Speaking on a panel of industry experts at the National Association of Truck Stop Operators annual convention, a panelist noted that the parking shortage is taking thousands of dollars every year out of drivers’ pockets. But NATSO CEO Lisa Mullings, claims that the parking shortage is actually the fault of truckers.
On their website, NATSO says they represent over 1,700 truck stops nationwide. They describe themselves as advancing the success of travel plaza and truck stop owners “by delivering solutions to members’ challenges and achieving the public policy goals of the truckstop and travel plaza industry.” While their membership is not publicly available online, executives from top chains like Love’s, Pilot Flying J, and TCA sit on their board of directors.
At their annual conference held in Orlando earlier this month, a panel was held to explore “Changing Driver Needs” in the industry. As expected ELDs, HOS reform, infrastructure spending, and more were discussed. But given NATSO’s area of business, it’s no surprise that the topic of the parking shortage came up as well.
One of the panelists, ATRI Vice President of Research Dan Murray, shared some data on the impact of the shortage. According to ATRI, which is the research arm of the American Trucking Association, the average trucker spends about 56 minutes per day looking for parking.
“Basically, they’re not getting paid, it’s frustrating time and costs the average driver about $4,600 in direct lost compensation looking for truck parking,” Murray said according to Transport Topics. “It’s not just a safety and compliance issue; it’s an economic issue for some of these drivers, and our data shows for some of these drivers it’s the last nail in the coffin, and they’re out of here. It’s costing them time and money.”
But according to NATSO President and CEO Lisa Mullings, a lack of safe truck parking isn’t the fault of truck stop chains. She says if drivers would just pay for parking, the truck stop industry would make more parking spaces. Mullings claims that even if drivers have to pay to reserve a parking spot, that still ends up being less expensive than spending an hour a day looking for parking or parking in unsafe locations.
“I can guarantee you, the truck parking issue would be gone if people were willing to pay for it. It’s a cost of doing business that the truck stop industry has,” said Mullings.
Without drivers paying for parking, Mullings claims that there just aren’t enough incentives for the truck stop industry to make more parking available.
It’s not clear what incentives exactly Mullings was referring to. But in the past, NATSO has successfully lobbied lawmakers to introduce bills which would give companies significant tax breaks in exchange for opening rest areas with safe truck parking.
Source: gobytrucknews, ttnews, NATSO, NATSO, ttnews
Shogun says
When they asked Mullins how do truck stops manufacture more spaces on the land they have, she just stood there with a blank look. Then she said “well, I guess I didn’t think about it, huh?”
Everyone knows a lot of these truck stops put bare minimum parking. Come in, buy our over priced fuel, get some price gouged trinkets, then get out of here please.
Big Cajun says
That’s exactly right. It wasn’t too long ago, one of the higher-ups for Petro/TA actually had the backbone to come out and say it they way you just did. At the time I thought to myself, “well at least he’s honest about it”.
Tom Peacock says
That was the CEO for Pilot that said yhat
Scott says
The one in prison for gouging gas points?
Glenn Helmly says
The comment said the CEO of Pilot said that… first I don’t believe he said it and secondly and most importantly, he’s not in prison, nor was he ever implicated in the fuel rebate scam! #Fact
Daniel says
No it’s the number 2 guy Hazelwood and 14 other top Pilot executives that are in prison for mail fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy to the tune of $56 million dollars. They didn’t get Jimmy Haslam the CEO, Jimmy gave Hazelwood severance pay of $40 million. That’s why he’s not in jail. So next time you pay $15 bucks for parking your helping keep Jimmy out of jail.
Della Mason says
No the one in prison who cheated minority run trucking company’s on their fuel rebates. And the truth about parking is this: most truck stops are old. Their parking lots are the same as 20 years ago. Parking was never an issue prior to the ELD mandates. It has bottlenecked parking in the truck stops as now most drivers all stop within a 4 hr window and MUST sit for 8 to 18 hrs before they can legally move their rigs even 12 feet. So it’s not the drivers, their companies nor the truck stops who have caused this. The pay for parking is just an advantage taken by the truck stops and with decent cause. The longer drivers sit the more mess they make and then leave behind. Those parking fees usually pay for extra janitorial staff to keep standards.
Marc says
No, it said she is the president of NATSO.
Aaron Deshane says
Loves is buying land around there stores to expand no excuse
Viking says
Here’s honesty for you.. I fuel up– and I go park in any open hole I can find– I don’t care if it’s a pay to stay or not…I eat what’s in my fridge, and I go to bed… I’ve been doing this since the pay to stay asshattery started.. I’ve never payed– I’ll NEVER PAY… And only twice in as many years has anyone ever knocked on my door… If I’m told I must pay– I inform them that it’s ( my policy ) not to pay extortion.. and I say I’ll just leave… I had one fella– who appeared to be intelligent enough to feel pain and string 3 word sentences together, tell me he wasn’t going to let me leave… I looked him directly in the eye, and said, are you attempting to deny me my constitutional right to travel unimpeded… And do you have the power to detain me against my will?? AND,,, I reminded him that by offering services and goods to the public– it could be said that a no strings attached invitation was made to the public to come onto the property… His reply was ,go on,. Beat it.. so I left– I went out the out gate back in the in gate and right into a free space I spotted while I was mind boggling the lot guard Mensa member… If they want to turn their parking lot slots out like trick’s on a street corner… Then I wanna be kissed first.. as for paying for parking at truck stops goes–its just wrong.. you know it.. they know it.. we all know it…. When you go to a mechanic to get your car fixed you pay for parts and labor and diagnosis..you don’t have to pay a (tool fee).. we pay for fuel and food and groceries and such… Why the hell would we ever pay to park… God help us if grocery stores ever adopted this idiotic policy… BTW,, I hate (policy’s) every self important entity has one. Have y’all noticed. It’s an unfare trade practice.. treat it as such.. it’s a gouge… it’s right up there with big shippers not having segmented scales on site.. it shouldn’t be the driver’s responsibility to make sure that the load is legal after he’s left the shipper… The shipper should be responsible to be within the legally posted weight limits imposed by Dot .. but we all know that’s never going to happen… And here’s why– if you removed the burden of responsibility from the driver’s shoulders.. they would loose revenue.. and a discretionary reason to pull you in for a deeper look see…not to mention that the scale manufacturer would loose there Mind .
It’s all about revenue.. not safety… Do you think for 5 seconds that any of them care about safety?? The only thing that they’re safe guarding. Is the all mighty $$$$$$$
Nuff said..
Bill Hazlip says
I totally agree with what you said. I WILL NOT EVER PAY TO PARK ANYWHERE!! That’s why I either stay at Loves or some mom and pops truck stop.
Richie Rich says
👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀 wow
Fawn Marie Linschoten-Gammelgard says
You pinned it!
Steve says
That’s a fact. You pay for fuel, you overpay for products in the store, food, drinks, etc. then you have to pay for parking. I had to pay $17.00 at the T/A in Franklin, Tn. last week. And it was nowhere near a level spot. And as far as expanding the parking area? Most fuel stops buy a little corner piece of property right at an exit for maximum exposure. Great idea for selling fuel etc. but where do they think they will expand to? Build overhead parking I suppose.
Jim says
It used to be 20 years ago these people wanted you to come in, park, eat and make this your home for the night. I agree what people are saying, get your fuel, your fast food and leave. Truckers throwing trash out isn’t helping. And please check the records about the pilot trying to scam the drivers on there driver rewards points. God bless and be safe, I trucked when it was fun.
Bill Hazlip says
I was told by a general manager at a pilot all they wanted you to do is fuel shower get whatever food you are going to get and leave they’re parking lot.
Ian says
Until someone runs into a pillar and it collapses, then it becomes a rescue and recovery situation.
Shar says
Exactly!
jesie j says
first a long time ago diesel was like 30 cents a gallon we fueled up free meals if you put in certain amount s&h green stamps top value stamps free coffee if you put in a certain amount a free coke now it’s like these modern day tourist traps are milking the truck drivers to death don’t get me wrong a few are trying to help us out the quick star quick trips in Minnesota Iowa and Wisconsin we get decent price’s on a lot of stuff
Dave says
I can remember when diesel was about 15 cents a gallon and the coffee was on the house.
Come to think of it roads were a lot better, in most cases, back then too with a lot less regulation and more brains being exercised by the public, politicians and DRIVERS!!
Jeff says
And what ever happened to a decent resterant at the truck stops. Everything is fast food and over priced. Not good food for a driver. Everything is mcdonalds or hardees.
Paul Bazydlo says
Thank the 14 hour rule for the sit down home cooking restaurants going away. Many drivers no longer have time to sit down and have a good meal during the 14 hour running clock. They grab something in a sack and are back pounding the pavement. Can’t blame the truck stops for catering to what the FMCSA has turned trucking into. A race to beat the clock.
Jack Bough says
Any small cafe or coffee shop can serve a good breakfast and dinner for much less than $17 plus. There is no reason truckstops can’t do it anymore.
mousekiller says
The profit margin was not high enough so they dumped the sit down eating. but , over time drivers became hoodlums and disrespectful to their property .It was more than one or two things. but we all know how it has been going last 25 years.
dennis brown says
anytime I have asked the t/s’s about that, they all give the same response, “that’s what the drivers want, quick in and out.” then t/a is going around closing productive country prides saying the same thing then I am only one person and when I say, “well….they want fast food, remember there are just as many of us that want a HEALTHY, REAL, SIT DOWN, HOT MEAL WITH A FRESH SALAD….put in the fast food garbage, but leave the full service restaurants alone….”look at the t/a in santa rosa nm…they closed the restaurant that was always hopping whenever I was there and said, not doing enough business…what the hell do they want every seat at every table filled??? that will only happen if the roads are closed and drivers are forced to stay put 24 hours or more….but the popeyes they put in takes up a good bit of the old restaurant….waste of good space there….
Robert E Rosser says
You drove in 1929? When diesel was at its cheapest average of .17 cents a gallon
Makk says
No 68-69
Undertaker53 says
Kwik trips have my business now. 8.00 showers and of course free w fuel purchase. Prices r fairly resonable. 14.00 dollar showers and 18.00 parking spots did it for me. I do not spend any money at the big 4 unless it benefits me!! Screw em!!
Larry Smith says
I use truck stops for fuel and showers, that’s it. Screw them and their paid parking, packing trucks in like sardines, and catering to people buying gas in cars more than trucks. When was the last time you saw a billboard two miles from an exit starting diesel prices, but you see them all the time showing gas prices.
I stopped at a TA truck stop last year for Thanksgiving to eat. I didn’t because there was a line of about 20 people from the local area waiting for a table. When I asked if truck drivers get to go to the front of the line or if they have seating area for truckers they said ” no, you wait in line like everyone else”
My parking is done at rest areas, Wal Marts, and other major chain stores who allows truck parking. I can get sleep without having to worry about someone backing into my truck.
The group of people saying its truckers fault for parking because we need to pay for it should have a percentage added on to everything they buy because, guess what, a trucker brought it to them.
And, dont get me started on this but, if every truck would promise to shut down for two weeks, it would change. Drivers tell me all the time ” I cant afford to shut down for two weeks “. Well your working or leased to the wrong company! I shut down for a month every year to attend a major car show every year. Plus I take off for other minor shows during the year. And I am on owner operator with a W9L and a $97,000.00 trailer. So dont think I have cheap equipment.
John LeClair says
Quick trip is nothing to brag about. Big political donors in Wisconsin also. They donate to the bad guys like Walker and his cronies.
Jay says
Did ya catch it?
Brian says
I remember when 76 gave you a free steak dinner if you bought 125 gallons of diesel fuel..
Scott Geers says
Well I’m already paying a premium for anything I buy at a TRUCK STOP that really caters to cars. 500 a day for fuel should get you a place to park. Shut down the trucks shut down America. Truck stops should pay trucks to park.
Bullzeye says
April 12 we shut it down.
Orland says
In the land of the free nothing is free
Allen says
Who said it was “free” parking – you purchased fuel there, maybe went to the shop and had work done, did you pay for the overpriced fast food or restaurant meals? What about the overpriced food and other items in the C store?
This is just stupidity combined with greed and the driver is getting screwed.
I don’t see feight rates going up to cover the increased costs of operations; if anything they’re creeping down and projected to remain flat in 2019 – EVEN though we’re supposedly in the middle of an economic boom.
“FREE PARKING” IS JUST A LIE – it’s calculated in their cost of doing business. That’s why that fast food meal is $2-3 cheaper at a non-truck stop location. The SAME, EXACT bottle of washer fluid is $1-2 dollars cheaper at the store than a truck stop.
Look at the truck stop price for bathroom accessories, ramon noodles, tuna fish, etc. Way more than the store.
Don’t pack your bags for the guilt and shame trip these greedy, clueless jerks are trying to send you on – you and everyone else pays for that parking spot. Only the foolish or desperate pay for it twice with reserved parking.
If a truck stop has 20 per cent or more of their parking slotted as paid/reserved I don’t stop- I take my business down the road. It’s tougher as a company driver, but I was able to do it most of the time with some planning.
Some of these places deserve to go out of business.
Shar says
I wouldn’t pay either. They tried that in Atlanta and Texas years ago. In Atlanta I just said no. In Texas I was happy for the security and still had my tires on the truck when I woke up.
Greg says
Stop at RT66 or CP Food N Fuel in Joliet. No reserved parking or paid parking here.
Jay says
I’ve noticed the Petro in Effingham, IL is more like 50% pay parking. I used to get my oil changed there but not anymore. I go across the street to Joe’s Lube. He is much faster and does good job. Petrol don’t get any of my money anymore, simply because of the pay parking.
Amy Vaughns says
I so agree with you i cant afford to pay for parking every day….
Truckin Kathy says
I already have to pay almost $1400 a year just to have a spot to park when I go home. Now I’m supposed to pay for every night that I’m gone as well??? I don’t think so…
Robert E Rosser says
In Wheeling West Virginia it’s over fifty percent paid parking and the lot is one big pothole. TA is the lowest, dirtiest, cheapest of the corporate giants in the truck stop industry. I only stop if there is no other truck stops available. If some was smart they would cater to the truck drivers and steal away the business of these corporate giants.
David Ford says
I totally agree allen, i usually dont stop at ta or petro cuz most of their parking is paid parking, screw the truck stops that charge for parking, i guess $400 a day on fuel isnt enuf
Bigwave says
That’s why I prefer Loves truck stop. First come first serve on parking. I have not seen one loves that has paid or reserved parking.
Shamus P. Cella says
You are 100% RIGHT with everything you said towards operation cost and price gouging. TA/PETRO is so poorly managed, they are doing away with their full service restaurants. The prices in C stores are out of hand. Paying xtra for convenience factors.
I pay quite a bit for “RESERVED” parking only for the convenience factor ( also single guy with no rent/mortgage ), but ya, that’s a racquet as well. States allocating funds for the repair/building of REST AREAS are falling to the wayside any more. Ever since deregulation, it’s been a slow spiral of despair for this industry. Like everything else our govt touch’s, go’s to mis management. Lobbbiest and special interest lining the pockets of Mia informed politicians and large scale trucking CEO’s who try to force out the independents and Ma and Pop trucking out fits. It’s a big heaping pile of dog doo, top to bottom !!
Rod says
Everything’s for sale or can be bought yes think if all owner-ops got together and half the independents they may grab few players on that capital hill.
Helen Corbett says
I believe we already pay enough for fuel and their over priced food and goods. Paying for a place to park I want do. It’s not bad enough the states are closing all the rest areas. We pay enough fuel taxes.
Sharon K Williams says
Amen driver. Amen. The bottom line here is greed.
Allen Donaldson says
Winner.
John Garrison says
Very accurately put! I can not believe the drivers that pay for these reserved parking spots!! It makes me want to vomit! All they are doing is empowering these places to keep ripping us off! If they would quit paying for parking spots that bs would go away!! What’s next fuel pump rental on top of high fuel prices??!!
Ayisha says
Do you really think we can afford or WANT to pay for parking after they gouge the crap out of us. Sometimes we don’t have a choice. I’m an O/O but the company I lease to has very strict safety regulations as to where we are allowed to park our own vehicles. When that clocks running down and everything is full or closed (rest areas) we are forced to pay for parking. At least pilot/flying j let’s us use points to pay for parking. And you can get a half decent meal at Denny’s if they’ve got one.
Craig says
I agree, you buy fuel, food, drink, etc. I felt buying their goods was enough for a parking spot. I finally got tired of the pay for parking crap and retired.
LadyWolf says
I pay for sports when I am trying to push out as far as I can go….my company absolutely will not allow us to go over our hours so I pay so I can drive all my hours
chris says
yes!!!
Edward says
Do something and join black smoke matters
Turbobandit says
I smile every time somebody uses “greedy” to speak of a business. Try opening one yourself, investing seventeen million for a modest land and building, thirty employees, security, theft prevention, hazmat teams to pick up cum rags and piss cups. Personnel to get oil and fuel up from leaking trucks, an EPA treatment facility to prevent said oil and fuel from contamination of your and adjacent land.
You have no idea the money it takes daily to run a quality truck stop. If truckstops could be priced like Walmart, they would be. Greedy indeed!
Go to a group of investors or a bank with your business model of 15 cents per gallon and a 20% markup on accessory’s and see how many beat each other up to loan you the money.
Truckin Kathy says
I think you’re way off on that 20% markup, aren’t you?
dennis brown says
yes…..20% is way LOW…..I bought a clearance light for my truck from the dealer…pd $13…a few days later needed another identical light….same light in t/a lake station Indiana was $32…so yes….20% is waaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyy the hell low
Rick says
Clean up oil at the pump’s, that’s a joke to me. I slipped and fell because of oil being on the ground in 2012 at the TA in Matthew Missouri and took out my ACL in my left knee, was off work for 7 months and had to leave my truck there, because I was disqualified from driving. If the bank had not worked with me I would of lost everything that I owned. I should of sued them, but I didn’t, because I m not sue happy.
Kirk says
Let’s do the math before tooting our horns. What is the profit margin on all goods and services provided by truck stops? Obviously this is well written by either a business operator, employee or family member. However after the dust settles from the smoke screen of words, the truck stops clear approximately $4-500,000 per site per year after operating costs. Is it the truck stops cost of doing business to do the work you’ve discussed? Unfortunately there are way too many disgruntled drivers that cause issues from their frustration, so why not address the drivers issues so you won’t be spending income towards fixing problems drivers create instead?
