For a fun road trip

The idea of a road trip definitely sounds exciting, especially when it is to an adventurous destination or an unexplored getaway. However, no matter how meticulously one plans, there are some hitches and roadblocks that you inevitably encounter along the way, which cannot be predicted in advance.

However, with an app like ‘Highway Delite’, you can certainly look forward to having a memorable trip. Conceptualised by Rajesh G, it is the only mobile app in India to assist highway travellers with verified information of highway services. The app enables commuters to have real-time location-based highway services information including facilities information and photos of verified restaurants, fuel pumps and lodges with photos of restrooms.

Rajesh got the idea for the app during his travel projects with ICRA which required him to go to remote locations in India with only road connectivity. “During these road trips, I realised the difficulties a traveller goes through on the highways in terms of finding hygienic washrooms, good food and safe stays. I then met Rocky and Mayur of the show ‘Highway on my Plate’ and Mayur encouraged me to take the plunge. I also interacted with more than 100 travellers and 50 highway service owners to understand the problem from both the sides and then started the app,” he says.

The founder, who comes from a defence family background, adds, “I have travelled across the length and breadth of India during my schooling. For the app itself, I travelled about 3,500 km of highways for verification.”

The platform has introduced accident zones on the map and provided the nearest emergency contact information. Also the app has already mapped 500 of the 770 accident blackspots across India, the list of which has been shared by the Ministry of Roadways, Transport and Highways. One can even get information for categories including mechanic, highway emergency contact, hospitals, pharmacy and toll gates.

It can be used either to plan your road trip through the ‘Search Along Route’ option by entering the source and destination or it can be used on a real-time location basis through the ‘Search Near Me’ option, which would show nearest options in the range of 15 km.

The app also provides one with the option of filters to narrow down your search. For instance, for a family traveller, you can search a restaurant having a children-play area.

For night travellers, you can filter fuel pumps which are open 24 hours with credit card facility. The app has partnered with a few restaurants to offer exclusive discounts for travellers using the app.

“We have a three-member team including Manoj, Aswath and Mallanna along with a small team of college interns. With increasing incidents of road accidents on highways and incidents of travellers being harassed, our approach to verify highway services and provide safer and hygienic options to travellers will enable them to have a secure and convenient journey instead of bothering about safety.

In the next version, the app would enable travellers to add photographs and information of any highway outlet on the highways and get incentivised for the same. Further, the app would be able to alert the travellers about upcoming accident zones and also alert about the last fuel pump before the ‘ghat’ section of various highways. The app would also allow users to create their preferences and plan their trips based on their interests,” details Rajesh.