Parking can generally be a drag for everyone. But when your livelihood as a truck driver depends on being able to find a space to sleep and be safe on a regular basis, it’s much more crucial.
Reliance Partners (Reliance), a U.S. insurance company, is taking steps to encourage driver well-being, safety, and payload security among commercial fleet drivers by partnering with TruckPark to explore how parking reservations can help improve truck driver rest quality and increase overall operational safety.
It comes on the heels of concerning data regarding sleep deprivation and truckers, with fatalities up nearly 5 percent from 2018.
“Our platform tracks the real-time availability of reservable parking in our partner locations,” Cokey Ellerbe, VP of strategy for TruckPark, told Fleet Owner. “We’re certain this will help drivers be more productive, reduce their stress and not waste their valuable time running through parking locations and truck stops searching for space that’s not there.
“Truck operators are used to managing every aspect of their trip experience from the palm of their hands. Simplified parking should be no different.”
With the TruckPark app, a trucker can book a parking reservation as much as 12 months in advance. He or she can use the app to find a location and book and pay for a reservation, in 30 seconds, get directions from the app and drive straight to a parking spot.
The cost is about $15 per reservation, for an average of 12 hours.
“Paid parking isn’t just parking, it’s exactly what many drivers are looking for ... safe parking,” Anthony Petitte, TruckPark CEO told Fleet Owner. “It benefits the trucker who needs a sound night’s rest and the carrier who needs to know their load won’t be vandalized or stolen.”
There are thousands of reservable parking spots at partner lots, according to TruckPark. “We are adding to the supply each day as we add to the supply of users,” said Petitte. “Our model is a two-sided market, like UBER or Airbnb, where users are on one side and supply is on the other. Our supply comes from a variety of places, like truck stops, travel plazas, commercial facilities, repair shops, and private truck parking lots, and we are working to expand it every day.”
“We’re confident that providing our members with solutions like TruckPark’s app-based parking reservation platform will help our members improve safety on the roadways by improving the quality of driver rest standards within their fleets,” said Reliance President Chad Eichelberger.