Charles says
I like how they charge $4 and some change for one roll of shop towels and you go in Walmart and get the same damn shop towels 2 for $3,and New Jersey truck stops they think their stuff is dipped in 24 karat gold they charge triple for their items I can’t stand it always said someone really needs to advocate for the truck driver
Nicolas D. says
This right here. You look at the “top 5” financial results and they really don’t have to worry about their well-lined pockets. They monetize parking very well already.
Allen Howle says
Its all about the dollar, they will find another way of making profit. What will it be next? I never pay for parking, I will find me a place to park. I don’t even know what it cost, today I will find out though. I think if people stopped paying for parking, do you think if that would stop. That would be funny to see a lot of empty spots for reserve ones. Park anywhere you can except reserve ones. They would not like if they had to go out every night telling people to move your truck
Big Cajun says
“Nevermind that we’re pumping YOUR natural resources out of the ground and marking them up as much as 60%, selling them back to you, and lining our pockets with $billions quarterly. We want you to give us even “more” money to provide parking.
With love,
The corporate tumors who are slowly siphoning away your business, hometime, and ability to retire before the age of 83.”
TexasJester says
Actually, most truck stops and gas stations make no more than 15-20¢ per gallon – the federal government gets more than that in taxes.
Geoffrey Emery says
Get your facts right. When there is a 30 cent per gallon jump between a loves and the gas station across the street it’s not taxes. Even if you buy from an independent it’s usually 15-20 cents cheaper than the chains. Fuel is taxed the same for all retailers truck pay through IFTA. IT’S PRICE GAUGING.
mousekiller says
Not completely true. If the gas station or trucks stop has a contract with the corporation like Exon or shell or the like they may be charged for using their products with a raise in price to compensated for the added cost . That’show Texaco did it to the gas stations I delivered to.
Allen Howle says
That’s right, I only buy at Loves, because I get another .16 off a gallon. Then I only get 50 gallons so I can get a shower every other day and a coffee every day. Then I buy fuel where its about .30 less. I always use my credit card which I get another .10. Some of the other truck stops have credit/cash same amount. Its all about planning, I buy 99% of my supplies at Walmart, and that includes oils and antifreeze. Most of us have refrigerators and freezer in our trucks. And Walmart, well most are truck friendly. Stop buying their stuff, then see what happens. They will be in a hurt, can you imagine if all we got was 50 gallons of fuel and a free shower. Well that’s what I do, and I park there for free 99 % of the time. There is always a Walmart to park at. Then pick up a few supplies and they have bathrooms there.
Rod says
True now times that millions over and I’m not even going to mention other end, hint 4 wheels.
Jackie j says
If a truck stop sells a million gallons of fuel a week at $0.18 per gallon profits
He would have made 18,000.000.00
In a week…so free parking can be done
David Jones says
Actually, that would be $180000.00.
Charles says
I hear that but I’ll believe it when I own my own gas station and see it for myself plus if it were true how many gallons of fuel do you get in a month that adds up
Mark says
I am an independent operator and drive for 1 company. I have gotten as much as an 80 cent per gallon discount. They can’t give discounts like that if they only have a 15 or 20 cent margin.
Jay says
Mark,
If you drive for a company other than your own you are NOT an “operator”. You are only a contractor. Granted, you may own the truck but then only if it’s registered in your personal name. There are very few actual owner/operators left today. The majority of folks who call themselves one usually have no idea what it really takes to be one. Must be the actual owner of the vehicle and the actual holder of the “operating authority” which is granted by the federal government. Can’t be an operator without this authority. If another company’s name and D.O.T. number is on your truck you are NOT the operator! I so wish this term would stop being so misused.
j.bacon says
I agree. the term “owner/operator” means your an independant business man/woman, who makes ALL decisions for his/her company. These business men/women should be given the respect they earn, and desirve.
dennis brown says
that’s way to much profit on gas or diesel….the oil companies only make 4-5% profit after ALL EXPENSES ARE COVERED….production, research, shipping, advertising, etc
chris says
yes!@
Rod says
Money just doesn’t spring back in the pockets of the ones it has to jump out of so fast 🤔🤔
T's Lady says
Well said! Thank you.
Brandon says
Who told you that? You’ve obviously never worked at a truck stop. Places like PFJ or Loves make about 4 cents per gallon on fuel. Barely enough to cover transportation costs. They make their money on the stuff sold from the store itself. The fuel is just used to get the truckers into the store. They make mega profit at the soda fountain.
Jay says
Brandon, you are so right. Why do you think the pumps are most always out of receipt paper? They want you IN THAT STORE!
tina says
you no what lisa needs to learn what ii is to be out here trying find parking spots.IF THEY ALL HAD TO BE IN THESE TRUCKS EVERY DAY they would all change there mind.. lisa get some dam knowledge
Marion D. Hunt says
I would like for her to explain the parking situation in and around Baltimore and DC, where the only parking you can find IS paid parking, and there is never enough spaces.
kc says
To that point that’s why I never go up to that area. Let the selves go empty.
Scott says
Amen to that brother!!
Scott says
I was at the TA just south of Nashville, Tn a few weeks ago. I bought fuel for the truck, the reffer and def. Had the oil changed in my truck bought a set of stears and had my trailer breaks checked. They still had the nerve to tell me I had to pay for parking!?! I also ate breakfast in the restaurant and bought burger king for lunch…. I will NEVER go there again….
chris says
yes!!
Ol Joe says
I have been saying that for sixty years. Empty cash registers will change attitudes. Starve them out. Hell it’s not that hard to gather supplies at the Dollar store and fuel at the next place.
Connie Bailey says
Atlanta, Georgia TA/Petro charged me $25 just to park in their Overcrowded Parking Lot for my 10-hour Break. I won’t go to Atlanta, Georgia anymore because of the Lack of Parking and Price Gouging.
Cathy says
Laughable.
Most large corporation truck stops nationwide are horrible.
Dirty.. no upgrades.. disgusting overpriced food.. unhealthy choices.. showers that cost as much as a reserved space.. …and foul and disgusting.
I know some really small places that truly honor and are theyre like Olden days for the truckers..TA.. PETRO ..PILOT.. largely are not.
Loves is cleaner and offers more incentives but not ample enough and has terrible food choices.
There’s never enough parking.. period. Truckers have become largely unwelcome in most states.
And the new breed of driver is largely an embarrassment to both sides.
I look for out of the way old school places.. …and will gladly pay if there’s something worth paying for.
Enough said.
It’s safer and cleaner elsewhere.
Shar says
They don’t want you there. It’s so expensive to have property there that they need revenue however they can get it. It’s like the government–it’s never enough money. At least with pay to park, everyone is chipping in to the cost of doing business on the east coast. My company reimbursed me for parking there and in Texas.
Sharon K Williams says
Yes, your company paid as mine does. But it comes with a cost…your next raise is further and further away.
Derrick says
Count yourself lucky, I’ve never been reimbursed for paid parking.
Matthew Shanks says
Anytime I ever reserved a spot ahead of time knowing peak time parking was coming or desperation time, I was always reimbursed…a lot of good points on this topic, but why should pay parking fall on drivers! It’s obviously trending up and is 100% a Trucking expense and should be reimbursed, but not abused…#SafeTravelsAll
Edward says
Only a fool would go to the east coast for their overpriced junk
Antony A Baver says
Exactly. I should now pay for parking at a place that charges higher prices on all merchandise and food? It’s not like I can pull into a decent restaurant or many other places.
John says
Theses truck stops are making their money of of the pumps, stores, and restaurants. But drivers need to ALSO pay for parking? This woman is completely out of her mind.
Scott says
Wow, the same attitude as others,they all seem to think trucking has bottomless pockets and cards with no limits.Would really like to see her hand someone over $10-$20 every night before she laided her head on a pillow!
Matthew Shanks says
👍
Kevin says
If truck stops would clamp down on dropped trailors and people that live in the area take there trucks home Fargo flying is one of the worst along with troutdale ore ta
Matthew Shanks says
Bobtails taking up a whole spot, where sometimes 3 could fit, or even parking over in the gas side as well
dennis brown says
another sore subject….complain all the time about dropped trailers ESPECIALLY over weekends with drivers living near the t/s bobtailing home, MANY times parking in the front spots, disrespecting the drivers on the road over the weekends that need places to park…its in and out of each ear…management says nothing… when I’m home, I don’t bring a trailer if I can avoid it….but if I do, I have a place behind a local shopping center…never tampered with and no drivers on the road are doing without parking…
Jedd Dojan says
You all shutdown 4/12/19. No fuel bought. No over priced food. No paying for parking.
I just have to say Mulling, Pheeeeeeeeeew, it’s all about your revenue.
Rod says
Let all o/o take the same day off and the government will let you know that it is illegal and force you back to work or out.
dennis brown says
if my dr releases me back to work around that time, maybe I’ll just stay home an extra day or 2….what difference will it make??? I’ve been here since mid oct when 4 wheeler cut my motorcycle off in deland florida as I headed to biketoberfest in daytona
Junior Brown says
The government introduced Eld never think about where driver should Park closing down rest areas especially and I-95 truck stops are charging us for a parking when you have no hours to drive they don’t even want to see you on their premises if you can find any park so who is there to represent drivers everyone just talk talk talk no solution
Roland says
ELD didn’t cause the parking shortage. HOS are the same whether ELD or Paper. The difference is that drivers with paper logs refuse to log legally and always cheat the time. Dishonest drivers is what brought along the need for ELD. Drivers couldn’t be trusted to do it legally so the government had to do something.. ELD. I rarely have a problem finding parking because I plan my days and trips accordingly. I agree with you that east coast parking sucks, but I always find a spot if I stop each day around 5 pm. I start each again at 5 AM. Always a place to park, never been late with a load in 10 years. And I run ELD legally. 3000 miles a week and home on weekends. Bills are paid.
Donna says
Pay pay pay more digging into our pocket with no recovering these costs, especially now with the new tax law company drivers can’t claim expenses
Michael says
It’s just a matter of time before all truckstops charge for parking.
Bob says
That may be but it’s also a matter of time before there are too few driver’s and no products for you. Here is a great solution. Have all the trk companies have trk parking for all this and sell fuel and goods and screw the truck stops.
Owen Kovach says
Lisa Mullings obviously is not on our side comments like that are ridiculous. We spend 400/500 in fuel a day and at times we can’t even get a space to sit and eat a meal and we’re suppose to pay 13/15$ to park for an hour to eat or shower then another payment at the end of the day to sleep this country should realize why they have the necessities to live.
Jeanette M Stampo says
Seriously….blame it on the trucker’s?!!! Wait, wait, we pay for fuel, taxes, food, showers, more taxes, tolls, even more taxes AND loading fees, unloading fees, equipment fees, and the most important cost ….time away from our loved ones. But please please let’s charge for all parking … yeah let’s blame it on the truckers.
Donna says
Pay pay PAY.. more money out of pocket and no recovering these costs with the new tax law ..Expenses can no longer be claimed it’s only SHORT FORM for us
Rod says
Must be a company driver if you can’t take it off your taxes anymore
Marc says
If its a company driver and it was reimbursed by company, you could never take it as a deduction.
TruckerBuck says
Rod, company drivers can claim unreimbursed employee expenses
TruckerBuck says
You can use form 2106 for unreimbursed employee expenses…I think I have the form number right
Trishlm says
Reminds me of Idle air on the east coast back in early 2000. You pay to park and still charged 12.00 for a shower. Its all a big joke anymore, more federal regulations every year and the law boys always searching for a way to ticket the truckers while still trucking companies screw the drivers on pay.
kc says
This is why the big push for autonomous vehicles.
William Lyon says
The unintended consequence of that move will end up killing them in the end. Autonomous vehicles will ultimately not need a driver…. The driver ….that pays for everything they do. The ones they keep trying to monetize to death. What happens when truckers become an extinct breed? I wonder what happens to your business model and profitability then, hmmm?
Jay says
Would someone please enlighten me about these self-driving trucks? I can understand scientifically how it’s possible for a vehicle to track and maneuver itself along the highway but how does it pick out a fuel pump, refuel itself, park in a parking spot, and then pay for the fuel? Not trying to be funny here. I’m dead serious! And what about accidents? Does the truck fill out it’s own insurance form and accident report? What about inspections at the scales? Or they exempt from weigh stations and roadside inspections? Anyone remember “In The Year 2525”?
Lester says
Even if you get a free shower the truckstop takes it off their taxes as a business promotion.
Greg says
Quit acting like you should get everything for free cause your a truck driver. Go to college and get a real job. You are know different than a person collecting food stamps.
JH says
Go to College😂😂😂😂that’s funny, I make more in a year than most with a college degree. I don’t have any overpriced student loans to pay and I love my job. The doesn’t change though that we are getting gouged out here, and just remember the more trucking cost the more the price of your goods go up. Without truck drivers you would homeless, naked, and hungry. Truckers are the backbone of this country. If you got it a truck brought it, so give us the respect we deserve
Deann Shumaker says
Know should be spelled NO. Lol. You must be a college student. Lol.
If it wasn’t for the trucking industry this country would be screwed including yourself.
O/O and Trucking companies need to stick together and shut down for a week.
We know that will never happen. Only way the trucking business will be heard.
Rod says
Keep that in mind next time you go to the store. Everything in there was brought by a truck driver.
If everyone had a degree you might find yourself out of work.
Jay says
Absolutely the benefit of a government education!
Shar says
Trishlm: I remember that idle air thing. Those companies spent way too much money on that. They should have seen the light before investing in that. You could plug a phone in and talk to your family or watch TV. I thought it was before 2000 because I had a cell phone by 1995. Stupid waste of money.
Bucko says
Well said and all true.
Jackie j says
Got that 100% right
dennis brown says
idle air leased those spots from the t/s and was in business to provide a place to park with heat, a/c, phone, cable tv, and no idling of the truck…it started coming into business in the late 90s and early 2000s and still operates in some areas…big problem with them was when they put all that concrete around the support poles you lost up to 6 parking spaces on each row
John E Foote says
I would ask her if I pay for parking and there is no spots can I get my money back. These folks are already getting rich by jacking up fuel and want us to pay for parking what a joke.
Jerry says
She is just another fool that knows nothing.
Bird says
Spoken by someone who obviously stands to make money for saying that . what an idiot. So much more could be said but why waste the time when people won’t stand together any more.
Joe says
They already charge truckers a premium on fuel purchases, usually $.30 pg, not counting that everything they sell triples in price. And they want truckers to pay for parking……perhaps truckers need to avoid purchasing fuel with MS truck stops.
Jim martin says
Maybe Ms Lisa Mullings should be a comedian no that wouldn’t work what a joke maybe we should charge her for being stupid and stuck up seams to me that Mullings has no respect for working people especially truck drivers the people that keep America running I say let’s have the industry shut down now not in April it’s time to make this industry to get respect. These people don’t get it I guess on a shut down they will have the military driving doing the low priced wages that drivers get I don’t want to hear all this about pay increase .47 cents per mile advertising $86,000 to $90,000 per year I don’t see it and of coarse one or two drivers will show how dumb they are by this is not true I’ve been in this industry for over 30 years truckers let all this happened by not organizing so let the so called law makers and government use you as a puppet.
Jeff beyer says
You may not like what she is saying, but the trucking industry has been shifting the cost of terminals/parking to 3rd parties since deregulation began in 1980.
Time to pay the Piper. Let’s see how the Mega’s react to her comments
Stobby says
That is an excellent point!
Shar says
And as long as it’s the owners of the truck stops sitting on the boards listening without truck drivers being represented, nothing will fall the way of the driver.
Christopher Cunningham says
Amen
Rod says
They recently did ,a 6 month trainer 3 bunks in the truck 8 hour work day sweet some think what effects do you think is going to happen in this happen camp 😘😎🤣
Moses h says
As you said it started in the 80’s had nothing to do with mega. The biggest problem is that truck drivers are chicken, they won’t take the risk of loosing 2 days of getting the the trucks to stop from rolling in order to get some of government, dot rules and truck stops gouging. In 2-3days of a strike even the shippers will cave in. Capish.
Old Hand says
Simpler solution is to stop buying fuel, goods and services from any chain represented by these NATSO Nazis.
They’ve taken Truck Stop out of their names and replaced them with Travel Center, catering to the general public including RV owners taking our parking spots; Because you know there isn’t any RV restricted routes or RV restricted parking anywhere right?
Time to do a little lobbying ourselves.
STOP GOING TO TRAVEL CENTERS.
Only go to mom & pop old school Truck Stops.
Michael Shannon says
They always blame the truck driver we never had to pay for parking before ELD came out these truck stops pilot,loves and other truck stops know they can rape you on the paid parking to help their revenue and break the little guys out here trying to make a living i think it is all bull truck stops make millions off of drivers and companys per year parking should be free but no screw the little company as always
dennis brown says
what rock have you been under??? long before ELD came along many t/a, and petro’s had guard shacks at the entrance and exit…enter, get your fuel, eat and shower then be gone in less than 3 hours, NO charge…then t/a corporate quietly dropped from 3 to 2 hours and you cant fuel park eat and shower in 2 hours…but that fuel receipt gets you out the gate with no charge…
Jay says
Michael, I guess you never went to Ontario, Ca. in the ’80s or later. No paid parking before ELD? DAMN!!!
MrYowler says
Drivers often can’t spare the money for paid parking. The time is valuable, but since we are usually not paid for it anyway, it’s more affordable to waste the time than the money.
For most of us, these are not our vehicles. Let the carriers pay for parking, since they sent their lobbyists to push for the Hours of Service rules, and their dispatchers determine the delivery schedules which dictate the need to park the vehicles which belong to them. If they don’t like that solution, then let them lease or buy more yard space (along with bathroom and kitchen facilities) to permit us to park on property owned by the carriers creating the problem and owning the equipment.
Seriously – if the Department of Labor forced carriers to pay drivers by the hour, for every hour we spend in the truck, carriers would quickly find ways to get us home every night, with their trucks safely parked at the yard where we reported to work. Every part of the Hours of Service, parking, and driver shortage problem could be nearly immediately solved by enforcing the same fair wage labor law on carriers, as apply to nearly every other blue-collar job in the country.
