Rescue Mate provides tyre transparency for fleets

Rescue Mate has enhanced its “Uber for breakdowns” platform to provide fleet operators and drivers with greater transparency when a vehicle requires tyre replacement or other services.

The app-based breakdown and recovery provider, which launched last year, provides a suite of on-demand services, including tyre repair and replacement, towing and locksmiths.

A digital-first approach ensures drivers and fleet operators are kept up to speed on the progress of jobs, using a live tracking function. Drivers are sent a tracking link when they book a job, showing how far away the service provider is.

Fleet managers that subscribe to the company’s tracking service can also view the position of all their vehicles through a web portal.

Using a network of approved mobile operatives, the company promises a lead time of between 60 – 90 minutes.

Jason Clare, founder and managing director or Rescue Mate, said fleets can expect reduced downtime when choosing Rescue Mate over other services.

He explained: “We’re getting a lot of customers coming to use because their leasing company is taking three to four hours to get a vehicle back on the road and companies just cannot wait that long.”

Using the Rescue Mate app, stranded drivers can upload a photo of their damaged tyre to the company’s team who’ll then dispatch the nearest operative that can solve the issue.

Clare added: ”There's no such thing as a standard tyre job, really, it could be a weird tyre size, it could be a damaged alloy, they might have a locking wheel that needs removing, there's loads and loads of different aspects to put into tyres, which is why it's always better to have the human element.”

Later this year, Rescue Mate will expand its fleet provision further with the launch of Fleet Mate. Clare said it will offer a “full 360 service”, including battery replacement.

The company is also setting up tyre warehouses across the UK, to further reduce fleet downtime and to enhance its out-of-hours capability.

“It's rare it happens but it does happen if it's an odd size, or a lorry tyre, at night, not everyone's got access to those in certain areas. So, we'll start with a small selective stock and then obviously as it grows, get more and more,” Clare explained.