Starter: This may cost $20 a month per vehicle and includes HOS tracking, ELD compliance, geofencing, messaging & driver alerts, GPS tracking, and other basic features
- Pro: This may cost $35 a month per vehicle and adds vehicle diagnostics, IFTA fuel tax tracking, and idle time tracking, among other features
- Enterprise or Custom: This quote-based plan allows you to pick all the features you need, such as driver workflow, custom inspections, premium support, onsite training, and other professional services
Optimize Fleet Efficiency and Safety With Motive—Track, Comply, and Save!
The Main Benefits of Motive Fleet Management
There are many perks to choosing Motive as your fleet management service provider, some of which are:
- Customizable solutions: If you have a larger business, your business operations would be served by Motive's scalable technologies and services. Moreover, their solutions can be made to support you regardless of your industry
- All-in-one platform: With their integrated solution, you can get a complete view of your operations in one dashboard to monitor your fleet and drivers and optimize your dispatching. Among their many perks, you get real-time dispatch updates with GPS location data, and combine the benefits of the Asset Gateway, AI dashcam tools, and Vehicle Gateway to monitor all driver, vehicle, equipment, and trailer information in one place. Their scalable solution helps you compare vehicle utilization across terminals or driver groups to reveal trends and unlock more opportunities for efficiency
- Motive Card benefits: They offer a fee-free corporate Mastercard, the Motive Card, providing a seamless and cost-effective solution for automating operations by bringing fleet and spend management together. The card comes with many perks like fuel discounts at major stations, eliminating data silos, and more effectively managing your business expenses
- Hardware found at truck stops: The availability of Motive ELD for purchase at Pilot Flying J truck stops makes it a more convenient hardware option, allowing your drivers to access and acquire essential equipment easily while on the road
- Dashcams and safety inspections: Their smart dashcams and video safety inspectors lead the market in monitoring driver and vehicle safety. Additionally, the one- to three-second refresh rate of their fleet tracking ensures the latest information, enhancing real-time decision-making and incident response
- 24/7 customer support: Motive provides round-the-clock customer support through various channels, offering assistance whenever needed. This is to ensure that your fleets can address issues promptly, minimizing disruptions to operations and enhancing overall customer satisfaction
- Compliance assistance: They offer an all-in-one compliance management system that includes ELD compliance, Internal Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA) reporting, and Compliance Safety and Accountability (CSA) insights
- Increased fuel efficiency: Their AI-powered insights and fleet fuel management can help reduce environmental impact and fuel costs, saving you up to 13% on fuel costs per mile (CPM)
The Disadvantages of Motive Fleet Management
- Non-transparent pricing: Motive does not advertise their plans or prices online, requiring customers to fill out a form with their business needs, company size, and contact information to receive a quote
- Limitations in features: They lack certain features and the comprehensive integrations offered by competitors like Samsara. Additionally, the absence of engine temperature tracking and limited support for SMS alerts for geofence infringements may limit their suitability for certain applications
The Motive Customer Experience
They receive fairly positive notices on online customer review sites, although they also get their fair share of critical feedback and some complaints on the BBB. On Trustpilot, they receive a moderate 3.1 out of 5 review score. They receive higher scores elsewhere, however, getting 4.5 out of 5 on Capterra and 4.3 out of 5 on G2.
Positive feedback
Motive has been praised for their real-time tracking, log reporting, and helpful service team. Clients appreciated their comprehensive suite of tools and features, such as their dashcams, GPS trackers for trailers, and solar-powered functionalities, and found them to be a valuable asset for trucking businesses and others with large fleets. Their product's usability, customer support, and ability to keep records and reports for regulatory compliance have also been highlighted as positive aspects. Additionally, the system's ease of use, live GPS, and fleet management features have been commended, with some users expressing satisfaction with the product and its support team.
Critical feedback
On the other hand, some users have expressed dissatisfaction with Motive, citing billing issues, difficulties in canceling the service, overcharging, and poor customer service. Users have reported problems with canceling their service, being overcharged, and facing challenges getting refunds. There are also complaints about customer service, including difficulties in reaching representatives and problems such as being misunderstood or not receiving the desired type of help. Additionally, some users have expressed dissatisfaction with what they found were uncompetitive prices and rigid contract terms, as well as the inconsistent functionality of the app with regard to tracking and reporting. Overall, negative user feedback highlights concerns related to billing, customer service, and the overall user experience.
They reply to some reviews and complaints, and their responses are professional, brief, and seem to be written with a desire to reach a quick and satisfactory resolution.
Customer Support
Motive provides support to customers through various channels, including online ticket submission, where you would describe your issue and have them get back to you via email. If you have an urgent inquiry, you can reach out to their support team directly by phone at 1-855-434-3564, or you may try their chatbot, which you can find on their Contact Support page. You may also email them at [email protected]. The customer support team is available 24/7 to answer any questions.
However, you may be able to find the solution to your query by consulting Motive's online Help Center, where you can find many helpful articles based on your role within the fleet or the product areas of focus to you.
Final Words
Motive Fleet Management is a leading player in the fleet management software industry. They offer fleet management software solutions that can enhance your operational efficiency and safety and improve the health of your vehicles. With real-time tracking, AI-powered dashcams, and compliance management, they cater to diverse industry needs. Their platform is customizable, scalable, and they go above and beyond by offering a fee-free corporate card service that helps you control your expenses. Their hardware may be available at truck stops, further facilitating fleet management for businesses on the go.
Motive's service has received mixed feedback from customers. Positive comments bring up their real-time tracking and helpful service team, but some users do complain about billing issues and unsatisfactory customer service experiences. While Motive responds to reviews professionally, there are challenges like non-transparent pricing and limited features compared to competitors. Also, prospective clients may struggle to evaluate Motive without upfront pricing or a free trial. You should carefully weigh the pros and cons before deciding if Motive is right for your business.
The good news is that there are many suitable fleet management companies on the market, and we have compiled a list of the best ones for you. To ensure you find the one that fits you best, you should do more reading and comparison shopping. You can also start off by reading our many blog articles that expand on many useful topics in this field. Doing your research can be fun, and it can ensure you find the right fit for your operations!
Optimize Fleet Efficiency and Safety With Motive—Track, Comply, and Save!
Save Big on Fleet Management
Fill out a quick form to claim special offers on Fleet Management