Jim says
Well said Mr. Yowler
Donbhoytrucker says
You just described exactly the way the trucking industry is in Europe. Drivers paid by the hour. Drivers paid an overnight allowance when staying out on the road (to cover meals). Drivers EXPECTED to park in safe and secure truck parking area’s and are reimbursed the parking fees by their carrier.
And thats the law that makes that happen!!
John says
You hit the nail on the head sir. The only problem is with it would make sense. These morons running the show were never drivers.
Countrycuz666 says
I work for a company that reimburses me for my parking.
Find companies that are willing to do this and you will have less stress in your daily drive.
I do!
William says
I CONCUR
Juan says
I drive and deliver on a final mile route and getting paid by the hour is much better than pay per mile. I get guaranteed 40 hrs per week. The tough things are the I have to unload and FMCSA doesn’t require overtime pay. I do get paid for every hour, though.
George L Coleman says
If your so worried about being home every night why did you pick this profession
Kateryna says
George L , We need local drivers as well as OTR. Local drivers use the same highways and exits OTR drivers use, load/ unload by driver is work too…We just have different priorities. Your comment is agressive and sorry, stupid
Lester says
Hey George Coleman is that all you can add to the conversation. Everybody is not as great or knowledgeable as you. I will bow to your superiority. However I do tire of people that can only criticize others for things they themselvs are guilty of. Do you like to stay out for weeks at a time away from your family. Or do you not have a family?
MrYowler says
George, I’m not worried about getting home every night. I’m worried about being paid for the time that I spend away from home, and about being fairly compensated for the expenses that this industry imposes on me.
You can make the same argument about slavery. If you didn’t like it, why did you choose to be a slave?
People that are being treated unfairly, don’t choose it. Tgey are tricked into it, or they feel that their alternative options (if they have any), are worse. That does not mean that they deserve to be treated unfairly, any more than people who were enslaved deserve to be slaves.
If it helps you; the carrier that I work for dies pay me by the hour, and I do two two-day runs, each week. The nightbthat I’m away from home, the company pays for a decent hotel stay, at a place that we have an excellent relationship with – and my truck is relayed to another driver, who goes out and back, each day, and goes home each night, after bring the truck back to me at a company terminal yard.
It can be done, cost-effectively and efficiently – as illustrated by the fact that my carrier is doing it, and has been, for decades.
Stobby says
Here, here!!
Douglas Kirk says
If you want to be home every night you’re in the wrong line of work, moron.
You would need to have 5 times as many trucks to get one load across the country, because you would need to relay every 250 miles so the crybabies can be home every night
Eric Jamison says
If y’all would pay close attention, that’s seems to be what those idiots are pushing for, that way they can say “look how many jobs we’ve created so vote for me”.
Harvey Massey says
That’s the way we did it back in the 70’s, relayed frt across the country. We drove only daycabs and layovers in motels
MrYowler says
Douglas, it’s true that you need more *drivers* – we actually share the trucks, so that instead of idling in a paid parking spot at a truck stop, the truck is rolling down the road and producing revenue. But with the extra drivers comes extra load capacity, which further adds to the revenue earned, since our resulting fleet efficiency leads to lower costs, and therefore the ability to profitably take cheaper loads – and consequently, we are more easily able to find freight with which to keep our trucks moving, maintaining this cycle of efficiency, productivity, and profitability… all while competitively and fairly compensating the drivers.
Because this model keeps the trucks rolling, we actually need *less* rolling stock. Drivers are still only able to move freight as fast as the law and conditions allow, so it takes about the same number of drivers to move tge same amount of freight. It just that this way, drivers get paid more and get home for more off-duty time.
Goodness forbid, right? 😛
LazyBastard says
Lol, how do you think FedEx and UPS work?
Jay says
Douglas, If you think it would take 5 times as many trucks to cover the same freight movement then you, my friend, are the moron! If you didn’t switch trucks in route you would simply just pass each other and keep going. Either way, the same number of trucks are covering the same number of miles. So many different ways to arrive at the same conclusion in this business it’s mind-blowing!
Michael Nichols says
Nicely done sir. I was told by a large ts chain manager that the reason for 200per. markup in their c- store is because they provide a parking spot, dose anyone believe they will lower prices if a driver pays for parking?
Shar says
I love the hourly pay idea. I also think carriers should be forced to pay for tolls as well.
Lester says
Shar are you paying tolls on a company truck? If so change jobs. If you are a OO don’t haul a load that doesn’t pay enough to recoup those tolls. Not intending to insult you but sounds like you are fairly new to trucking.
Bird says
There supposed to pay if its their truck . your getting screwed out of your own money. Go see a labor lawyer. I am.
Marc says
Unless they are like some companies where they route you 100 miles out of the way on a 300 mile run just to avoid tolls. In which case I would also e looking for a better company.
Don says
First off you must understand the hours of service. The n the history of the trucking industry to blindly make assumptions. IF you were paid by the hour productivity would decrease. I know by what logic is this? Most drivers are lazy to begin with. Don’t believe it? What did most do before trucking? L9k at the bags and bottles they can’t even walk to the garbage. Look at the parking as close to or on the fuel islands. Just to start. Secondly paid parking is nothing new, if you think that paying by the hour would get you home every night would work, the amount of time and effort to arrange these drivers to arrive minus weather and traffic on these runs would become less efficient and cost more money. And I’ll end with this, the fmcsa nor hours of service or even getting paid hourly without overtime only gets dictated by the nlrb. Which has been passed along by every president to keep you getting paid by the mile to remain more productive. Getting paid hourly or even overtime is up to the carrier. Now if you push for this you will get a nice 40 hour work week for say $18.00 an hour. Your complaints sound good in theory but the second it gets implemented you have successfully screwed yourself due to competition. Have a nice day
MrYowler says
Don, if the core of your argument is that truck drivers are lazy, then I suspect that you are making the argument to the wrong group. It’s true that it is not a job with a high level of physical activity, but that isn’t a matter of chouce for the drivers; it’s the nature of the work.
If you want to get rid of urine bottles, provide toilets. Make the profession desireable to professionals, and you won’t have to hire the desperate, or the culturally inept. When you ship people in from countries where indoor plumbing is not the norm, you get people who act accordingly. That may be disgusting to us, but it’s normal and reasonable to them – and after all, they *are* dealing in a familiar way, with similar living conditions.
The core of all of these problems remains unfair compensation. It is self-defeatist to compensate drivers based upon production, and then highly regulate that production on the premise of safety. If safety were really that imperative, carriers would put their money where their mouths are, and provide safe places to park (along with compensation not designed to encourage production at the expense of safety). They would maintain their equipment in good order, perform preventative equipment inspections without relying upon drivers to do those inspections for free, at at the expense of logbook hours in which they could be more productive by driving.
There are not a lot of blue-collar jobs in which the Federal government has determined that employees are so motivated to be productive, that they find it necessary to legislate to impede and penalize that employee motivation and productivity.
Even carriers (those that pay by the mile) make it a point, in recruitment advertising, to describe the number of miles that drivers can get each week, because tgey know that drivers often can’t get dispatched as much production as they would like to accomplish (and be paid for).
I don’t think that there are many of us who are worried about losing our jobs because the cost of fair compensation would price away demand for what we do. Carriers, industry organizations, and government all agree that there is a driver shortage, even if it does not seem to result in incentives to drivers. People still have to eat, and still need fuel, and other products. Freight will continue to move, or everyone starves. The only thing that changes is labor cost, which isn’t even the largest cost of moving freight – think equipment depreciation/maintenance, or fuel. As it is, costs continue to rise for drivers. The rest of the world can live with a corresponding rise in the labor cost of drivers – and should have been compensating drivers fairly, for decaded, already.
Think of the cost-savings represented by eliminating the need for all that safety and compliance enforcement, which would no longer be necessary, if drivers were no longer so driven to be productive that it led to violations. Think of the lives and medical/insurance cost savings.
All achieved by incentivizing carriers to treat drivers fairly, by compensating them for all time spent on the job – just like the rest of the blue-collar worker workforce.
Allen Donaldson says
The cost of doing business in trucking has slowly shifted to the drivers. Drivers even pay for their own equipment to operate.
Lease operators are rapidly becoming the norm in an industry that doesn’t value the drivers or their families.
DJ says
Spot on Mr Yowler.
James Strachan says
You are absolutely correct.
Jesse Truesdale says
Go to Phoenix where even the paid parking places are reserved for days at a time. You can’t hide stupid under lipstick or a tie.
Jim martin says
Why should I have to pay to park where you get garbage food poor conditions I see who does what at truck stops wasn’t they way when I started I keep a close watch on these so called truck drivers in which how do you get a CDL when you don’t speak the AMERICAN LANGUAGE THAT’S WHAT I WANT TO KNOW
Richard pierce says
We pay dearly for parking at truckstops look around at mom and pop prices we pay dearly for parking
Blake says
Here’s an idea, double the amount of rest areas in each state…
90% of the parking in the NE is paid, their fuel is higher, and the tolls are ridiculous. Guess who doesnt run the NE?
This guy, and many more like him.
Steve Harris says
I suggest we boycott Pilot retail stores and refuse to buy anything there until they promise to put in more parking spaces that would get their attention fast.
Tom says
The day I pay for parking my TRUCK in a TRUCK stop is the day I walk away from my TRUCK. I am writing this from a casino parking lot in New Mexico. I hate truck stops and what they have become. I would rather park in a spacious lot and use their clean restrooms than go to a place where trucks are packed in like sardines and you can tell when you’re getting close to the john just by the smell.
Joe Barilari says
How else would blind truck drivers find the batbroom?
Shar says
Oh no 🙈 you didn’t!
Eric Jamison says
Well get ready because when those SLOBS that start parking in there start throwing their trash on the ground like they did at the Walmarts they will eventually do something about it.
Bucko says
Gross but very true. At least we can keep away the R/Vers by being so gross.
Verl says
Like truckers don’t already have enough expense .Tolls just double on I-77
to over 40 dollars if truckers had to pay to park everywhere they go then the expense has to be past on. Like insurance cost going up the cost to maintain the truck is going up OVER 20,000 dollars to rebuild an engine.Do you think they see truckers coming or what .They all want your money but nobody has a clue how little is left when all the grabbers are done .They want trucks off the road they keep this stupid crap up they want have to worry.In the state of GA they have a petro that you must buy 12 to13 dollars worth of stuff or they want allow you to park period ,but at least you get something for your money these people already get your money when you stock up on food take a shower 9 dollars .
Jimmy schreiner says
Please it’s easy just make more safe haven parking lots for overnight parking trucks cars pickups anyway all people need a parking space to sleep when it’s time to sleep it’s better than everyone running off the dam hi way
Jay says
Every cloverleaf interchange should have a 25-space truck parking lot inside each leaf. We paid most of the cost of that property so why can’t we use it? Also, why do so many scale facilities prohibit over-night parking if safety is such an issue? Thumbs up to Ky. and their safe havens!
Chris says
It’s bad enough that drivers don’t get paid what we’re worth, and, then we have to buy a certain amount of fuel or spend a certain dollar amount in the truck stop just to park at a truckstop, but now he thinks we should all pay for reserved spots on top of that as well??? I get it, owning nland running a truckstop or travel plaza is expensive, but if you look at what the average driver spends at a truck stop you’d be surprised… most times its 50+ gallons of fuel, $10+ per meal, plus anything else at the c-store (usually $15-20). So your looking at $200-300 before the driver goes to bed, not including if the driver has to pay for the shower. Now multiply that by 100 drivers at a small chain truckstop every 14 hours or so and you’ll see, truck stops make a bit off of drivers.
Don says
What are you worth? Your job is classified as unskilled labor
Jimmy schreiner says
One more thing trash dumpster keep them everywhere it’s a great job for the trash industry to have a driving job to empty the dam things it’s better than trash on the ground in every state I drive threw it’s blowing all over Are UNITED STATES
James says
The only way they can provide more parking spaces on the land they have is to disassemble pumps to add the extra parking and they will not do that because that will cut out millions of dollars daily. Not only would it cost them millions it would also cause more backups at the pump causing more trucks to be on their property longer for fueling. Most people that work in the truck stops hate truck drivers as it is and that would make it worse because it would make the truckers even crankier because it will only cost us even more time and money. THE OVERALL MESSAGE HERE IS THAT THEY WILL NOT SPEND THE MONEY FOR MORE LAND THEREFORE THE TRUCK DRIVER IS NOT AS IMPORTANT AS THEY SAY AND “IT IS ALL ABOUT THE MONEY” IS ALL THEY CARE ABOUT. Truck drivers have always been what keeps this country rolling and always will be. That does not mean that anyone including the government gives a good damn about the truck driver nor our safety. The only thing truck stops and the government ( DPS, state government, etc..) see is the money we can give to them. Fuel cost, tolls, taxes of all sorts ( fuel tax, highway use tax), and the cost of fines for every little thing they can hit a truck driver with. As far as fines for violations (traffic or safety) can be avoided though if drivers would just do their jobs properly.
Fawn Marie Linschoten-Gammelgard says
Yes, more out of the driver’s pocket. Make way for the Ai… I spoke of this and rails when I first started driving trucks. The other side of the sword cuts our freedoms asunder. Please don’t fall on this NWO weapon.
Mary says
They are wanting you to pay to park, so they can make more pay parking spots. They are making lots of money from us as is with their fuel prices, and overcharge fast food, they should b able to make more spaces without any complaints. A bunch of RIP off creeps.
Joe2boltz says
I’m out here now 45 years. Things have never gotten better and kids, it’s not gona either.
Paul lovell says
I am with the guy that Parks out in Mexico at the casino these truck stops are so nasty high-priced nowhere to park you bring an oversized in it’s all over with,the state’s need to provide more acreage for big parking along the highways, even if it’s paid make it affordable. Or a tax deduction at the end of the year, but the rules have changed only an owner operator is allowed to write things off from my understanding…
BigRigDude says
So let’s get this straight, we’re the ones out there risking our lives, being away from our wives and families hence causing divorces. they severely underpay us while the ceo drives his Mercedes to work everyday and sits in his posh office. They price gouge us every day at the truckstops. They marked up the prices on laundry, food, shower, you even gotta pay a quarter to use the scale in the bathroom and now they want us to pay for parking?? I wonder why there’s a driver shortage.
Stephen Palmer says
A shill for the truck stop industry saying paying for parking is good! Whats new! I’m sure you drivers agree with her huh!
Shar says
Nope, I don’t. And that’s just one of the reasons I went local after 15 years.
Allen says
Just like everything else, blame it on the driver and screw them over – every wonder why there’s a 90-120 per cent annual turn over of drivers each year? Probably not, because they don’t care, nobody does in this industry.
The sad part is many of the people who shape and control the environment are clueless, greedy, and really don’t care – lawmakers, special intrests, business leaders, trucking companies,… It’s so hippo critical when they have “driver appreciation week” – what a load of BS!
Douglas Kirk says
Hippos aren’t known for being critical…..
If you meant hypocritical, then maybe so
Robert michalscheck says
K spelling bee ref,we knew what he meant,he aint “may be” right,he is right.
Pilgrim says
Metaphor went right over the head, his point was made.
Shar says
I’m quite certain the turnover has little to do with truck parking fee and more to do with someone telling you when to move, when to sleep and never paying you what you deserve for your wasted time.
Robert michalscheck says
So right,idiots always seem to be in charge of stuff,not just trucking,everything,that’s why everything is so bad,they laugh while they screw ya over.
Bucko says
This is so true, drivers appreciation week is totally for the office staff.they will be the only ones eating the free pizza as the drivers will be out making the money to pay for it.
Jay says
You’re wrong, Bucko. Driver appreciation week is only to make the ones promoting it feel good about themselves. That’s how they sleep for another 51 weeks without nightmares about screwing us!
Jerome Hoffman says
I can see by this women’s comments that she must have ridden on the short little bus. What a moron!!!! Some states recognizing the parking shortage are creating truck Driver parking for truckers only. I applaud their efforts!!!! While we’re at it how about truck driver only interstates so we don’t have to contend with these morons driving 4- wheelers who don’t signal , who cut off trucks , who when entering an interstate drive below the posted maximum some as much as 15-20 mph. They say that our training and experience she be equipped to deal with these novice drivers , I say we should all be treated as professional drivers and have the respect and professional courtesy to drive on the same road together. Let the autos know it’s not okay to talk on a phone , or text while operating any vehicle and also quit bunny hopping lanes you morons create the backups on roads . Sorry I got winded their, back to truck parking I think our governments should charge the mega truckstop companies more in taxes to pay for the additional parking needed. I spend far to much money in these holes that don’t have adequate parking for us truckers . It’s time that these truckstops pay to earn our respect and admiration again!!
Craig Bernhardt says
She rode on the short bus that was driven by my ex who is equally “special”
kc says
LOL
Douglas Kirk says
Well, Jerome, I’m sure truck-only roads will be built…..if you have enough money in the bank to pay for it. Where do you propose to put them? Will you just steal land alongside existing roads? Will feasible routes thru challenging geography suddenly appear? Drink another glass of your special Kool Aid and see if you can come up with any more practical ideas….
Jay says
Hey, the trains built their own roads. That seems to be working out pretty well. (Sorry, couldn’t resist)
Robert michalscheck says
You forgot to mention the moron truckers we have now to,too many.
Bucko says
Totally agree with you.
Bird says
Nailed it, spot on
Marc says
Yeah, our training and experience as professional drivers, yet at the same time they categorize us as unskilled labor. HA!
Tammy Monaghan says
How crazy, how about that we buy fuel, showers, food, any necessary items in your shops that sounds more like Monopoly to me. You know we don’t have many choices to pull in so stick it to the drivers makes sense! Sounds like a bunch of corporate people need to live on the road for a month the rethink their madness!!
Perry says
Out of the 20 plus years I’ve been out here driving I’ve only had to pay for parking once due to hos/eld rules which I took off my taxes.
I plan my trips where I can park “free”.
To say that these truck stops needs to charge for parking to make a profit is a joke.
How did the truck stops make it before in years past??
Sure land and cost of building employee wages etc has went up & drivers are trashy as all get out but everything in the truck stops are overpriced including the fuel (they make roughly 50 cents per gallon profit on fuel alone) so to say the truck stops needs to charge for parking is just a con to make even more profitable margin.
