Parsing the truck parking problem

Ivan Tsybaev, founder and CEO of mobile app TruckerPath, notes that finding safe truck parking for drivers is a critical issue plaguing the trucking industry – affecting driver earnings, safety, earnings and productivity, while also affecting fleet revenues. Based on his company’s data analysis, Tsybaev said “it’s nearly impossible for a driver to find parking within 45 minutes during evening hours.” (Photo: TruckerPath)

Based on TruckerPath’s analysis, many drivers lose an estimated 11 hours per month searching for truck parking, which amounts to around $600 in lost wages and additional loss of $60 in profit for the fleet. That’s about $8 millionin lost profits annually for a fleet of 1,000 drivers. TruckerPath also discovered that 79% of drivers it polled are forced to violate hours of service (HOS) rules because they could not find parking. (Photo: TruckerPath)

TruckerPath’s study noted that there is currently no standardized system for reserving truck parking spots either at truck stops or rest areas across the country. While some truck stops offer “pay to park” reservation systems, only 12% of the drivers polled by TruckerPath said their fleets cover the costs of parking reservations. In fact, 87% of the drivers surveyed by the company noted that their fleets don’t provide any parking recommendations to them whatsoever. (Photo: Seean Kilcarr/Fleet Owner)

Lack of truck parking or the ability to quickly find parking is cutting into driver productivity as well, noted TruckerPath, reducing available on-duty time for driving, making deliveries, refueling, etc. Some 61% of the drivers polled by TruckerPath said they start looking for parking an hour before their allotted HOS on-duty time expires, with 21% saying they spend over an hour doing so. (Photo: Sean Kilcarr/Fleet Owner)

About 89% of the drivers polled by TruckerPath said a lack of capacity is the main truck parking problem; there just aren’t enough spots. Some 21%, though, said lack of information about available truck parking spots is the main issue, while only 2% said there is no truck parking problem at all. (Photo: Sean Kilcarr/Fleet Owner)

If parking spots in truck stops or rest areas are not available, 74% of the drivers surveyed by TruckerPath said they park on the shoulders of highways, while 39% park on highway off ramps and 32% use retail store parking lots. Drivers are not big fans of paying for parking spots, either, with 55% of those polled by TruckerPath saying they would not pay to reserve a spot. Yet 19% said they would pay $10 to reserve parking, with 17% willing to pay $5 and 9% willing to fork over $20. (Photo: Sean Kilcarr/Fleet Owner)

The shortage of legal parking creates unsafe scenarios for drivers, with 85% of those polled by TruckerPath claiming to have parked in “unauthorized areas” to avoid violating HOS rules. (Photo: Sean Kilcarr/Fleet Owner)

TruckerPath also found that 86% of the drivers it polled feel that government does not do enough to help cope with the parking issue. Government efforts such as Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery or “TIGER” grants provided $25 million in funding for truck parking information and management systems for eight states two years ago, but TruckerPath’s survey said results from that spending have proven “insufficient.” (Photo: Sean Kilcarr/Fleet Owner)

For the most part, the company’s survey found that drivers follow “best practices” when looking for truck parking, such as using technology for “advanced planning.” However, TruckerPath’s data indicates fleets could spend more effort to provide their drivers, especially new ones, with tools and advice to make finding parking easier. (Photo: Sean Kilcarr/Fleet Owner)