There are several mature, 100% open-source, free, and stable GPS tracking platforms you can use to offload most of the heavy lifting for your Motoshare GPS feature. The top recommendation worldwide is Traccar, but there are a few other notable options as well.
1. Traccar (Highly Recommended)
- Website: https://www.traccar.org/
- License: Apache 2.0 (fully open source)
- Language: Java (runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, supports Docker)
- Features:
- Real-time GPS tracking for vehicles/assets
- Supports 2000+ GPS tracker device models (Concox, Teltonika, etc.)
- Mobile app (for Android/iOS) can also act as a tracker!
- Modern web UI for admin/partners (see all vehicles, history, geofencing, alerts, reports)
- REST API and WebSocket API for easy integration into your website/app
- Multi-user (partner, admin, driver), role-based access
- Can be self-hosted on your VPS/cloud
- Community: Large, active, with regular updates (10+ years mature)
How Traccar fits your use-case:
- You self-host Traccar on your server.
- Partners can add their vehicles and link GPS devices via Traccar UI or your integration.
- Traccar collects and stores all location data, provides dashboards, and exposes APIs.
- You can embed the Traccar web UI for partners or build a custom dashboard using Traccar’s API.
- You focus on branding, user management, and value-added features, not low-level GPS plumbing.
2. OpenGTS (Open GPS Tracking System)
- Website: http://www.opengts.org/
- License: Apache 2.0
- Language: Java
- Notes: One of the oldest, but less modern than Traccar. Still stable and widely used for fleet tracking.
3. GPSWOX (Community Edition)
- Website: https://github.com/gpswox/gpswox-open-source-tracking-platform
- License: GPL v3
- Notes: Free and open source, but less popular/community support than Traccar.
4. Other Projects
- OwnTracks – Great for personal/mobile tracking, not as full-featured as Traccar for fleet/multi-partner use.
- OpenTrack – More for railway and public transport.
5. Why Traccar is usually the #1 choice
- Rock-solid stability: Used by big fleets and businesses globally
- Wide hardware support: Almost all commercial GPS trackers can talk to Traccar out of the box
- Extensible: Easy to integrate with your existing Laravel/PHP/NodeJS/etc. site via API
- Open development: Frequent releases, good docs, large community
6. How to Use Traccar for Motoshare
Simple Steps:
- Deploy Traccar on your cloud (e.g., AWS EC2, DigitalOcean, or even on-premise)
- Register GPS trackers/devices to Traccar (your partners just configure their device to send data to your server)
- Manage vehicles and users/partners from Traccar UI or via API
- Integrate Traccar’s API into your Motoshare website/dashboard to display real-time location, history, etc.
- Optionally, embed the Traccar web dashboard for advanced users
Sample Workflow Diagram
[Partner Vehicle GPS Device] ──► [Your Traccar Server] ──► [Traccar DB]
│
[Traccar REST/WebSocket API]
│
[Your Website/Partner Dashboard: Fetch & Display Locations]
7. Links and Resources
8. Summary Table
| Platform | License | Devices Supported | Web UI | API | Multi-user | Stable | Community |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traccar | Apache 2.0 | 2000+ | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Huge |
| OpenGTS | Apache 2.0 | 100+ | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes | Good |
| GPSWOX | GPL v3 | 300+ | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Small |
9. Real-World Example
Many ride-sharing, fleet management, and rental companies (including startups) run Traccar in the backend for GPS data, while building their own branded website and customer portal over it.
If you want:
- A guide to integrate Traccar with your Laravel or NodeJS backend
- API examples for pulling live location and showing on your site
- Help setting up or customizing Traccar
- Integration strategy with your partner dashboard