The mega fleet trucking companies are just as much to blame by making “deals” & agreeing to pay for their drivers to park
Mountain lion says
Lisa Mullings. Is a journalist. Has no business running a committee for truck stops. She has never worked in the industry and i gurantee you she complains about trucks when she is stuck behind them on the road. The amount of money we spend at thes stores more than covers the amount needed for the additional property for more parking.
Jerry R says
Most often get a payed space 2 to 3 times a week. They don’t fix the parking. I could name two TA that the parking lots are still the friggon same as 3 years ago. It’s not about fixing or exspanding parking lots , it’s about flushing out the share holders pockets.
Ken says
Well if they would stop letting trucking company’s use the lot like a terminals.iv pulled in meany were drivers would park there car in the spot so they all ways had parking.and there would be several company trucks that have not even moved in days.
Marilyn Houdek says
You are correct. Way to many locals parking in them or dropping their trailers.
Randall Berry says
Pay for parking? Truck stops already rape us with high prices on every thing from fuel to showers. Go in and buy something from the store. You’ll pay twice what most stores charge.
Eric Ritter says
AAAAAMEN. !!! on that,been otr trkr since 1989,i absolutely agree with this i hate having to sleep on a get on ramp,cause i knw there aint no parking available in the t/s,but what can a person do when you run out of hours,im tryin to make money not lose it to fines and all.so many trucks out here now days,we need more trucks only parking spots.thats ideal for sure.
Aaron says
One thing each an every law maker an truck stop owner, an list goes on that has to do with trucking needs to realize one thing for sure. Its not these recruiiters or safety guys or any lf these over paid wanna bes that act like they know little bout trucking could even get in the truck to start it much less understands what we drivers go through. We the drivers are, what gives each everyone them a check an nice ride an so on whole we struggle to pay our house payments, or some struggle have times trying to survive while working an running freight all over. So they go in debt to company an work for free. So no we shouldn’t have to pay shit if any thing they should give us sumn. It’s ok they sleep well each night an so on wake up thinking on what to do next to keep pushing for money that they got enough of an to much from the drivers. I get ill an irate talking about it bc it’s sad to what trucking has become an so many that keep the world going are leaving profession bc of over bearring s.o.bs that own company an shotcallers in the house of transportation. Im done it does no good to point anything to these folks they got what they want an care less of what originally got them to where they are.
Andrew H says
I pay for my safe Haven… It’s a house. 7 years of OTR and I had enough. My health and wallet both were getting poor towards the end. Anyone who has done it for 20+ years and still keep doing it, my hat is off to you. Now I run an overnight linehaul for a small company and I love it. People I work for are great, my stress is down, I’m losing weight and getting in shape, eating better, and more.
dkbean says
yeah, but you’re working at night and sleeping during the day
Bucko says
Good point.
Jay says
dkbean, don’t knock it ’till ya try it. Night driving is THE way to go. Less than half the traffic, most scales close at night, tolls are less in some places, and never a parking problem during the day. All the “solar-powered” drivers are gone by then.
Alvin Brannick says
They wonder why no one wants to be in this business. Paying for parking after you just spent 500 dollars on fuel. Who thought that up. Half of the spots go unused that should tell the ta and pilot something. Wonder if buffet is regretting his decision. Get idea putting in the cng islands that never opened.
NYTRUCKINGPRINCESS says
She needs to come out here and drive a truck to see what we go through. (Especially in the Northeast and on the West Coast) I hate when a pencil pushing desk jockey seems to claim to know so much about what we face! Why doesn’t she pay for parking for everyone?🙄🤔
Craig Bernhardt says
It gets to be monotonous (I think I spelled it right) when fellow truckers repeat that same phrase “Why don’t THEY come out and here and see what we have to face every day”. The problem herein lies in the fact that they very much know EXACTLY what we go through everyday but just don’t give a sheet (getting around the censors here). The problem is people, including likely yourself and me at times are SELF ENTITLED. Our society has turned into weak wussy millenials that want everything but want to give back nothing in return. Do I think this idiot “pencil pusher” is an entitled twit? Yep. Is everybody complaining about these truckstop owner idiots going to do anything? Nope. They just don’t care. What they do care about is MONEY, so quit stopping at these, as Trump would say, crapholes, and spend your money elsewhere. If everybody would start doing that, they would start going broke and start shaping up or shipping out.
Shar says
Like that’s ever going to happen. But as long as they don’t have truck drivers in on the conversation, it’s easy to point that finger of blame. I can only imagine the finger she’d get if there were truck drivers in the room.
Allen Donaldson says
When you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.
NIGHT HAWK'S MRS says
Allen D. “When you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.” WHAT A GREAT SAYING! AND SOOOO TRUE. Thanks for posting that.
Griz says
What do they think we are paying outrageous food, supply, shower, coffee, fax, and ATM fees for??
And in a growing number of cases for no sit-down restaurant or one that doesn’t open on weekends or till after 6am weekdays? (Shame TA/Petro). You don’t know who your customers are anymore.
John Lackland says
I have no objection to paying for parking when I need a guaranteed parking space. But charging for parking spaces does not solve the problem that most localities make it difficult or impossible to build or expand truck stop parking lots. No one wants a truck stop in their back yard and they use local zoning laws to keep them out. A truck stop’s ability to make sales is limited by the number of trucks (i.e. customers) they can pack in. Most of them would eagerly expand their lots if the local governments would let them do it.
Al says
Exactly and Tacoma, WA comes immediately to where the truckstop in Sumner charges $26 with no showers and it’s rundown lot, and it’s usually full. There are countless cities where there is a real shortage paid or not. Sounds like this yahoo wants truckers to finance her business investment, how bout expanding and then charging for parking on the new lot.
Shar says
And if you ever lived or worked near one, you’d know why. In Bloomington IL, there’s a Subway that’s a block away from the truck stop. I used to work there. The owner wanted to increase seating so he put in outside tables. Bad idea. We used to go out several times a day to wash the sludge/spot off those tables. Nobody wanted to eat out there due to the stench and dirty clothes they ended up with. It was just nasty.
Rod says
True word then less tickets would be handed out or harassing wake up of force what do you do with these official people tell them to get a security job at the truck stop come on now
William Wood says
I wish the general public would see some of these comments but they’ll never be on this website.
Peter Romero says
We’re not getting paid enough to pay for parking every night
Richard C. says
NATSO is the truck stops’ union. The ATA is the trucking companies’ union. Department stores have a union, rubber manufacturers have a union. Why don’t more truck drivers find it odd, that all these for profit entities find it in their best interest to pay dues into an organization and stick together on policy matters, which is legal collusion; yet pay people to get on talk radio and tell the employees that having a union is the worst thing they could do? The business model of keeping a person in a truck for days or weeks at a time needs to die. Truck stops could be swap points, and way more drivers should be doing turns. Y’all keep listening to those that steal your labor.
Shar says
Great post. And when I went local, my first job kept us moving and used up our hours by doing those trailer swaps at truck stops. It’s amazing how clever dispatchers can get when they need to get the driver hours, yet get them home.
With that said, I was OTR 15 years before going local and 98% of the time I was home on the weekend. And 1% of the time I chose to stay out to take that long run or make more money.
dkbean says
yeah,multi-billion dollar international mega corps doing trailer swaps on someone elses’ property.
of course it’s industry standard now.
Jay says
Where’s Jimmy when ya need him? Is there even a Teamsters anymore?
Michelle Smith says
I find this absolutely ridiculous. Lisa Mullings obviously never drove a truck a day in her life. You can’t assume that us truck drivers even want to pay for your overpriced pissy parking spots almost $20.00 a night. I want to see her shut up and pay for parking expensive at that and see how much it takes from the quote on quote truck drivers money. We have families medical bills houses etc on top of that some expensive parking.you need to just be quiet.make more parking you make plenty of money ripping off truck driver with your old over priced food and showers and parking.
James says
With a 250% markup on products inside the convenience store, and the “Big 3/5” (Pilot, Flying J, TA, Petro, and Love’s,) routinely costing $0.10-0.40 per gallon more than other truck stops, the LEAST they can do is provide parking. More corporate greed at work…
Sherrie says
Pay for it, pay for it! Like truckers can afford it all. This lady has no clue what owner operators truly make after all expenses. So she wants to add another expensive! Funny, but when we stop in these truck stops, every thing is over priced, including fuel. Everybody wants their goods, but they don’t want to see how they got them! There is no doubt there is a shortage of truck stops and truck parking period, but this certainly is not the trucker’s fault.
Michelle Smith says
I find this absolutely ridiculous. Lisa Mullings obviously never drove a truck a day in her life. You can’t assume that us truck drivers have or even want to pay for your overpriced parking spots almost $20.00 a night when we only take home $700 bucks on a good week. I want to see her shut up and pay for parking expensive at that and see how much it takes from the quote on quote truck drivers money. We have families, medical bills, houses, etc on top of that some expensive parking. You need to just be quiet.make more parking you make plenty of money ripping off truck drivers with your old over priced food and showers and parking. FYI this is not even scratching the surface of the bads In the trucking industry. So don’t even get me started.
REPLY
kc says
Unreal such ignorance could be the head of something. Don’t have any respect for NATSO obviously not really having the best interest of the trucking industry except the one’s who would be non existent without trucks being around.
Linda Haggerty says
I agree with a lot of what everyone is saying, and it is frustrating. Not only is there a shortage of parking spaces, there is a shortage of tempers due to the situation. We’re being charged for parking spaces so they can provide more parking. My question is, how exactly do they propose to do so? The last time I checked we are producing any land anymore.
Joe Barilari says
Most people crying over paid parking don’t own a business, try it sometime, maybe you’ll understand.
shogun says
The company I work fo spends millions in fuel at Love’s each year. Go in the stores, they rip people off. The fuel is marked up too, all in the name of greed.
Shar says
Good point. Walk in my shoes before judging. If only everyone would do that.
Lester says
Joe Barilari. The largest part of us do own our trucks which is OUR business no most of us are not as large as a truckstop but with the costs of everything going up radically ever dollar is important to our survival. A new truck is close to $200,000 a trailer runs $40,000-$150,000 yet we are still only making the same money as when they were half that if we are out 200 nights a year paid parking takes another $3000 a year from our family.
Bucko says
Maybe if you improved the quality of the products you are offering, there wouldn’t be worry about renting out the space where the man parks his vehicle to do business with you. Fair
Exchange, you should try it sometime.
Kirk says
Actually I do run a business on the side and have several business plans and models of which one was for the Kirkland, Indiana facility. Doing the math, I obviously know the issues (egress for my situation ) and as a retiree and current truck driver of 5 years with combat army experience, I find it offensive any time another business operator decides to attempt to belittle or berate anyone. Wisdom knows better. Shame on you and see my above reply to another comment.
Billy Tucker says
Drivers fault you done lost ur mind someone need drug test u crack messed up ur thinking
Robb says
Seriously? Apparently Mrs Mullins had never driven a truck let alone tried to park one.
Wow, why didn’t anyone else think of that? All we have to do is shell out more of our hard earned money to park and all the nation’s truck parking problems will vanish into thin air. Gosh, you’re absolutely brilliant Mrs Mullins. Why in the hell hadn’t anyone else thought of that up till now.
Jay says
Black Smoke Matters April 12th is just around the corner….
Shar says
Oh 😮 Did you just write that?
Bucko says
Just for the record, Black Smoke Matters is exactly how you don’t deal with the problem and just end up continuing it. The most effective way to deal with the problem is through the legal system, the courts. It would not surprise me one bit if the origins of Black Smoke Matters is actually those of the other side.In the old days, even before brokers, the reason the truck drivers lost is because they attempted to do actions, just like what Black Smoke Matters is getting ready to do. Together, we could be unstoppable. This is why they work so hard to keep us devided. Go join the actions of BSM and see where it’s going to get you. Absolutely nowhere.
Mike says
Hey Lisa, you can pay for my parking, then you can quit you job and get a job driving truck and lets see if you can afford to pay for parking all the time. There are a lot of stupid ideas out there but yours just moved to the top of the list.
Jim martin says
Lol
JAMES COOPER says
That’s stupid all OTR drivers don’t have money to pay for parking at the truck stops,if local drivers would stop parking at the truck stops then OTR drivers can park at the truck stops where it’s safe when it’s time for their break. We as truck drivers are already being ripped off at the damn truck stops by paying to much for what we need because we can not drive into town in a 18 wheeler
Michael Nichols says
Wow they all want to understand why a shortage of drivers exist, here is your clue.
Morris taylor says
The incentive for them is to be able to charge 3 times the price for products and 1000s of gallons of fuel and def is a 99 cent salt and pepper pack costs 3.15 cents at truck stop thatz bs no incentive these corporations profit multi millions per year and just keep sucking the life out of the drivers shame on all of you
Lee Deavers says
All of our trucking problems could be solved in three days if we truck drivers would stick together and start shutting down in three day increments. In three days the grocery store would be empty and gas stations would be empty. We have the technology to ban together. Company drivers do not have the “give me liberty or give me death” mentality. They are content and don’t care how bad things get. We need something like the Boston Tea Party of 1773 to fix it. We need drivers who are willing to take a stand against the tyranny of restrictions, regulations, greed, and big Corporation control.
Stumblefoot says
Lack of parking is our fault, bobtail trucks hogging a whole spot, kick the company drivers out of the “free parking” let thier companies pay to park and leave the rest for O/O I know it won’t happen..but as a 1 truck/trailer O/O I really can’t afford $12-20 a day just to take my break. That’s not counting my meals, showers, or maintenance. And it really wouldn’t hurt if drivers would clean up thier act either.
Tedd Osborn says
Not enough incentive for more parking? I guess paying 40% more on everything from shampoo, paper towels, and every other thing you purchase at a truck stop is not a incentive. Not to mention the bloated hourly rate at the shops to get anything fixed on a truck or trailer. Not to mention the 60% Mark up on truck parts that you need to get nailed again on there 80-100 dollar hourly rate. No incentive there. Then you go inside to eat a meal good luck with that. There is at least 20.00 a pop to eat that slop they serve inside thete restaraunt. No incentive there. The solution according to this article is to blame the drivers. On top of that you want to make the drivers pay to park for this abuse. Then wonder why there a driver shortage. This article and the people who believe this are as dumb as the day is long. Keep this nonsense up and you will be paying a lot more for everything. That’s a guaranteed.
Brian C. says
We need to stop thinking hand to mouth and try to consider the big picture. As truck drivers we need to unionize as well. think if we all started thinking as one group with a single focus. How much of the country and policy we could control. Morons like these would not be blaming anything on drivers she would be asking how can we help make your job easier. The reality is all mega carriers think like they run the show. They do this by creating competition amongst themselves and keeping drivers under there thumb by using chaos keeping drivers fighting for their wages buy treating all of us differently. Offering hire on bonuses better trucks and supposed better pay but you must meet their safety standards,fuel efficiency standards oh and ontime deliveries which they control Impossible requirements laid on drivers shoulders. This is the point the carriers set impossible goals and lobby for laws that only benefit them and push drivers to their limits fiscally, and mentally and force you as drivers to accept terms set by them so they can make more profit.
The game is rigged they do not give a crap about us we are disposable and easy to replace.
Shockingly they say their is a driver shortage huh lies? Or made up to create more chaos
You decide.
Dewayne says
If you don’t buy fuel or anything in the store at a set limit by the truck stop. Then you have to pay 15 to 20 to park overnight. That the company will not pay for. Close to a hundred dollars for parking a week for drivers. Great for the truck stop but not the driver.
David says
Truckers pay for parking, are you out of your mind, All the money we spend n they want more, they can go to #### them self’s.
Lenwood Richardson says
Yes it is always our fault. On my,thay already bilk us for every penny thay can charging double for most items, now some twit wants to padd the bottom line even more. The problem is not the truckers it is the people that seem to want to take advantage of us at every opportunity.
Betty Hunter says
Lisa Mullings. Most of us truckers are out here doing are best to make sure people get what they need from food to cars. Why should we pay for parking? The that should have to pay is the ones who leave urinal jugs in the truck stop. Without truckers you wouldn’t have a the position you are now holding. Lisa Mullins I CHALLENGE YOU TO RIDE CROSS COUNTRY IN MY TRUCK WITH ME. YOU WILL GET A CLEAR PICTURE OF WHAT YOU ARE NOT SEEING.
Donald Mccann says
150 to 200 gallons per truck ×500 trucks a day …take that b.s excuse to the toilet & flush it
Greg says
I got an idea. Go to college and get a real job if you don’t like it.
T's Lady says
Truck drivers DO have to go to college to get their CDL’s. That’s the only way they can get them. What type work are you in, Greg? I’m willing to bet that every time you go out to eat, a trucker brought part, if not all of your food and drinks, when you go to work, your clothing was brought by a trucker, we brought your car, bike, taxi, bus, train, bicycle, or perhaps you walk, if so, kudos to you! The bed you sleep on, in the home you live in, under the roof over your head, yes, we brought the materials for it all. Drivers even bring the toilet paper you use to wipe your butt after you’re done using that toilet that we also delivered to a store near you. You know, the best idea may be that we deliver to the outskirts of cities and towns. All of you high class college graduates could come up with a solution for getting the trailers full of supplies to and from the places they need to be. If the trailer wasn’t returned, you didn’t receive supplies again. Professional driving is the hardest job anyone can do, Greg. We have 4 wheelers zipping in and out around us or holding a hand up signaling us to stop while pulling out in front of us. Apparently you don’t think about the fact that drivers have 80,000 lbs bearing down on them, pushing them along, you only complain about the drivers. Think of what you would have if there were no truck drivers.
Donna Benson says
We truckers pay plenty. Truck stops have a much higher profit margin on many products than other stores, add that to fuel, def, and I believe truck stops make a very nice return on investment. Truckers know which truck stops have sufficient parking and we go there over smaller truck stops with few parking spots. Those truck stops that charge for parking are gouging truckers. The national organization are just promoting greed.
Patrick says
Why should we pay for parking when the government is not letting us itemize any more if you want to cure trucking issue we need to start with congress and state legislation because some let money talk and closing up a lot of rest area . I been out way too long and every body wants to blame truck driver that because y’all have the money and are a bunch of spoiled brats
Roger Williamson says
This is ridiculous. We spend money in their truckstops sometimes amounting to over $100. We buy fuel totalling several hundred dollars every day. Now they want paid parking? Stop buying their ridiculous priced merchandise in their stores and this narrative will end.
