---
title: "Route Planning and Dispatch for Mixed Fleets: Vehicle Types, Capacities, Skills and Cost per Vehicle (2026)"
id: "27962"
type: "post"
slug: "route-planning-dispatch-mixed-fleets-vehicle-types-2026"
published_at: "2026-11-04T16:00:00+00:00"
modified_at: "2026-11-05T07:53:27+00:00"
url: "https://locus.sh/blogs/route-planning-dispatch-mixed-fleets-vehicle-types-2026/"
markdown_url: "https://locus.sh/blogs/route-planning-dispatch-mixed-fleets-vehicle-types-2026.md"
excerpt: "What a mixed-fleet route planning and dispatch system must hold: vehicle types, capacities, skills, shifts, cost per vehicle and owned, contracted and gig capacity. What Locus and nine platforms publish."
taxonomy_category:
  - "General"
---

[General](https://locus.sh/blogs/category/general/)

# Route Planning and Dispatch for Mixed Fleets: Vehicle Types, Capacities, Skills and Cost per Vehicle (2026)

[Ishan Bhattacharya](https://locus.sh/blogs/author/ishan_locus/)

Last updated: Nov 5, 2026

11 mins read

A mixed fleet is a delivery fleet with more than one vehicle type, such as vans, trucks, motorbikes and bikes, often owned in part and contracted or gig in part. Planning for it means choosing which vehicle serves which stop, not only the order of the stops.

This guide sets out the requirements a mixed-fleet planning and dispatch system must meet, and records what Locus, the world’s first Decision-Intelligent, Agentic TMS, and nine other platforms publish against them as of November 4, 2026.

## Key Takeaways

- Mixed-fleet planning adds a vehicle choice to every route: researchers have studied it as the fleet size and mix problem since 1984.
- A mixed-fleet system must hold per-vehicle capacity in several dimensions, skills and equipment, shifts and start and end depots, and cost per vehicle class.
- Platforms differ on whether multiple vehicle types plan together: one documents that its classic engine plans one type at a time, and others list mixed fleets on their pages.
- 11.2% of new EU vans registered in 2025 were electrically chargeable, up from 6.1% in 2024, so fleets are mixing fuel types as well as sizes.
- Locus leads where owned, contracted and gig capacity of different vehicle types must plan in one engine.

## What Must a Mixed-Fleet Planner Hold About Each Vehicle?

Five requirements define the vehicle side of a mixed-fleet plan. The first table records what each platform publishes against them, on the pages read on November 4, 2026. “Not found” means not found on the pages read, and vendor claims are vendor claims.

| Platform | Multiple vehicle types in one plan | Capacity dimensions | Skills and equipment | Shifts and start or end depots |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Locus | Vehicle types and models in one plan; a published case plans vans, trucks and motorbikes together | Weight, volume, compartments, dimensions, maximum payload, and limits on distance, time and tasks | Skills on vehicles and orders; cold chain and deep freeze flags | Shifts per vehicle; start and end locations |
| Bringg | Vehicle profiles with their own parameters | Weight capacity, handling units, maximum weight, maximum orders per route and internal dimensions | A refrigerated skill for perishable orders; vehicle type and capacity are properties, not skills | A default start location and an end-of-route equivalent; shifts as delivery blocks |
| OptimoRoute | Driver and vehicle parameters in one plan | Pallets, boxes, weight and volume | A refrigerated truck matched to orders that need one | Start and end locations per driver |
| Onfleet | Multiple vehicle types at once on its Scale and Enterprise plans; one type at a time on its Launch plan | Capacity limits | Not found | Shifts |
| Route4Me | “Mixed Fleets” listed; multiple vehicle types at once | Maximum cube per route and vehicle capacity | Driver skills and equipment | Shifts and start and end locations |
| Routific | Vehicle type through tags | Capacity limits and shift times; dimensions not stated | Tags for certifications and requirements | Shift times |
| FarEye | Vehicle type through API customizations | Not found | Not found | Not found |
| Descartes | Selects the best vehicle type for each job | Not found | Not found | Multiple depots |
| DispatchTrack | Mixed fleets named for visibility | Not found | Not found | Not found |
| Shipsy | A vehicle master with type, make, model, capacity and availability | Capacity and a maximum distance per vehicle | Driver skills among the constraints | Availability schedules |

