India’s Truck Driver Shortage: The Problem Isn’t Just “Finding Drivers” — It’s Keeping Them
One truck is loaded, the tarpaulin is tied, and the papers are ready. The customer wants an ETA. The fleet manager wants the truck out. In India, the truck driver shortage doesn’t feel like a statistic. It feels like a daily interruption. Plans change. Calls pile up. And the same few drivers get stretched thinner every week. Industry voices estimate that the long-haul truck-to-driver ratio has dropped to around 55 drivers for every 100 trucks, down from 75:100 just a few years ago. The Shortage Shows Up in Small Moments A driver says he’ll leave after unloading—but unloading takes eight hours longer than promised. Another driver refuses a lane he’s driven a hundred times because he knows what that warehouse will do to his day. A third driver quits quietly after a month, because the work feels unpredictable and the money doesn’t justify the strain. When people talk about a “driver shortage,” it often sounds like a hiring problem. On the ground, it’s...