Charles says
I think Lisa lost her mind. She doesn’t have a clue as to what we pay for and now she wants to add “pay for parking” at Truckstops. She comes across just as stupid as the ATA.
Rick says
Let’s just park on off ramps, and on ramps! Buy our supplies from Walmart, and these corporate parasites can pound sand! It’s too bad we as truck drivers ” the life line, and blood line of the greatest nation on Gods green earth.” Don’t have real representation to lobby for, and truly help us with our needs!!! Death by a thousand paper cuts….
John McGreevy says
the problem is truck drivers are inherently stupid i have been one for 30 years we let our selves be screwed over like this electronic logs money out of our pocket pay for parking money out of our pocket you have to go northeast your mileage drops huge money out of your pocket broke down were not paying customer gave all but one guy vacation at same time so you take 6 hours to be unloaded trucking company office employees got paid for that 6 hours and they generated no revenue truck driver did not get paid and he generated the revenue you think your being mistreated now just wait if they get the driver shortage under control they will really screw you we all know the only way to get things fixed is shut down for minimum of one week but you cant get 2 truck drivers to agree with each other hence truck drivers are inherently stupid hence we are treated like we are
Clarea Clements says
Absolutely right
Lester says
In 73 we had a shutdown that lasted 3 weeks we had the gov cryin like babies they promised us the moon gave up giving us a fuel surcharge supposedly we can’t be forced to unload which never happened supposedly if we billed the shipper or consignee for detention they had to pay what happened to that if a company driver billed his company detention the company had to pay what happened to that? In short no matter what they agree too after a short time they quit paying and its the samo samo. The problem rests with us. If there really is a shortage of drivers and trucks how come we don’t make a fair wage. We OOs need to take off more time. After the eld kicked in freight went thru the roof I had a load from Joplin to Seattle for $10,000 I knew it would go down it went down to $5,000 which I still made money now it’s $3500 since October. If everbody would take off just one extra day everytime they get home freight would go up to where ee could make more money. More than enough to pay for that extra day. I’m 70 I intended to work another 5 years but when I saw my run drop $1500. I parked my truck and trailer. Afteter 50+ years F it I’m done. If you guys have the cahonies to go out again which I doubt don’t be so trusting in what the government promises you. Stay out till it’s a deal they can’t back out of in your hand.
D l carson says
What a complete idiot, she is, she needs to step down and let someone with common sense, have the job,this is the problem with the industry,those that are in charge, Know very little about it.
S. Thornton says
TAPP – Truckers Against Paid Parking!!
If we trip plan we can get safely to a decent parking location but dont pay for parking!! I liked it better when it was $20 for 22hrs for everyone. Now this reserve parking crap is making us fight for spots that should already be here. Boycott these spots that have paid parking and you will be okay. Stop at rest areas or at mom and pop’s truck stops. That’s the real issue, these Corporate chains have driven the mom and pops out of business and now we have nowhere to go. Mom and pops used to have a lot of spaces, just purchase fuel and get a great dinner and we were good. Now these chains of fast food crap is messing with us. #TAPP -Truckers Against Paid Parking
Luis Bermudez says
Who’s the STEM failure that did the math on this article? If I drive 300 days a year and pay $20/night to park that’s $6k. How is that making up for losing $4600?
Stephen Easton says
The greed is breathtaking.
Eric Jamison says
Well get ready because when those SLOBS that start parking in there start throwing their trash on the ground like they did at the Walmarts they will eventually do something about it.
Rubiet M Villasana says
Really??? We Drivers already get hit in our pockets with expensive food, items sold at truck stops. And you people want us to pay for parking???
Jeff says
I’m always amused reading these responses. The cost of parking rests on the shoulders of one person only – the Owner of the truck, period. Not the government, not the “employee” driver and not the truck stops. So much blame framed as “greed” is wrong. TA is a public company – go look at their financial reports and you’ll better understand why, as a business owner, they need to charge for parking.
Further, if truckers really wanted good facilities, you would learn to help police the activities of your own. We are actively working on solutions for the industry and it troubles me knowing the way drivers want respect and a better way of life but often fail to show respect for themselves, fellow drivers and the industry providers (truckstops, etc) that serve you. The disgusting habits of too many drivers have stained the reputation of this industry and increased the costs of those companies simply trying to serve drivers. If you want change, look within and become a leader in the driver community to help weed out those that cause havoc in the industry that feeds your family.
Lester says
Jeff you are lumping all drivers in one group. It’s not even most driver’s that live like this. I was waiting for my bills at a shipper there was a Schnider driver talking about how great Schnider was 6 weeks earlier he had been homeless living on the street. A recruiter came by and got 5 other homeless to go to work for them they are used to living on the street peeing and pooping where ever they could. I always took care not to liter pick up after myself. If you say anything to them no matter how politely they want to fight or shoot you.
Kirk says
Jeff please see my above comments thank you
Tom Peacock says
Now company drivers can’t write off parking on their taxes and most companies don’t reimburse it. That and not being able to write off the cost of rafting on the road is enough for me. I’m retireing
Tom Peacock says
“Eating”
Curtis Lund says
The LA area is to maybe the worst example of derelict parking for the thousands of trucks running in and through the four County area.
The Ontario Petro and TA are the only truck stops there and they have maybe 500 spaces available at $20 a night, or free with fill up of 60 gallons. That’s just crazy!
And you risk a parking ticket if you park in or around even industrial areas that have no parking signs out everywhere. Get in and get out!
If you want a spot when you get there, you better roll out by 5am and get there by 3pm or you are odd man out just about everywhere. And yes, that is at the top of the list of stressful situations we truckers have to face everyday because we’re up against that damn HOS clock that heaven forbid we go over our allotment of time by one minute.
If business won’t solve the problem, then government had to step in and mandate cities create enough parking spaces predicated on how much freight gets delivered to that city each day.
And yes, it is the trucking industry that is st fault for not screaming loud enough about it for far too long, as traffic, parking, detentions, high fuel costs, low pay, unaffordable fines for everything they can find are why I advise people not to be a trucker anymore. It ain’t worth it!
JASON R KIDD says
I’m not getting reimbursed for paying $15 to park,The corporations of the world dont care cause there getting a kick back and we as truckers just get kicked…High cost in truckstops alone pay for parking
Kipp M Freling says
At the end of any day I trip plan and know where and what truck stop has preferred parking that can range from $10.00 to 12.00. Multiple that by 5-7 days. Driving tractor for so many years I’ve had to adjust to the times. Although convenient, it gets expensive and that’s out of pocket. So the drivers expense goes up. Truck drivers responsibility to himself and the motoring public increases in already stressful conditions. No driver enjoys looking for safe truck parking, it takes away money out of everyone pockets.
Kevin Tobin says
Free parking. No such a thing, what about all the money drivers spend in your facilities. Fuel, Maintenance, Food, Laundry, C-Store items, and you want more. What about the simple fact (T/A) and their paid for lots with additional pay for parking. As drivers who out here fighting everyday to find loads paying $2.00 at best, cost of living freight wages dating back to the 90’s, and your answer is just pay for parking. You people are simply unbelievable.
Everette O. White says
How about they open up the rest areas across America with parking ,fueling, and vending. That way you can keep your Truck-Stop free and clear of congestion.
Lester says
Best comment yet. But why don’t the states just grade out spots every 50 miles or so throw some gravel in regularly some porta potties charge a Dollar for parking when they collect enough money at each lot pave it and improve the facilities. This is a government problem if they want us fresh. There are a couple of rest areas in Nebraska that have dirt parking they don’t charge but it’s huge didn’t cost but a few thousand dollars and some free right of way acres. I-80 mile marker 105.
Bernard Fronzaglio says
Filled out all fields you won,t post the truth. Ok big brother watching. ONE DAY ALL THOSE TRUCKER S ARE GOING TO SAY ENOUGH AND STAND UP , YOU,LL SEE 54 YEARS OF DRIVING I.LL BE AROUND
Bernard Fronzaglio says
The d.o.t.are in every one they close alot of them close the trk scales at nite. Ky does scales houses are high all kind of parking ,,NO U MORE MONEY FROM TRUCKER,S RIGHT
Clarea Clements says
That lisa, sounds like she has never driven a truck and don’t need to be on the board, the cost to us drivers is already to high, for the cost of us doing our jobs. Maybe she needs to come and get stuck in a truck without seeing home for two to three months at a time as we do.
Nathan says
I’ll never pay for parking. I pay taxes and tolls. Maybe when they take a third of my paycheck they can build a parking lot. Truckers fault? Blow me.
Jamie O'Neill says
Greed greedy just plain greed.truck stops already mark up every thing they sell,that’s why you see all the trucks parked at Walmart.
Bernard Dembowski says
Lisa Mullins is overpaid lot lizard that has no idea what’s going on she and her cronies like Pelosi have their have their hands out gimegime gimegime well drivers are saying screw you!!! That’s why there is parking problems , drivers are saying get out of my money to feed my family!! Low wages long hours what do you think a drivers attitude would be taking money out of feeding my family and children just to park a load of tampons??
Robert Wilson says
Oh so this is a political parties shame and blame thread. Idiot, what has Trump done for you lately ? You think if he can steal 6.6 billion plus what Congress has allowed, for a few miles of wall, its going to benefit you ? It will take money in taxes and infrastructure out of the economy. Whoever said truckers are stupid is right. I was a driver for 15 years, now I am out and much happier. I was a prisoner in my truck now I am free. But I would have stayed on if HOS and ELD had not been brought in. Now things are a mess and nobody but two drivers have said 04 12 19. Why ? You all whine but never do a damn thing to change it. April 12 this year is your damn chance so call in sick, but stand up and do it for one freaking time in your lives.
David Hostetler says
They’ve tried paid parking in many places but took it out b/c it wasn’t worth the bother, hassle, expense of having it manned 24/7. Many times I buy gas & don’t park there, so it all works out in the wash. They could have closed weigh stations allow parking. Some states do that, others don’t. Another is simply have more parking areas. It doesn’t have to be a truck stop or a rest area……just a place to stop, like they do in Wyoming…..
Nathan says
I’m not paying for parking or some trash food at some trash truck stop. They should pay me.
Mahlon Wentworth says
Always the same! Make the company driver And owner operators who keep them alive with purchasing their products pay even more for parking.Always the same give us more money give us more! It never stops when it comes to a truck driver. Pay and pay and pay.
Dennis Drewry says
Lisa Mullings,I have to disagree with your Theory.that only put’s more money in Pilot/Flying J pocket……(But I can see why you are pushing that issue) This is the results of E-logs, which most people knew would slow freight down.conbine E-logs,more freight and more drivers than ever.That’s the Problem….Trucker 4 40 yrs
Lester says
Hey Texas Jester. If truckstops only make $.15-$.20 cents per gallon why can it be bought $.30-$.35 less at mom and pops. No mom and pops don’t have some of the other amenities. Some have dirt lots,big holes. But some of the big brands Love’s, Pilot, Flying J they put in cheap asphalt and it’s like the holes in the asphalt are thrown in free they fill up with water. When it rains we fall into them just the same, if we complain it falls on deaf ears. Lisa Mullings says that if we paid for parking they would build more. Why are they not building more for the guys on break keep the free spots for guys just making food,shower, pit stops. Not try to make all the money from one person. Reasonable parking fees would not be hated by drivers. The way they do it they charge way to much the price of parking is as much as the price of a meal. Do that 7 days a week 50 weeks a year and its $ 5000 a year out of our families pocket. The same goes for mega carriers. Paid parking would put trucking companies out of business. Truckstops would kill the geese that lay the golden eggs. They put in fast food joints to get us in and out. They close restaurants so we have to eat grease if we eat at all. If they do have restaurants they charge through the nose lower the quality use the cheapest products (recycled napkins) the buffets are the worst ($12-$15) chicken stays out till it’s gone never take it off. Salads are brown with age half the time. Then we are expected to tip the waitresses for bringing us a beverage and a bill (which I do) as they don’t pay them even minimum wage. They cut corners to make a profit. When we cut corners to survive we are called cheapskates. I never fuel at a major truckstop rarely eat at them. I pay for my shower which forces them to pay taxes on my shower instead of giving them a tax break. Never buy anything in their store. If I’m in their shop it’s an emergency tire repair. They are not here for us. I had a kidney stone at a TA I didn’t have insurance at the time as I had just changed jobs. I couldn’t get a ride to the hospital. Yeah they care!!!
David McLaughlin says
Truck drivers have a need for
Showers
Food (sit down type)
Decompressing area
Most truck stops have limited spaces, amenities or staff.
Truckstops are attempting to limit blacktop, bricks and mortar facilities in my opinion.
Parking at $20 a day is a large percentage of incomes to many worth the gamble of avoiding if amenities are missing.
Marlin says
Lisa Millings you pay $15 to $20 to your job for parking every day you show up at work and I bet you change your thought of trying to get us to pay for parking because that $15 to $20 adds up quickly in a week’s time on that note you you need to shut your mouth and think before you open it, there men and women out on this road with a family and before they let a truck stop charge them to park they will drive them extra to park without taking from there household, when it’s already bad enough that they are away from there family weeks and months at a time… that’s goes to show us as truck drivers how much they truck stops owners really think about truckers on that stupid statement you made.
Kevin says
The NERVE! Man I wish I was in that meeting! Someone needs to tell that person.. We’re already paying for that parking, through your overpriced fuel, food and drinks.
Samuel gallezzo says
Wow….truckers are to blame. Sounds like a typical deflection of blame.
KA says
I agree with Jeff. Todays drivers are the absolute filthiest creatures on earth and not by “living in the truck”. Look/watch as most in the rest areas & truck stops throw their trash and pi$$ bottles directly in the parking lot….with no effort to walk that 15-20′ to the nearest trash can. Go in the restrooms and showers. Stand in line behind a 400lb plus size man and wait and wait and wait as he fills TWO (2) 40 ounce jugs with soda. Embarrassing not only for him but as for the health of all men. Make you wonder if these people actually live like this in their own home?
Although I DISAGREE strongly with the comments that parking costs fall directly on the drivers. Without going into detail, you allow the shortage to hit the economics of this country as Glen Beck, Fox, CNN has harped about, and every citizen in this country including Ms. Lisa Mullings will be more than happy to pay for your parking and mine.
And next time you’re in the Pilot/FlyJ, Petro, Loves…..scan the prices of every item you can and compare to your local distributor at home. Those prices are jacked up for a reason.
Elogs…..LOL. You and I both know you, me, ALL of us at one point and time have used 2 & 3 log books on the same leg of a trip to avoid what??? LOL!
History has proven there are strength in numbers. As someone mentioned above, and sadly but true they’re correct, drivers don’t stick together anymore. Too much divisiveness. I’m 50 now and not even close to the old school I like to think I am, but those before us….70’s & 80’s drivers and before. They stood together, formed walls in DC and made themselves heard.
Tanya J Carter says
Pay for parking???? Ummm don’t they get enough money out of us on our fuel ups. Also every lil thing we need just about we buy there. Example a 3 dollar bottle of Irish spring body was 9 dollars at a truck stop so ya I think we are giving these folks enough money and parking should be free.
Mike says
We are basically a slave audience as truck drivers. The state municipalities are closing rest areas in record numbers to force us to truck stops. For the benefit of companies that wish to gouges us for as much profit as possible.. that with big stores like Walmart closing a lot of locations to Trucker’s. Make it easier for these companies to charge whatever the hell they want for a little package of ramen noodle.. combined with this pay to park bologna that they’ve come up with. When the local area is have pretty much forced us all out of any kind of viable parking alternative. If we happen to park on the side of the road someplace where we’re out of the way we will still be harassed by police to go to these large corporate trash cans that wish to gouge us for every penny that we make on the road… and on the flip side they’re trying to say there is a driver shortage. Which is hilarious. What there is is a lack of morals shortage on the government and corporate side. No wonder a whole bunch of top CEOs for one of these companies have hardly been to prison for ripping drivers off. I hope more follow
Silverspur says
Convert some of that unused farm land between Texarkana and Memphis into truck parking. That’s been a problem area for 20+ years.
Earl Coobs says
I saw 3 feet of snow water on that land a few months ago. LOL
Todd says
It’s Always been a Racket…
It Always will be a Racket…
Lies,… Deception,… Greed,…
Look at the CEO of Pilot Flying J
It’s the AMERICAN WAY!
so what’s the problem?…
If you have a job and your eating and paying your bills…
You’re doing good…
We all know it’s a Racket…
We knew this b4 we even started.
So let’s all move on…
Kick the Tires and light the fires!
Todd says
Welcome to America
Earl Coobs says
Times change. I think paid parking is going to be the norm and free parking the exception. Companies are going to have to get onboard with reimbursement to drivers for parking. The industry is changing fast. I buy my stuff at home where I don’t get gouged. With the advent of electric trucks you will see even more changes. With property values so high in large metro areas the only incentive to put in truck parking is revenue. Plus no one wants a lot full of idling trucks or APU’s running next to their house. I buy my fuel where I get the best deal. In the large urban areas I pay for parking. It’s the new cost of doing business.
Wade says
Guys it all comes down to the same thing no body sticks together I been out here 43 years and I don’t pay to park anywhere. I run my loads and when it comes time to park I always get one how do I do that you ask very simple I don’t always park at corporate truck stops. I park at a Mom and Pop truck stop and it most likely has a good restaurant. but if you really want to make a statement then there is only one way to do it but that’s not going to happen, cause the drivers today won’t stick together so I say it is very simple either shut them down and quit the cry baby bs or let these people keep messing up your lives.
Kent A says
I think it’s not as much a matter of greed. It’s profit motivated, just like I am as a driver. Reserved parking is at least $10 a stay meaning a driver should expect to pay another $400 or more a month to stay in their rolling hotel?
Every time I visit one of the big boys I see from a few to 20 or more empty reserved spaces and trucks cruising the lots looking for a free spots.
Think about it Lisa, if I’m driving the lot willing to pass on a $10 parking spot and move on to other parking opportunities how much did you make off me? Nada.