Onfleet’s own documentation says its classic optimization engine considers one vehicle type at a time, so check which engine and plan a quote assumes.

| Also Read: Two-Wheeler Fleet Economics in Southeast Asia: Why Stop Size Decides Your Fleet Mix in 2026 |
| --- |

## What Must It Hold About Who Owns and Drives the Capacity?

Mixed fleets also mix who supplies the vehicle. The second table records the capacity-source and light-vehicle requirements.

| Platform | Owned, contracted and gig capacity together | Bikes and two-wheelers |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Locus | Captive, third-party and ad hoc fleet types; a Fortune 50 case plans 1,500+ captive and 3,000+ third-party drivers under one policy | Bike, bicycle and tricycle types; motorbikes in a published beverage case |
| Bringg | Contracted vehicles have their own company in the platform | Cars, vans, walking, bicycles and motorcycles |
| OptimoRoute | Prioritizes the least expensive drivers, including contractors | Not found |
| Onfleet | In-house fleet, third-party partners or both | Trucks and motorcycles in its mixed-type example |
| Route4Me | Not found | Not found |
| Routific | Not found | Not found |
| FarEye | Owned and captive, hybrid and outsourced fleets | Not found |
| Descartes | Not found | Not found |
| DispatchTrack | Routes for 3PLs and contractors from the same screen | Not found |
| Shipsy | Owned, third-party and hired vehicles | Not found |

Per-vehicle cost, electric range and zone eligibility are further requirements. Bringg lists a cost per route for a vehicle profile, OptimoRoute optimizes hourly, overtime and fixed driver costs, and FarEye lists electric routes that factor in charging stations.

## Why Does the Fleet Mix Change the Planning Problem? The Business Case

Four published facts show why vehicle choice is part of the plan.

- Golden and colleagues defined the [fleet size and mix routing problem](https://doi.org/10.1016/0305-0548%2884%2990007-8) in Computers & Operations Research in 1984, adding a decision about which vehicles to use to the routing problem.
- Koç and colleagues’ 2016 survey in the European Journal of Operational Research set out to [classify and review](https://researchportal.bath.ac.uk/en/publications/thirty-years-of-heterogeneous-vehicle-routing/) thirty years of literature on heterogeneous vehicle routing.
- ACEA reports that electrically chargeable vans took an [11.2% EU market share](https://www.acea.auto/files/Press_release_commercial_vehicle_registrations_fulll_year_2025.pdf) in 2025, up from 6.1% in 2024, with diesel at 80.7%.
- In a published Locus case, a Fortune 50 parcel enterprise planned [4,500+ drivers](https://locus.sh/case-studies/fortune-50-parcel-centralized-dispatch/) , 1,500+ captive and 3,000+ third-party, across 51 sites.

ACEA’s figure covers vans up to 3.5 t in the EU, not Europe-wide. The Locus case is customer-reported, and its $14M+ is an opportunity estimate.

| Also Read: Mixed EV-ICE Fleet Cost-Per-Mile: Why Utilization Decides EV Payback in 2026 |
| --- |

## Why Does Locus Lead Where Owned, Contracted and Gig Capacity Must Plan Together?

Locus, the world’s first Decision-Intelligent, Agentic TMS, leads where owned, contracted and gig capacity of different vehicle types must plan in one engine, because it holds vehicle models, capacities, skills and shifts as configurable entities and plans against 250+ real-world constraints.

