There is a truck parking crisis in the United States, and Congress is poised to take action on solving it. Legislation aimed at expanding truck parking facilities throughout the US was approved by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and will advance to the House floor. The Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act provides $755 million in competitive grants over four years (2023-2026) to expand truck parking capacity. Both the American Trucking Associations (ATA) and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) support the legislation.
“The availability of safe and secure truck parking is not just a challenge for current drivers, it is a barrier our industry must overcome in attracting new drivers, particularly women,” ATA President and CEO Chris Spear said. “Solving it won’t just help today’s industry. It will go a long way toward helping trucking recruit and attract a more diverse workforce.” Some states such as Washington have taken it upon themselves to find solutions, but federal action is needed. On average, drivers spend nearly an hour, 56 minutes every day looking for parking, which costs them a loss of $5,500 in annual compensation and creates inefficiencies throughout the supply chain.
The bill was amended to specify that funds cannot be used for electric vehicles or EV charging. After truck parking was removed from the bipartisan infrastructure package combining truck parking with EV charging was seen as a creative solution to the problem. Some states may wish to continue to go that way, but under the current House bill, eligible projects for funding include building additional parking capacity adjacent to private commercial truck stops and travel plazas; within the boundaries of or adjacent to a publicly owned freight facility, including a port terminal a public authority operates; and at existing facilities, including inspection and weigh stations and park-and-ride locations.
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