If you reduce the number of reserved spots to say, 5 or 10 (do the research) and then offer say, a $3 discount for ANY purchase made inside the store. You’d end up money ahead.
Offer real discounts on select items. Example, I drink Kick Start. You guys sell it for $1.99 a can. Wal-Mart sells it for $1.25. Have a sale on the day drivers come back to work after days off and sell it for $1.25 with the purchase of any other item in the store.
You get the idea.
Now get back to work.
Darwin says
Here is the truth. I was able to make about $70,000 a year. Now I can make about $50,000 a year. Everytime they change the rules I have to work harder and make less money. They have closed truck stops across the country. The lack of parking is evident by the amount trucks parked on the off ramps and streets. Everyone wants to make money by charging the drivers for parking. I have seen truck stops with unused pay for parking and trucks parked all over. It’s a shame what they are doing to make drivers pay. D
David says
I’m a little lost on there math, or maybe I’m wrong with mine. If they are saying that we lose about $4,600 looking for a parking spot and if we paid to park we would save money. The last time I checked it’s on average $20 for paid parking at 5 times week for 52 weeks that comes to $5,600 on top of the over priced fuel, food and C-store items. How is it that we would save money paying for parking when it clearly costs us drivers on average more $1,000 to pay to park.
Craig says
The sad part is the bottom line is money. The majority of parking spots are filled with trucks that haven’t fueled at this location and their really is no incentive to provide parking. It’s also sad to see the same driver throw his trash on the ground, leak oil everywhere, run over shrubbery and who knows what else and keep going. In fact it is shared blame of all truck stops, driver, shipper, receiver, and the Government which has enacted ELDs and refuses to do anything about detention putting the driver in a bad situation looking for parking. It seems like weekly that states are closing rest areas due to funding and crime. Solutions are easier said than done but this needs addressed on the level of our road infrastructure.
If you want to help please contact your Congressional and Senate representatives and keep calling keep talking to others spread the word and the needs of the professional truck driver.
And lastly next time you see someone throw out their trash on the ground call their company and report it,get it on camera and call local police its littering. As for the damage and drive off same applies. Many years ago people dreamed of being on the open road and this was fun. We’re all to blame let’s try and all make a change.
Kathy R Bothast says
There definitely IS a parking shortage. Why don’t states add more truck parking to the rest areas? They could add the piped in heat/ac at a charge and alleviate alot of the shortage problem. Most rest areas have large areas of land behind the short term truck parking.
William says
Why should a driver have to pay to park..even for just a short while ? The driver is gonna send money even if not fueling . When I fuel it is always 3-500 dollars, 15- 20 to eat for snacks or if meal. I know other drivers probably the same So why should we have t pay to park on top of all that ??? I won’t pay!!!!!!
Michael Thomas Harton says
It’s because they ran the other truck stops out of business with their greed. Cutting fuel prices and giving mega carriers discounts. Period.
John says
You’re being blackmailed into paying. Where else will I park something that’s almost 100 feet long? You can also bet that the price won’t be cheap either. It’ll start off at $10, maybe $15 a day and they’ll regularly raise it every year. So if I am an OTR driver, $15 a day is $300 a month. They think we’re just rolling in money out here when the average office worker earns more than us now. I’ll take my chances with a freeway off/on ramp or the back roads of a crime ridden industrial district before I pay that. A 10 round magazine of ammo would be cheaper.
William E Wirth says
On top of the money they make from the over priced fuel the over priced food and drinks they also get big tax breaks that’s why people don’t want truck stops In There area they bring more traffic and minimal jobs with no new taxes to the community
Todd says
Yay!!! Nice Point John*
AWS says
Blame both crooks for having to pay so much. Larger trucking companies make deals with truck stops to get discounts on fuel which in turn lowers the profit margins for the fuel stop. The money is made up by price gouging the drivers in the c- store and restaurants. A typhical trucking company with 200 trucks saving 12-20¢ per gallon using an average of say 400 gallons per week per truck times 200 trucks= well you do the math. Bottom line is the driver is footing the bill to make up this profit loss situation.overpriced everything including having to pay to park. Drivers are getting screwed.
Andy says
If these truck stops didn’t charge for parking I would support them more if you’re a paying customer you shouldn’t have to pay to park
Bruce says
That 100 year old rule reaches much further than I realized. “It’s always the drivers fault.”
The job already makes you old before your time and once again someone wants to reach into your pocket and yank some more cash out. Like drivers don’t already leave enough money in the truck stops!
Used to be a service for a fee and / or a product for a fee. No longer true, it’s turned into a contest to see who can empty your bank account first.
Animal says
I’m sorry. (But if drivers pay for parking). That’s a load of crap. A large portion of drives (including owner operators) can just shovel out 10-20 dollars for parking. Alot of them have families so they dont have alot of disposable cash. And companies dont reimburse for parking.
Also consider location. Alot if truck stops are locked into there locations so they cant expand. There are a number of TAs that have at least half there parking lot as reserved parking. Also there are areas were parking is a premium. Northeast. Northwest, southeast and southern California. All major cities and heavily traveled corridors.
Train says
That driver is right we buy fuel they are not giving you a shower cause you just paid for it and the parking is ridiculous
Chris says
Another ignorant yuppie. We already have enough on our plate. We stop for our required dot break. Eat the crappy over priced fast food that most truck stops have. Have to buy a 50 to 75 gallons of fuel or pay $12-$15 for a shower that some places the water isn’t even hot. Anything we have to purchase at a truck stop is over priced. Now you want $15 to park for 10 hrs. The solution is not “pay for parking”. The solution is get rid of these elogs and give the drivers their freedom back. And it wouldn’t take as many trucks to do the same job as it now takes at least 2 trucks to do what we use to do. Take a third of the trucks off the road and everyone is happy.
chris says
all above TRUE !!!
Michael Grossman says
If we cpuld get everyone to stick together for one month bring your lunch from home stop ANYWHERE BUT A TRUCKSTOP to eat dinner dont buy ANYTHING BUT FUEL IF YOU ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO FROM TRUCK STOP most of you company guys can fuel at your company yards but just one month problem is nobody will stick together i get alot of drivers cant aford to go on strike but we all could manage this
Steve S says
If it was so bad! and Pilot/Flying J was tanking why did Warren Buffett buy into them, and to buy more in 5 years, the man isn’t a fool with his money,
There travel plazas now, not truck stops, all the buses loaded with tourists stop, they all get out like they never seen a big truck before, the front side of most travel plazas have a gazillion gas pumps for autos, it’s highway robbery to make a truck pay to park in the lot, I just put $500+ dollars of fuel in this truck, I spent 25 dollars in the restaurant and the c-store
TA/petro in Ontario California has 1000 spots between the two facilities and its 20 for 24 hours, or minimum 60 gallons of fuel, or 20 dollars in the restaurant/c-storm
And the worst part is they know they got ya
Trucksmiles says
I don’t drive east anymore due to the parking issues. I stay out west and know where I can find places to park – and they are rarely the big truck stops. However, as soon as the autonomous trucks are operational (it will be sooner that you think), this will be a moot point. Truck stops will become obsolete as we know them. They will become fuel stops competing for the commuters and vacationers money.
Buck says
Always talking about sticking together. Never happened ever ever ever just face it us drivers are the problem. We’re the ones taking dumps between are duels 50 feet from the truck stop doors. We’re the ones leaving the piss bottles in the parking lot. Stop blaming everybody else and start looking in the mirror.
Gypsy Mother Trucker says
Ewwwww…
You really think we ALL do that?!?!
Why would we all need to pay for what the worst of us does, and only get services that are not fully geared to us as Truckers. We are not the same as 4-wheelers. We have different needs.
One of them is more safe, free parking!
P.S. Even Monopoly has free parking!!!
Hans Witt says
We do pay more Lisa Mullings !, by buying high priced diesel, lots of it. There are lot of legal and big government issues why truck stops don’t build bigger parking areas, also ‘anti-truck” sentiment in local communities stops bigger truck strops.having said that; I have observed many times, where Pilot has bought out existing truck stops, and rebuilt with less than half the original parking, and no real- food restaurant . tells us that all they really want to do us sell fuel, convenience items, and fast junk food, while giving massive discounts to large trucking co., and screwing the little guy. Also the morons that design the new parking lots, make the places for for one size of truck, so it isn’t really ” safe parking either. The cost of the lack of parking is 3 x what Dan Murray says it , but because labor and time has no value to anyone that hires a truck, it can’t really be quantified by people who have never actually tried to made a living in the Patron-Clint industry with FMCSA HOS rules and ELD enforcement . Because the trucking industry is Patron- Client, NOT FREE MARKET, the carriers and drivers do not have the ability to pass cost up/ down , how you look at it. So when a truck stop directly charges the driver, it just comes out their pocket for the most part, Oh I know there are few wonderful company’s who will pay for it , but But that is not the norm. In Patron-Client economics the guy at the bottom of ” multi-level pyramid” takes all the risk, pays all the bills; so after being robbed all day on the high way, the driver has to pay out more to park, park-way robbery! I knew this coming!
Lisa trucker's wife says
It’s not the trucker’s fault it’s are government
There are more wrecks and traffic violations then ever before bc this e log has trucker seedings and if a lane gets close down then the trucker loses his drive time
Bob says
Not so true, come in eat out of your cooler. Pee and crap on our lot , leave garbage. Costs are relevant to services offered and maintained. Business 101
Steve Campbell says
Are you kidding me I have been a driver for over 35 years and can somebody please tell me why they the driver should pay for parking should it not be up to the companies that the drivers work for the parking if you are not parked by sunset it is very hard to find a spot especially on the Eastern seaboard wake up Lisa you have no idea what’s going on in the real world
Trucker Mike says
This writer is a pathetic moron, as are the fools who PUBLISHED this garbage. This is nothing more than “click bait”, designed to provoke response so that the dirt-bags who run this website can sell and charge more to their advertisers.
They expect truckers to actually believe the parking shortage problem is the TRUCKERS problem because they don’t pay for parking???? Oh boy.
Truckers certainly DO pay for parking…through over priced fuel, food, drinks, parts and various services.
Some truck stops already charge for parking, or, will only provide limited time to park if you buy fuel or get repair service. Others offer guarenteed “reserved” spaces for $.
So, when all truckers pay extra to park, and there are STILL no spots left, who you going to blame then? The lack of asphalt self-reproducing and spreading like a weed???
So so dumb.
dkbean says
all true. nothing new.
i encourage all franchise truckstops who want to charge for parking just close down all their parking spaces, please do, it will be tough for a while but perhaps we will get some corporates who understand trucking.not just price gouging.
it is awfully nice to have parking lots that you can drive through without busting frame bolts.
the showers these days are usually nicer than the one i have at home.
even though it usually isn’t done for days if not weeks after a storm( not talking about showers now, new subject), it is a big job to clear snow from a lot filled with trucks all day. i am really impressed by stops in snow country who can keep their lots free and clear, and navigable.
i think shippers and receivers should have a number of spaces available, at least to cover the first, and last 4 hours of operation daily; i am falling out of my chair laughing as i write this.
are we really going to auto trucks running between drop lots and ‘locals’ ferrying to ‘final mile’?
find your place in specialized or you can take your place in ‘drone world’ and go home to mamma every night.
every man has always wanted to be a big truck driver; and hated those of us who succeed.
going the extra mile to get the job done used to be an admirable attribute, now it is a crime.
maybe i should move to australia though i think my chassis may have too many creaks to find a place in a new truck market…
keep the shiny side up
Janet says
You don’t get it. You should care more about those drivers that have to abide the law. They spend money and their companies buy fuel from you and bring goods to your store for you to overcharge price gouge them for everything you can squeeze out of them.
Calvin L Plucker says
Lisa Mullings is an idiot and doesn’t know much about business or how to run a business. Making a truck driver pay for parking would make drivers go park along side the road or rest areas. Truckstops need more parking. The more psrking you have the more drivers you can get st your business which is getting more driver to come into your stores and restaurants to spend money. I could go on and on about how to make your businesses better. Alot of you highly educated people are nothing more then trained idiots with no common sense.
DJ says
So why not come up with something to send a message.
For instance, pick a time frame and say I will not spend any personal money in a member truck stop.
Set the date far enough out like maybe the first week in May so you can get the word around the others.
Thousands upon thousands of drivers could bring their own food and drink or know other little places to stop for one week.
Am I thinking too big? Should we make it one day?
Lester says
DJ most of us now bring our own food if we want to survive. I’m done now after 50.5 years. I wanted to drive another 5 years. But the last year being mistreated for so long being blamed for everything. Screw it.
Gary Tompkins says
I do my best to not spend any money at truckstops that make me pay to park.
William says
I paid $20 for a frozen breakfast sandwich, monster and some jerky at pilot this morning WE PAY PLENTY FOR PARKING. With 500% mark up on products build more parking!
luis betances says
Politics get free insurance,free cars,free parking,and tax cuts,why not take all the free stuffs they got also…driver sweat and tear for our hard earning money,like every body said,we already paying for parking in those trucks stops with high fuel,and foods.
Bill D says
First off ‘travel plazas’ as they are now known are catering to every traveler. The dedicated truck stop is few and far between. Even if drivers paid to park, depending on time of day and location, there’s still no spots. For the last number of years I’ve heard about a driver shortage, so where do all these extra trucks park if there’s a problem now, especially with eld? Sorry, they need bigger lots and more stops to fix this problem, it’s their problem not the driver. If they still don’t get it, run a week in the truck with a driver they’ll change their mind if they have 2 more working braincells then most politicians…
Richard Clark says
We already “pay” for parking. We pay 30 cents a gallon more for diesel at the major chains then anywhere else. We pay double the cost for goods I side their stores than at a regular retailer. They don’t pay their employees a fair wage. They’re greedy money grabbing pits that screw anybody and everybody they can.
Jon says
I wonder why so many Owners don’t want to pay for parking it’s probably because they are already robbing us at the pump and the register inside maybe if you charged say a closer to normal price for things inside we would be more open to pay for parking I mean you can only gouge people so hard before they break. Between the truck stops and taxes and all of the states trying to toll us to death.
Dane says
Our fault,let’s stop for four days.
Take a brake,
Everyone need restart,do it same time.
Enjoy with your family,and look what will happen.
Some President said that we are rolling USA.
Show some respect,not just look in our wallets.
Martin F. Hitchcock says
When the parking shortage reached critical mass, the truck stops responded in an opportunistic manner by charging for roughly half of their available parking.
If it is to be the case the trucks must pay for parking, shouldn’t it be the trucking company who pays for the parking and not the driver?
for not so to ask drivers to pay for the parking shows further how out of touch they are with what our needs really are. I understand a company needs to make money, but when the majority of your clients just like your company’s, I think that says something about the services you are offering and the prices you are charging, for instance $0.30 per gallon over local retail diesel prices because the locals don’t have truck access.
a small fix to the parking shortage would be to open the generally federally funded scale plazas. When peace built with Federal money? Why do the state’s think it’s within their realm to shut them down to trucks? Yes they will need trash removal. Isn’t that cheaper than mopping up dead bodies off of the interstate? I would think so.
Barbara Skelton says
Drivers don’t always park in the spot correctly if you have 25 or 30 trucks parked in correctly that takes a lot of parking spots there is a lot of good drivers and you have bad drivers. The drivers spend a lot of money in truck stops some employees are just flat out rude and hateful
Steve says
Pay for parking at 15 to 25 dollars a night that takes a lot of money out of the driver’s pocket plus truckers buy items in the store as well have you want us to deliver goods but not have a place to rest, maybe we should give our business to mom and pop shops that do have amassive amount of free parking spaces for us and don’t charge
Jeff says
Been trucking 20 years. Probably been 2yrs since I slept in a truckstop. I just get my fuel and fly. Dont even get out of the truck at a cat scale(thanks cat app).
Snowflake says
Thanks for sharing, stinky.
Michael Gambino says
No incentive? So, more trucks parked at a truck stop doesnt result in higher sales? Trying to bully us into paying rent. Idiots.
Snowflake says
It’s all BS. Travel Plazas (Glorified Convenience Stores), the fuel solutions are BS as well. If OTR drivers ever get put on hourly wage the BS fuel solution will be the first to end. What a waist of time sitting in some BS fuel solution stop. It’s all BS…
JR says
“If more driver would pay for parking”?” WTH? There are already too many costs for drivers and companies. I am so sick of everyone wanting their cut of trucking. The industry is bleeding out. The travel centers need to just pay for expanding their own parking lots. It’s the “cost of doing business” for them as well!
John Garrison says
Very accurately put! I can not believe the drivers that pay for these reserved parking spots!! It makes me want to vomit! All they are doing is empowering these places to keep ripping us off! If they would quit paying for parking spots that bs would go away!! What’s next fuel pump rental on top of high fuel prices??!!
TLC says
I wish it was possible for all truck drivers to go on strike. We go through too much trying to get American freight to them. Between these regulated hours, forced breaks, tight docks spaces, shut down rest area and now paying for parking you can’t be satisfied. America your asking for to much. America keeps forgetting we are the reason you live in that house, drive that car, wear those clothes/ shoes, an eat/ drink. What’s that old saying “don’t bite the hand that feeds you”
Peggy Reed says
My husband is an over the road trucker & I go with him sometimes. Maybe she should go on a trip with someone so she can see what truckers go through. I bet her ideas of what it is like would change if she had to experience it in real life.
Emil says
It is the drivers’ fault. Drivers ruined parking because they are litter bugs. More team drivers would help parking. $15 parking at the TA is too high. 5 dollars at the gate and given an in store credit for the 10 hours your there.
Carrie says
You say there’s a shortage in the trucking industry truthfully there’s a shortage and every state for truck stops they only a few that half a lot of parking as the Petro/TA the Northeast used to have a lot of truck stops but they all close their doors because of the fuel prices I think you people need to look on the other side of the the industry it’s not the trucker’s fault because of the E-logs most likely are running on bankers hour need to go back the hours five on five off but that will never work.
Cathy Maxwell says
Laughable.
Most large corporation truck stops nationwide are horrible.
Dirty.. no upgrades.. disgusting overpriced food.. unhealthy choices.. showers that cost as much as a reserved space.. …and foul and disgusting.
I know some really small places that truly honor and are theyre like Olden days for the truckers..TA.. PETRO ..PILOT.. largely are not.