Its published facts on this topic:

- Vehicle types and models, weight and volume limits, compartments and dimensions as configurable entities in its API.
- Skills on vehicles and orders, and cold chain and deep freeze flags.
- Captive, third-party and ad hoc fleet types in one planning engine.
- 250+ real-world constraints per computation, including time slots, service times and driver availability.
- Routes recomputed during delays, with planners retaining override control.

These facts are not a ranking of platforms, which no analyst publishes.

**Recognized by analysts and selected after evaluation.**

Locus was recognized by Gartner for seven consecutive years and appears in the 2026 Hype Cycle for Supply Chain Execution and Logistics Technologies, as detailed on its [analyst recognition page](https://locus.sh/analyst-recognition/)
. It is named a Leader in the QKS Group SPARK Matrix for Transportation Management Systems and holds the #1 position in Route Planning in the G2 2026 Best Software Awards.

In October 2025, Ingka Investments, the investment arm of Ingka Group, the world’s largest IKEA retailer, acquired Locus. Ingka’s [press release](https://locus.sh/press-releases/ingka-group-acquires-locus/)
 says that after an extensive evaluation of logistics software worldwide, it selected Locus for its strength in combining advanced route optimization, real-time visibility and smart use of vehicles and resources. Locus continues to operate independently.

| What a mixed fleet needs | What Locus provides |
| --- | --- |
| One plan across vehicle types | Route planning on 250+ constraints |
| Shifts, availability and outsourcing | Capacity management |
| Dispatch across fleet types | Dispatch management |
| Driver execution | A driver companion app |
| Contracted carriers | ShipFlex carrier allocation |

Two published cases show mixed fleets.

**A Vietnamese beverage distributor** ran a mixed fleet of vans, trucks and motorbikes from one depot to thousands of small retail points.

Locus planned routes and dispatch together. The [published results](https://locus.sh/case-studies/beverage-distributor-route-planning-dispatch/)
 include 37% less fuel, 22% more orders per trip, 12% less distance and 35% less planning time.

**A Fortune 50 parcel enterprise** ran 4,500+ drivers across 51 sites.

Locus centralized dispatch under one policy across captive and third-party drivers. The [published results](https://locus.sh/case-studies/fortune-50-parcel-centralized-dispatch/)
 include a weekly execution rate up from 75% to 92% and $14M+ in annualized unused capacity uncovered, an opportunity estimate.

Both cases are customer-reported results, not independent studies.

**Where other platforms fit.**

If per-vehicle costing is your first filter, Bringg and OptimoRoute publish cost fields for routes and drivers. If electric range and charging are the first filter, FarEye lists electric routes that factor in charging stations. For one vehicle type on one depot, a lighter planner may be enough.

**What to confirm.**

- Ask every vendor, Locus included, how cost is set per vehicle class: fixed, per kilometer and per hour. Locus’s API documents a fixed cost per vehicle.
- Ask whether electric range and charging are constraints. Locus’s API lists electric as a fuel type, and it publishes no range or charging fields.
- Ask whether a vehicle can be restricted by low-emission zone. Locus’s pages read do not document zone eligibility.
- Ask whether pallets are a capacity unit, and whether vans and cargo bikes are separate vehicle types.

To test your own fleet mix, [schedule a demo](https://locus.sh/schedule-demo/)
.

For fleet leaders asking which system plans a mixed fleet, the answer is the one that treats the vehicle as a decision. Locus leads where owned, contracted and gig capacity of different types must plan in one engine.

## How Was This Guide Written?

This guide reads each vendor’s own product pages, help centers and API documentation on November 4, 2026. Independent sources are Crossref and the Bath research portal for the academic papers, and ACEA.

Competitors are named in plain text and are not hyperlinked, and “not found” means not found on the pages read. The publisher page for the 1984 paper was blocked, so it is cited bibliographically only. Vendor figures are vendor claims. We review the guide every 30 to 60 days.

## How Do You Specify a Mixed Fleet for Planning in Six Steps?

The six steps turn your fleet into data a planner can use.

