DALLAS — According to a new Trucker Path survey of 500 truck drivers, abundant parking is the top amenity they look for at truck stops.
A total of 441 respondents (86,3%) chose parking, followed by clean showers (67.5%), an on-site restaurant (46.6%) and healthy/fresh food availability (40.7%).
Next came 24/7 truck maintenance service at 29.2%, followed by high-speed diesel pumps at 27%.
A total of 21.9% of respondents wanted Wi-Fi services, followed by laundry (20%), driver lounge area (14.9%), pet friendly environment (13.5%) gym/fitness facilities (10.6%), on-site security guard (10%) and self-service checkout (8.6%).
Truck parking has been in the headlines for a while now and is considered one of the industry’s biggest headaches.
“This is the No. 1 issue that the professional truck driver has out there,” said Dave Heller, senior vice president of government affairs and safety at the Truckload Carriers Association.
Heller also noted that a typical driver, on average, loses $5,000 annually due to time and fuel lost finding parking.
“We’ve made some headway recently,” Heller said. “There is a bill on Capitol Hill, two bills actually — House Bill 2367 and Senate Bill 1035 — that call for $755 million over three years to address the issue. Working with our lobbyists on Capitol Hill, we’re probably about five to six co-sponsors away from actually getting something moving on truck parking that would really make a difference.”
The U.S. Department of Transportation just announced more than $300 million to address the national truck parking crisis, so some headway is being made.
Born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and raised in East Texas, John Worthen returned to his home state to attend college in 1998 and decided to make his life in The Natural State. Worthen is a 20-year veteran of the journalism industry and has covered just about every topic there is. He has a passion for writing and telling stories. He has worked as a beat reporter and bureau chief for a statewide newspaper and as managing editor of a regional newspaper in Arkansas. Additionally, Worthen has been a prolific freelance journalist for two decades, and has been published in several travel magazines and on travel websites.
I couldn’t agree more on the parking issue. that is a HUGE problem!
My next beef would be CLEAN SHOWERS!! and I’m not taking about these truck stop employees going in and wiping everything dry with a towel. these showers must be disinfected to kill germs! How serious is this issue? My son to whom I Co drive with, picked up a nasty skin rash that started on his legs and now spread to his whole body. he’s now back in the hospital being pumped with antibiotics and it’s like a flesh eating bacteria. Twice now he’s been the hospital losing work because of the infection and can’t drive.
So these truck stops need to really disinfect these showers in between drivers.