Loves is cleaner and offers more incentives but not ample enough and has terrible food choices.
There’s never enough parking.. period. Truckers have become largely unwelcome in most states.
And the new breed of driver is largely an embarrassment to both sides.
I look for out of the way old school places.. …and will gladly pay if there’s something worth paying for.
Enough said.
It’s safer and cleaner elsewhere.
Jeff Pearson says
Pay for parking? What? Your over priced fuel ..crappy food..and over priced extras isnt cutting it any more? You steal from us with hot fuel ( where you actually get less fuel from that gallon registered on the pump) many truckstops dont have a resturant but fast food…back in the day truckstops had good food that was healthy..and had taste..and wouldnt plug up your arteries with fat..but noooo they were shoved out of business by the big boys..who now want to squeeze more out of you by charging for parking…bet that charge wont even cover any security..or safety..or cut down on speeders..but just goes in somebodys pocket..its all about the corporate buck..and what they can suck out of your close to empty pockets…just like that over priced fuel..
Rambo1 says
” Black Smoke needs to pick out a handful of Truck Stops each week and block the Truck fuel islands for 3 days and move around the Country and let Trucking Companies know where and when the TSs are going to be protested. # days w/o diesel revenue will get the Corporate attention. It can take 3 hours to fill 200 gallons of fuel. I would donate to a Go Fund me for slow fuel purchases !
Mike says
It’s always the trucker’s fault we buy overpriced food spend ridiculous amounts on fuel and now we should pay the park what a joke people don’t get it without us trucks America shuts down
Jd says
My company pays for the fuel,pays for all repairs on the truck and trailer,which they own it,I just drive,its a nice truck,,2017 freightliner,I pack up all my food and clothes,and take out,its really not that bad,,maybe it takes a moment to find a spot to park,but who hasn’t had to look for a spot at Walmart in your personal car,think of other jobs where you actually do manual labor,has anyone seen a truck driver,,most are out of shape and are excuse me for saying nasty, stink,inside of truck is terrible,so don’t trash the rest areas or truck stops,that’s why they are all closing or making you pay,oh and stop whining it’s the easiest job out there,and if it’s that bad take up another career
Jacob Iceman says
So say I don’t buy fuel at there truck stops for fuel card discount reasons . So 17 to park and 15 to shower and 15 to eat. So 47 dollars a day to have safe legal parking where I will only be there 10hr with a shower and a meal seems expensive. Don’t forget when you go to a major truck stop and its 50cent more expensive a gallon then the BP next door because they don’t have truck lanes and only sell to cars but nope the truck stop says it’s a cost of doing business, since when does buying in bulk a couple hundred gallons at a time cost more then buying 5 or 10? Open your eyes saying it’s our fault because we wont pay to park is a disgrace we pay a premium for everything we buy at a truck stop there is not a single item in a truck stop today that is cheaper then any of there non truck competition. Don’t forget if every spot was a paid spot there would still be no spots that extra money would get lost in the shuffle, TA have converted a ton of stops to 2/3s paid parking and they fill up every night for a couple years now and I have yet to see those stops expand by a single spot. Just every couple months they pay parking gets larger and the free spots lose a couple.
Tammy Wildrick says
I would love to challenge Ms Lisa Mullings
& any other panel member to live the life of a trucker for oohhhh well as long as their self-entitled rears could handle it. So about 2 days! LOL! It’s a hard enough lifestyle w/EVERYONE in your pockets & EVERYTHING is your responsibility & fault. But damn a driver should be able to find a place to sleep so s/he can wake up refreshed to handle all the country’s hate while s/he is simply trying to haul the goods the ingrates take for granted daily!
V Kelly-Parker says
Oh, No she didn’t!
I can’t even with this..
{Face palm}
zip it lock it
John says
Yes truckers are taking up a lot of parking…our government.to which has never been in a truck.or used a lot book. Caused this…So Don’t Blame The Truckers.Blame.Our Government…Because. You The Public Has No Idea. What. You. Are talking About..You Are Assuming. You. Do..you don’t. You want the truckers oppenion. Ask one
Derrick says
Once upon a time, I was an ironworkers apprentice, I worked with my father, a journeyman ironworker. We were working on a job, a minimum security detention facility in the Ogden area (Utah). My father was extremely frustrated with the plans and the rebar we were working with. Nothing fit correctly! Every one of these bended bears had to be bent to make them fit. He made a comment after a while; he said, “engineers should have to do a few years in the road patch before they are able to start drawing up plans, so that they know what will work and what won’t!”
Not exactly off topic, more of an example.
People that sit in offices, drawing things up on paper, design plans that they believe will work. It makes the people in charge happy, so they put it into effect. These are people who most likely have never been in the driver’s seat (so to speak) to see how those plans will effect real people. Tolls, fuel costs, demanding regulations for the industry that is supplying the goods they want. These are most likely also the type of people that think store shelves magically restock themselves over night. We haul the things you buy every day. Most of us do not reside in your state, but we are there bringing you your stuff. We don’t go home at the end of the day like you do, we are 2500 plus miles from our bed. We don’t just work in our home of record, we get sent everywhere.
Parking is a huge issue for us all. I remember when I was a kid, seeing trucks parked at the side of I15 from Draper all the way up into salt lake city. I daresay parking was easier for professional drivers back then.
We are not loaded, pockets bulging with money like some people I have talked to seem to think. There are few reimbursements for the things we HAVE to pay for.
Truck stops know that we have few options available to us for parking and shopping. They provide basic items, all the same most of the time, and I mean basic. We have to go without what we really need, and pay the ridiculous high prices you are charging for what we can get. “Convenience” is true to the word for us, because our options are limited. We can’t just pull into a supermarket to stock up on what we really want, save ourselves some money, like you can. We have to eat the same things every day, week, month that we are away from home. We can’t just pull off the highway into that small convenience store to use the restroom when we need to, we have to drive miles, sometimes hours to find a suitable place. We can’t just pull off the highway to a truck stop and pay for parking, I just have you all of my money 9 hours ago at the last location I was at getting my breakfast and coffee! We pay the scale, fuel, food prices at your truck stop already, which most of us wouldn’t do if we had more options. How much do we have to pay you exactly? You already get it all!
Live a week in our lives please..
Bill says
Who here is spending 50% or more on fuel? HTF. How are we O/O supposed live on less than minimum wage? The public see’s our safe equipment, however not our pay stub. We were safer driver’s without ELOG that also allowed us to make better use of the parking issue because as most of you know we would rather sleep shorter periods but more often. I wonder how many 80,000 lb. driverless incidents it will take before we see our insurance rates take a hit?
L.A. Draper says
One of the most ridiculous statements about Trucking that I have ever read. I just want to pay down my bills and get out. I’m sorry boys and girls, but this country has been at war with labor since it was founded and nothing has changed. From slavery to Union busting, the people who do the work, always lose.
Thomas says
I went had tires replaced lost my parking spot at 2am because I lost a spot that I had 4 hours in to my break I asked for a reserve spot they had lots of them nope you need to pay 17 dollars this happens a lot
Allen Harvey says
Pay to park? Are you kidding? How many workers go to work and have to pay to park? We are out here weeks,months at a time. I think its disgraceful to even suggest it Isour fault. It cost $15 to $20 to park. That’s $105 to $140 a week. We already lost our per diem now you want us to pay to park. Drive at night, take a look at rest areas and on and off ramps always full of truckers.
Gypsy Mother Trucker says
Anyone remember the greedy tactic of “Pay Toilets” in the past? I remember those.
Now how was it that those went away?
People protested? Stop using the bathroom? Held door open for next in line? Crawled under? Pooped on the floor outside the stalls?
All I know is that they disappeared.
We need “Pay parking” to disappear too.
Doc says
It is getting out of control I have been out here since 84 since you guys want to shut it down April 12th 2019 I suggest that you take action my pops was in all three shutdowns and they got it done you can do the same
JUST DO IT
Kevin Boyette says
I’ve said for years. Go back to paid parking, 100% everyone pays.
BUT:
5 bucks maximum
Keep the local daycabs, dump trucks, tree trimmers, log trucks, etc. OUT OF THE PARKING LOT!
Too many companies and drivers treat the truckstop like it’s their personal yard.
Enough already.
Ronald Harris says
This Mullins is apparently running her opinions/mouth based on a lack of research and understanding of the stress factors associated with planning our trips and complying with DOT time constraints! Not to mention the money spent at the Truck stops buying overly inflated merchandise!
Little Muscle Trucker says
I completely understand what OTR Truck Drivers gi thru. I hauled OTR since 1988, turn of events stopped, then last yr. had gotten back hauling OTR, spouse passed. Every one that commented the phrase “Money” ‘nd “Greed” ‘nd “Pencil Pushers” I agree Should Have to Haul OTR for one month, get a taste of what Real Truck Drivers face everyday. AMAN Truckers I Pray for all of ya. God keep you all safe and my hat goes off to ya every day.
T's Lady says
The astronomical prices charged on food, drinks, personal hygiene supplies, phone accessories, etc…plus the money made off fuel is enough to keep free, safe, parking for every driver out there. It is also enough for the upkeep of the parking lot. It’s ridiculous to throw your trash out your door or window! Most of the lots have numerous trash cans on each row or every other row of spaces. Quit throwing it all over the lot, put it in the garbage cans, please! Lisa and all of these other big shots, most likely, have never even seen the inside of a tractor (unless it was in a picture). They don’t have a clue what we deal with on a daily basis. All they care about and want to do is line their pockets and bank accounts deeper in dollars. The more of these $$$$$ they can see in the bottom line, the more they want to see next time they meet. Search out the Mom and Pop places, they have better food, you can sit down to eat and enjoy it, free parking, most charge $4 or $5 for a shower and some give that back when you’re done, and they’ll normally have a small laundry but the prices are often $1.00 or $1.25 per wash load and 25 cents per 10 minutes in the dryer, usually 75 cents per load. Let Lisa and her big shot buddy’s pay corporate costs.
Bill Kast says
The parking issue was indeed the “nail in the coffin” which finally pushed me over the edge into retirement. Whenever I get tempted to go back to work, I think about the daily mental stress I endured worrying about where I was going to camp out for the night.
David says
What a DOPE, to say trucks are at fault. She’s bound to be on some sort meds, and away too much! Good luck finding a space after dark in a pilot, j ,or most major t-stops. These guys are usually .20 – .30 cents higher than mom& pop just down the road and the little independent stations appreciates your business . May not have much parking but, usually they can suggest a good place. Also, I see lots of rest areas and available parking closed !
Patrick Willson says
Alot of truck stops are used as personal parking during off time and when they do go to work they Park their POVs in the parking spot.
Dean says
Mullings is a liar and greedy. The national truck stop chains already get paid for that parking in the extra $.38-.50 cents per gallon they charge for their fuel over competitors like Speedway, Circle K and others. If they want us to pay for parking them they need to lower the fuel prices at least $.38 cents a gallon. This is just another way these Giants can rip us off.
TimmyDean says
When pay $.60more a gallon for fuel and around 50% more for the merchandise they sell, isn’t that supposed to cover the parking? Stop buying at the big chains support the Mom and Pops, the prices are much more reasonable anyway, and let them eat their paid parking.
Dale Kirk says
If the truck stops would monitor there parking lot and run the locals off or start making them pay to park they could afford to build more parking areas on their truck stops…..the locals do that cause they can’t park at home for 1 reason or the other and they don’t want to pay for a spot on a storage lot some place……if you going to be in business and own a truck you need to own or rent a spot to park it when you are at home
Mary says
Is she serious??? With the prices we have to pay for fuel and truck stop mercantile? Obviously she is out of touch with the needs of drivers and the community at large….safe roadways to bring commerce to the public without falling asleep at the wheel! Shameful there aren’t any truckers represented in these meeting and boards. If she had a clue…more truckers on your property naturally generates more revenue: scales, fuel, repairs, food & beverage, supplies, etc. It might surprise her and the rest of the elite that many of us come from high level professional backgrounds.
B says
The 200% markup on your store items isnt enough?
Joshua says
More thn 1/2 of parking space at TA and Petro truck-stops is already payed parking and they haven’t added one extra parking slot since, but allot of locations have gotten rid of the sit down restaurants in favor of fast food joints who charge 20% to 25% more at a truck-stop location than their own in town locations for the same garbage. Their fuel/diesel prices are way above the average fuel/diesel price at car gas stations by a whopping 30% to 40% and the same goes for every other item and service they sell.
The more they gauge, the more greedy they get and it seams that there’s no stopping it !
State governments and federal agencies are doing the same and all they think about is how to create more regulations in order to create probles to the lowest common denominator – the stiff behind the wheel of a commercial vehicle – and the only sollution they have for everithing is more and higher tolls, fees and taxes while coumpounding more laws and regulatory crap with every legislature session.
America has literally become “The Land of The Fee and Home of The Slave” while the only justice you can get is the one you can afford to pay for !!!
Jeff says
Load of CRAP
Floyd says
We all know that these people are only looking out for the Rich, close large rest areas and add more paid parking at truck stops, if people are still shutting down on 4/15/19 Then I’ll be home!!!!
Phillip says
It no sense to pay $20 for parking and not even get to stay a full 24 hours. If the prices weren’t so high for everything we encounter then some of us more than likely wouldn’t mind paying for parking. Not to mention having to pay to exit with the options to get 60 gallons of fuel or spend $40 on items in the store to park for free.
Eric Winston says
More shippers and receivers should bear the brunt of this debate. Most have parking. Most need our services but my biggest concern in driver respect. The trash, the disrespect for the property. Wal-Mart used to be a great place to stop. We, WE, screwed that up. Not only Wal-Mart management but but local laws over ruling Wal-Mart because of our fellow truckers that are disrespectful to our stops.
As well. Changing your schedule to drive helps emencly. I start between 2 and 4 am and always have a spot anywhere. Most truckers run 7 to 5. I don’t get it. We got to split it up.
We definitely need more spots. If we had all the trucks on the road that this country needs now, there would be a serious problem just to fit them on the interstate. Much more finding a spot to rest.
Myron Carthen, Sr. says
I spend enough money at truck stops to have to pay to park. I’ll never pay to park
Marc says
Really? Many newer drivers don’t have 20 + dollars a day on hand to spend on parking, even if it would save them overall for the year. If that is their reasoning, then they need to try to influence the owners of the trucking companies to come up with way for the company to pay for the parking directly, such as an account number driver can give to truck stop to pay for it.
Gus says
When you hear idiots like this trying to take the very last penny, buy fuel somewhere else and then use their parking lot.
Michelle says
This paid parking started about the same time as the ELDs…hmmmm.
Roland says
ELD didn’t cause the parking shortage. HOS are the same whether ELD or Paper. The difference is that drivers with paper logs refuse to log legally and always cheat the time. Dishonest drivers is what brought along the need for ELD. Drivers couldn’t be trusted to do it legally so the government had to do something.. ELD. I rarely have a problem finding parking because I plan my days and trips accordingly. I agree with you that east coast parking sucks, but I always find a spot if I stop each day around 5 pm. I start each again at 5 AM. Always a place to park, never been late with a load in 10 years. And I run ELD legally. 3000 miles a week and home on weekends. Bills are paid.
Howard says
How much much more do truckers really have to pay?
The diesel is high price, anything bought at a truck stop is expensive, and now she have the ordasity to recommend truckers pay for parking to solve a lack of safe parking spaces at truck stops. Sound like to me, she just said some mojo to keep her pay check.
Donald Lippold says
All i got to say is this..if we pay for parking it is jus another hand in our pockets taking the money we work for. In average i put out about 80$ a week on paid parking. Why do i still have to fight to find a spot?
Richard says
Those thieves just wanna rip us off more.
Tami Potirala says
It’s not my cost,in doing business. I,pay too much already and I’m not willing to pay for parking
Michael A Overington says
So these truckstops bleed us dry for everything now it’s our fault that they spend the 100’s of millions of dollars they gouge us for on their over inflated salaries, pensions & bonuses. Will someone please explain to me what these scumbags actually do for us. I’ve been in this industry for 40yrs back in the day the mom & pop truckstops catered to us because they wanted our business, these corporate moron’s don’t care. I personally do not give them my business I buy my fuel at gas stations for 40-60 cents a gallon cheaper & eat at dinner where the food is home cooked not processed garbage & it’s usually cheaper. I hope these greedy SOB,s rot in hell
Baker says
Pay for parking…., Everything in a truck stop is way over priced, they making a fortune off of us already.
Joseph Webb says
I wonder if this person who claims drivers should pay to park when we buy fuel, eat, and bath at these places they are over priced on everything it’s not convenient we pay for at Truckstops a trucker is fleeced. Example 1gal of oil $25.99 same 1 gal at Walmart $13.99 Rural King is $12.99. a bag of chips $4.99 at stores listed $2.99. everything thing is 100% to 200% markup. Now add in I’ll tempered workers who hate there jobs, filthy bathrooms, potholes in these parking lots (we have to pay to park in) that are never filled. Tell you what Mr.and Mrs know-it-all buy a tractor since it’s so easy and drive 1 year I’ll bet you change your mind. BTW I’ve got 2.98 million miles 0 CSA score and I’m a professional when everyone else is not.
Chris says
Lisa Mullings is another one of those rocket scientists with no clue. Who’s pocket is she trying to fill while taking money out of ours.?
Brenda says
One of the things that would be helpful is drivers not storing their barely used trucks and trailer in spaces. I’m using small local truckstops and this is really becoming a problem. At the one I park at and buy fuel there are approx 1/4 spaces taken by stuff that doesnt move for week or more
Robert Benoit says
It’s a load of crap. I spend 1,500 a week in fuel on average. In the truck stop I spend 75-150 a week on average. Take all of the money you are making and make more parking. We Shouldn’t have to pay for parking.
As someone who has occasionally paid for parking I can say it’s a scam. Pay for parking and get lucky to get your reserved spot in some places.
Of get blocked in at some places because the genius that makes a spot for some reason chooses to do it right next to the building or in front of the reserved parking area.
I complained to flying j/pilot. Inside truck stop they said parking lot is not their problem. TA refused to make the guy move. I said make him move or give me a refund on my paid spot.
Rohan Hendrickson says
She’s out of her mind.