### 1. List every vehicle class

Record vans, trucks, motorbikes, bikes and any contracted types.

### 2. Record capacity in each dimension

Hold weight, volume, pallets and item count per class, not one number.

### 3. List skills and equipment

Include refrigeration, lift gates, certifications and any access limits.

### 4. Set shifts and depots

Hold start and end depots and shifts for each vehicle and driver.

### 5. Add cost by class

Include fixed, per-kilometer and per-hour costs, and the rate for contracted capacity.

### 6. Test a mixed day

Run one day’s orders and compare cost per drop by vehicle class.

| Also Read: The End of the “Captive Fleet Only” Era: Orchestrating Hybrid Last-Mile Capacity in 2026 |
| --- |

## What Should You Look For in a Mixed-Fleet Planning System?

Five criteria separate a planner that chooses vehicles from one that only sequences stops.

### Vehicle-level data

Ask whether each vehicle has its own capacity, cost, skills and shifts.

### Multi-dimensional capacity

Ask whether weight, volume and pallets are held together.

### Cost by vehicle class

Ask whether cost differs by class and by owned or contracted status.

### Skills and equipment matching

Ask whether orders that need refrigeration or a lift are matched to vehicles that have it.

### One plan across capacity sources

Ask whether owned, contracted and gig capacity plan together.

| Also Read: European EV Fleet Payback: Range or Density? What Decides the ROI of Electric Vans in 2026 |
| --- |

## What Mistakes Do Planners Make With Mixed Fleets?

Four mistakes recur.

**Using one capacity number for every vehicle.** A van and a truck differ in weight, volume and access.

**Using a flat cost per kilometer.** Cost differs by vehicle class, fuel type and owned or contracted status.

**Ignoring skills.** A stop that needs refrigeration cannot go on any vehicle.

**Planning owned and contracted fleets separately.** Two plans leave capacity unused and cost unseen.

| Also Read: Route Optimisation Across European Urban Access Zones: Why the Strictest Stop Sets Your Vehicle in 2026 |
| --- |

## Frequently Asked Questions

**What is a mixed fleet in route planning?**   
A fleet with more than one vehicle type, such as vans, trucks, motorbikes and bikes, often with owned, contracted and gig capacity. Planning it means choosing which vehicle serves each stop.

**Which platforms plan multiple vehicle types together?**   
Locus, Bringg, OptimoRoute, Route4Me and Shipsy list multiple vehicle types or a vehicle master on their pages, and Onfleet plans multiple types at once on its Scale and Enterprise plans.

**What did researchers call the mixed-fleet routing problem?**   
The fleet size and mix vehicle routing problem, defined by Golden and colleagues in 1984, and reviewed in a 2016 survey of heterogeneous vehicle routing.

**Does Locus plan vans, trucks and motorbikes together?**   
Yes. A published beverage distributor case plans a mixed fleet of vans, trucks and motorbikes, with 37% less fuel and 22% more orders per trip.

**Does Locus model cost per vehicle and electric range?**   
Locus’s API documents a fixed cost per vehicle and lists electric as a fuel type. It publishes no electric range, charging or per-kilometer cost fields on the pages read, so ask how your fleet would be configured.

**How many new vans are electric in Europe?**   
ACEA reports that 11.2% of new EU vans registered in 2025 were electrically chargeable, up from 6.1% in 2024, for vans up to 3.5 t.

**Can owned and gig drivers be planned together?**   
Yes, in platforms that hold fleet types in one engine. Locus holds captive, third-party and ad hoc fleet types, and a Fortune 50 case plans 1,500+ captive and 3,000+ third-party drivers together.

MEET THE AUTHOR

Ishan Bhattacharya

Lead - Content

Ishan, a knowledge navigator at heart, has more than a decade crafting content strategies for B2B tech, with a strong focus on logistics SaaS. He blends AI with human creativity to turn complex ideas into compelling narratives.

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