Spanish roads record over 93 million empty trips a year, according to NEAR. The startup, founded in 2024, connects loads with vehicles that are already passing through the origin or destination.
Over 93 million empty trips are recorded each year on Spanish roads, according to figures from the startup NEAR. These journeys, out of a total of 393 million tonnes of goods transported by road, are associated with 23.7 million tonnes of CO₂ annually.
As reported by ecosistemastartup.com, the company suggests that every kilometre without a load is paid capacity that no one is utilising. NEAR, founded in 2024, takes its name from the phrase Never Empty Again On Return, which summarises its proposal: that trucks do not return empty.
The platform operates as a load matching system. Companies publish the origin, destination, and details of the goods, and the system displays them to fleets and independent carriers whose routes match. When the company accepts the carrier's offer, the shipment is assigned, and documentation is generated. Delivery is confirmed with digital proof (POD, Proof Of Delivery).
The difference with other platforms, according to co-founder and CEO Lorena Rubio Navolotskaya, lies in when the service ends:
“Most traditional platforms function like a bulletin board. They connect those with the load to those with the truck, and that’s where their work ends. For us, that’s precisely where it begins.”
The chosen segment is fleets of fewer than ten vehicles and independent carriers, as well as SMEs and distributors that move small to medium volumes. For shippers already working with carriers on fixed routes, the platform connects with their management software.
For the carrier, empty kilometres start generating income, and the loads arrive filtered by route fit. For the company, follow-up calls and emails disappear, and the system shows expenses, savings, and environmental impact through Business Intelligence.
NEAR includes three artificial intelligence tools. MIRA is a voice co-pilot for the driver, which checks their deliveries, the status of their shipments, and the loads that fit their route, and also allows them to accept jobs without touching the screen. VERA is the analyst for companies, turning their data into information for decision-making. LUMA, still in development, will estimate the dimensions of a load using the mobile camera.
Before accepting jobs, each carrier must validate their documentation, such as their driving licence, as explained by the company.
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