Peter Tildesley says
I can’t say I’m willing to pay to park in a truck stop for a couple of reasons. Firstly let me state that I’m an owner operator. Truck stops don’t have anything I want apart from fuel and spares. The food will kill you because it’s fast food mostly. The old Mom & Pops are now nearly all gone along with the restaurants. If you own a truckstop you need to listen to your experienced drivers. I eat out only once or twice a week. I bring food from home and use my microwave. I have a fridge freezer. Nothing… and I mean NOTHING you sell is fresh apart from the odd dodgy salad and a few limp sandwiches. Stock something I can buy and use. I’ll buy it, and you will make money and that will encourage me to visit and park.
I know my safe spots and they aren’t in truck stops. The simple basic facts are you simply do not understand your customers. They don’t drive SUVs and buy snack food.
Bob Morgan says
What a crock!
We go into trucking to make more money not to give it to greedy companies that already charge way too much for everything. I see all the time large open areas.that are reserved parking that are empty.
At $15.00 a night I cannot afford to pay for parking every night. That’s $450.00 a month. How about taking care of the customers that you wouldn’t exist without. These empty reserved parking spaces didn’t exist the first time I was in trucking and parking wasn’t as hard to get back then.
They’ve got the trucker over a barrel so they screw them. That’s all there is to it!
Ginger Hill says
What about company drivers that pay out of pocket for “paid parking”? We don’t always get it repaid, but it’s no longer a tax deduction either.
Randy says
I GLADLY pay for a parking space when I need one. Typically anyone who pays to park next to me is also a career driver like myself and there’s at least a prayer they won’t tear my fender off when they pull out. Drivers bring so much of this on themselves. You buy fuel from the pc of crap convenience store fuel stops that have 4 parking spaces and then come to a Petro and think a parking space and a shower should be provided for you for free. I’ve been an owner operator since 78 and I understand it’s just business. Truckstops have to pay people to clean up the parking lots after lazy pigs throw their trash (and other disgusting stuff) out on the ground and can’t even walk 20 feet to a trash can. Honestly, the ONLY reason for a truckstop to be in business is to be profitable—-wait, that’s the same reason I’M in business. What a concept….
Jack Sechrest says
We shouldn’t have to pay to park in your parking lot give you your business and by your fuel open up the paid parking people would have a place to park
Tre says
These people are nuts. When will drivers get a clue and park the trucks for a week or two. All problems will be solved immediately
Rob says
I think paid parking would work as a business idea, as long as they set up a monthly price ($80)instead of the daily rip-off! No wonder those reserved spots are mostly empty!
Al says
Does Lisa really understand how stupid her statement sounds? Not all companies reimburse drivers for parking. For just 21 days at $18 that’s $378 a month. Around $4536 a year. Not too many company drivers can afford that loss since they are not allowed to take it off their taxes anymore.
Wanderer says
You guys are gonna hate me, but she’s right. But it needs to all be through one app, verifies you through gps -like truckerpath – and they need to realize $15 is too rich. So many truck stops with 100 spots, at $3, that’s $9,000 a month if they keep it full, but only runs us $60 a month to always park given our stops at rest areas shippers and terminals. And we are losing like 30 min a night to it, so we’re paying $13 times 20 nights = $260 a month to save $60.
Billy Burns says
I am so glad to find out this is my fault now I can take measures to fix this problem. I get 6 days a month off at home average that’s 72 days a year. If I pay to park 293 days a year at $15 dollars every 10 hr break that’s $4395.00 a year plus what I need to pay to when home $1080.00 this just 1 driver 1 truck multiply that times ever how many truck there are and now your favorite grocery item goes from 1 dollar to 10 bucks because I will pass this on to the freight charge I hope NATSO is ready for the increase in every thing.
S. Marty Pantz says
Several observations. Used to be TS’s used to have Blue Plate Specials, a cheap meal with one meat and 2 sides at a low price and very quick. Now, they think they’re some kind of touristy destination. Jubits, in Portland. One of my fave’s. Went touristy; has a Chef, you pay extra for a salad, and it’s mostly empty at meal time. Note: many drivers we talk to don’t use their heads re the stupid 30 minute break. Use it for your lunch break. I think some enterprising trucker should retire, buy a couple acres, put in parking, composting toilets, invite a Blue Plate Special cafe operator and charge only $1 a night. Think it’s possible? With the respect this shows drivers, it has a good chance to thrive and if kept up, would bring a huge sigh of relief all across the land.
Ron Stewart says
We do pay for parking. The major truckstops charge $0.40-$0.80 cents per gallon over cost on fuel. Not to mention the stuff sold in the truckstops is marked way up above normal margins. They make plenty of money. This is just a way to allow the truckstops to charge for parking and for drivers to be ok with it. Greedy people are killing trucking.
Star says
Why should we have to pay for parking. We have to pay for way too much for fuel and other supplies we need. Not to mention IF we were to pay for parking and we get our truck position right some other person would take our spot. Claiming that they will only be for a minute.
When ever we leave our trucks and come back to them we have to do another trip inspection because someone could of done something hazardous to our rig.
We get ripped off by everyone else for everything about the truck for maintenance, licences, ins, toll passes and weight station for load problems.
If anything you people need to be helpful and make life and our day ALOT LESS STRESSFUL. Remember you also need us to deliver you products whether it be gas or food or supplies for your stops. Here’s an idea why don’t you go get your CDL license class A and go haul stuff and drive your routt and have too work around all of the chaos and you have to get it done in a certain time frame and it doesn’t matter if roads are not safe to drive DO IT ANYWAY. Because everyday people might MIGHT come in for that one item that you are out of.
Maybe if you actually drove a routt for 3 months you would have an understanding of what we go through. We are only drivers, ie so if the load is too heavy it’s not the company that get ticketed it’s the driver. Not the owner or warehouse crew or frontend loader putting too many rocks in the trailer. It’s the DRIVER.
Give us a break somewhere.
Stephen Harris says
Its funny we didn’t have a parking problem till after Nafta. You go to laredo tx, parking is nothing but Mexican trucks.. They park their cars in parking spots then put their trucks in those spots at end of day.
Steven Evans says
So glad I quit trucking and it only going to get worse if more drivers stay out there. They don’t RESPECT drivers and sure as heck don’t care if they make money. Now they want to charge the drivers for parking to pay for more parking. Trucking has become a cash cow and blame game for everyone. Lawsuits against drivers are up and heavy in penalties. Yet most truck accidents are initiated by cars. ELDs, HOS and DOT INS makes sure drivers don’t make money. Can’t wait until more drivers quit trucking.
Steven Evans says
I can only imagine how things will sparrow out of control with this new b.s. If every truck driver paid for parking at $17 / night for 365 that means everybody will spend over $6000.00/yr. Meaning less money for the drivers and their families. Smh at these greedy ppl in the gov offices.
Dave says
‘The cost of doing business.’
I am not in business. I work as a company driver.
Roland says
I see a lot of folks blaming ELD for parking. ELD didn’t cause the parking shortage. HOS are the same whether ELD or Paper. The difference is that drivers with paper logs refuse to log legally and always cheat the time. Dishonest drivers is what brought along the need for ELD. Drivers couldn’t be trusted to do it legally so the government had to do something.. ELD. I rarely have a problem finding parking because I plan my days and trips accordingly. I agree that parking sucks, but I always find a spot if I stop each day around 5 pm. I start each again at 5 AM. Always a place to park, never been late with a load in 10 years. And I run ELD legally. 3000 miles a week and home on weekends. Bills are paid. As for the expensive food and store items I see folks complaining about, WHY do you buy your stuff in those places? Do you buy all the supplies and food for your house from a truck stop too? Of course you don’t. Lots of stores have truck access to buy food and supplies. A 10 dollar crock pot, 50 dollar microwave, a 20 dollar small George Foreman grill, and a decent cooler (ice or electric) will save you thousands of dollars a year. Fill crock pot at noon… and dinner is ready at 5 (or whatever hours you drive).
Jay says
Roland, don’t bend your halo when you lay down tonight. It’s not that we cheated with paper logs, it’s just that these electronic monsters count down to the last second. It was bad enough when it was minutes but now it’s to the last second. On paper you at least have 15 minutes of ambiguity to work with. Where’s the logic in coming up to a truck stop with 3 minutes to go after already looking 5 previous places with no available spaces and coming off the ramp just to get stopped by a red light. By the time you sit thru the light, turn down the street and into the lot those 3 minutes are gone and you are, even though you made it to the lot, are in violation because your truck is still moving and hasn’t been stationary for 5 minutes or less. You think a cop is going to let you sit in the street for 5 minutes so you can creep into the lot without triggering the driving status again? Sure, it’s stupid to even try to say we didn’t cheat at times but the fact we’re all here proves it did no harm and still wouldn’t. It’s just a matter of control. All these so-called “safety” regulations are for only 2 things… to keep insurance companies from having to pay a claim or at least not as high a claim and government to have more control. I challenge anyone to prove me wrong!
Jumel says
The Truck Stops already make enough money off us. We buy fuel, food, and other overpriced items. Some do charge for parking already. If they have the land, they should pave more free parking. More Trucks, more revenue.
Super trucker says
The truck stop association is just as crooked as the ata i read an article that when states where looking at implementing food options at rest areas to help out tired truck drivers the truck stops lobvied hard agaisnt it saying it would take their business.
Ive had it I started trying to support the smaller places as much as possible. AMBEST truckstops have been pretty good about driver courtesy atleast most of them still have a restaurant
Jay says
I circled thru a truck stop parking lot a few nights ago just to see if there was an empty space. What a shock I got… there were none! Even the reserved spaces were full. Maybe if I went inside and offered more for a space they would have woke someone up and told them to leave? Maybe we should start auctioning these spaces off to the highest bidder. Bottom line is… there are only so many spaces available whether free or pay so making them all pay is going to solve not a damn thing. Lisa, GET A GRIP!
Sharron says
100% agreed we don’t mind paying to park as our company reimburses us for paid parking
Brian says
We need a truck strike all trucks need to shut down for more parkingthe government needs to put in more rest areas they want to do these e-logs but they don’t have no place for us to sleep the motoring public think we are all ignorant pigs what would they do if we all stopped everybody would starve to death it would look good on them we need a truck strike.
Sharron says
Well we are willing to pay for parking…we drive west coast and you can’t even reserve a spot in Most truck stops after 2pm it is too frustrating, when we don’t even pick up before then therefore don’t know how far we can get after loading. Love’s has no paid parking and PFJ let’s pickups and campers fill the truck lot. You want us to pay build so we can…Company driver here, and our company reimburses for parking so the paying is not the issue.
Tony Grillo says
Well truckstop chains are already charging for parking at its not very cheap because there aren’t that many spots to pay for. This lady maybe right. Paying for parking would create a demand to offer more paid parking spots and there would be completion to get those dollars and parking prices would go down. The bad thing is it will eat into profits.
Wendell Moeller says
Mulling, you are a moron period.
This isn’t about safety, and you people don’t give a damn about us drivers just lining your pockets. Paying for parking isn’t going to make more parking, that’s the stupidest thing i’ve heard. Most of these truck stops cant build more parking due to zoning laws and residents voting against it.
Steven Monroe says
I used to be loyal to TA Petro. Once elogs were implemented reserved parking started. They increase the amount of reserved spots every quarter because they are a publicly traded company and have to so increases for the share holders. The restaurants are going away because a lot of the new generation drivers prefer fast food and most of the rookie drivers can’t afford the high price they charge. I finally said enough with TA Petro when they took away our shower credits for this new gear points they started. I had 8 showers on my card and they took them all. I now use the AMBEST network which is independently owned truck stops that have to meet certain standards to be a member of. If I fuel at a AMBEST in Ga I can still have a free shower in Texas. If there are no AMBEST I go to Sapp brothers.
Mustang says
PAY for parking? You mean over and above the price-gouging you inflict on us, your captive audience, through $1.99 liters of water, $2.99 per can for a “cheap” energy drink, and $3.95 ATM fees? ( That’s what it was when I refused to continue paying upwardly-ratcheting prices a few years ago…) and the infinite number of ways you wring every last cent out of us?
You are who gives capitalism a bad name!
Cher says
Most drivers avoid the truck stops because of the extra cost for food and convenience. Fuel costs are outrageous and now they want to add to the expense. Are they going to charge travelers for parking.. I doubt it!!
Kenny Bruno says
Over and over we pay billions a year in fuel to these chain truck stops along with the over priced lamp food they charge two times over. They claim they can’t or wont build lots enough to accomadate the very same people that warrant(?) their 6 figure salary? Yes, ask the manager of a Piolot Flying J how much they make. I personally talked to someone who worked at one who now works at Wells Fargo and she said she doesn’t worked their anymore but divulged what managers who have seceral stores make. I was floored to hear whst theynpetentially could make with bounes included. Where does that money come from. My point is from us, the truckers.
No, we as truckers are sick of heathen greedy businesses like these larger truck plaza, truck stops that expect large salarys, but seem to nickle and dime us the death. How much more money do you expect is enough profit in this billion dollar industry? Everyone expects the cost to trickle down to the average salaried driver that earns under 60k.
BIG BUSINESS ALWAYS GET AWAY WITH RUTHLESS BUSINESS PRACTICES AND DONT EXPECT TO PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE.
I’ll see in the dirt where I’ll park until big business runs a fair deal.
william says
NO PARKING, no fuel purchased
Problem solved!!!
BY THE TRUCKERS
Wally says
I use points to pay for food, don’t pay to park, unless it’s a parking lot where the entire lot is a paid lot, not individual spaces. It’s a tax write off. I don’t agree with it, but I pass along the price to the consumer.
This is what every trucker should be doing and if you can’t do it, don’t be a trucker anymore. Quit. OR Start charging a parking surcharge. Courtesy of the bad parking regulations nationwide in cities and towns, and of the lack of parking thanks to the truck stops.
If you are a company driver, the company should be paying for your parking. If you are an O/O, then you need to adjust your prices to reflect your new parking expense.
William B Bartholomew Jr says
Truckers find it necessary to pull off the road and park on on/off ramps. They should not be required to pay for parking that would not fix the problem. Also states like Virginia, punish truckers who can’t find a spot in a rest area or truck stop and park on an off ramp or on ramp or the side of the road being as safe as possible to avoid falling asleep at the wheel. Yes there needs to be something done, however, the truckers shouldn’t be the ones who have to pay, maybe the states and trucking companies should be the ones to pay for more rest areas and, Truck Stops. New truck stops should also be financed in some by all truk stop owners after all they wouldn’t be in business if the truckers didn’t eat and fuel up at their locations. I’m sure they aren’t hurting for money, and creating more parking, rest areas and truck stops, would not hurt their bottom line but, increase their profits without raising their prices or CHARGING THE TRUCKERS TO PARK!!!!!!!!
William Jackson says
All they want is our money. They want our companies 200 gallons of fuel, They want to grab as cash out of the driver’s pockets as possible in the shortest amount of time, all you have to do is look at the prices. Low quality foods such as McDonald’s Arby’s bad food for drivers.
Big Booblyboo says
That Mullings woman should pay to park up to 20$ a night. She would sing a different tune. She thinks if everyone paid for parking it would solve the issue. HAHA!!!! So why don’t these truckstops put in new spots and charge to park in addition to keeping the old spots free? Because they know it would be harder to get drivers to pay. If T/A has 300 free spots and adds 100 new 15.00$ spots, the 300 would get filled and the new 100 spots would never be full. Think about this, if the states opened up parking areas as truck parking only and enforced it as truck parking only, truckstops would never sell a parking spot. If the politicians were to actually see this issue for what it really is (safety), things would change for the better.
Jason Wells says
Diesel Fuel is the left over sludge from making Gasoline. The sludge is taken and refined to be used in Diesel Motors in all industries including Government. The Sludge is a free biproduct that used to be dirt cheap at the pump and is now used to control how much a Driver can earn/pocket and take home. This is how we get screwed over and money gets harder to make. E-logs only added to this Truth by limiting how much you can earn by limiting your hours. It’s all about control. Trucking has went to the crapper.
Santiago says
Why is it that the answer to everything is ,” if the truckers would pay”. We pay high fuel prices, high toll prices, fuel taxes. We provide a service that is under appreciated in the country.
When will someone say let’s give truckers a break & do something for them w/o us having to pay for it.
Richard Smith says
You are not doing us a favor so dont make it sound like are..company drivers in some cases get an extra penny raise thrown at them maybe every 3 years, while yall sit in your 1/2 million to a million dollar homes looking down the mountain at all the little people. It’s so un Christian how yall do this..everything is more than double in price, what loophole have you found that allows you to charge such outrageous prices when we can go to Walmart and get the same stuff at a fair price? Capitalism at it’s finest..Most companies now a day are putting refrigerator ‘s in there trucks and explaining to them the pitfalls of being on the road, and buying anything in these places is a bad habit to get into.My company dont supply refrigerator ‘s but there are more than 20 driver’s taking these student drivers under are wings and helping them to get a fridge, and were not the only ones doing this so yes the day is comming your gonna miss us buying supplies in these places..HIGHWAY ROBBERS. PIRATES.
Larry Shryock says
Natso-nazi Lisa Mullings.
Well mizzz Mullings, why don’t you do the math.
You clearly don’t understand what $17-$20 per day x 340+/- days, subtraction for limited hometime looks like.
Mizz Lisa Mullings an uneducated ass hate, who makes $17 seem like chump change.<–perhaps to her it is.
Everything you own in your home, Everything you'll ever own has at some point been moved by a truck driver who, sacrifices family time for pay & sure is not getting wealthy being gone from his/her home.
OBVIOUSLY SHE NEVER DROVE A TRUCK,
MOST EXECUTIVES & Political wingnuts DICTATING TO TRUCK DRIVERS ever evolving rules.
Have NEVER DRIVEN A TRUCK.
We have for the most part,
The some interstate system, NOW JAMMED FULL of millions of cars, ●HIGHWAY PATROL, DOT & LOCAL POLICE, ALL FOCUSED ON NAILING ANY TRUCK, FOR HIGHER PRICED TICKETS FOR THE "SAME" OFFENSES, OVER SEVERAL CARS, WHO ARE SPEEDING, TEXTING, SWIRVING IN & OUT OF LANES, ONLY TO ZOOM OFF THE HIGHWAY WITHOUT 1 USE OF A TURN SIGNAL.
THANK GOD BREAK LIGHTS ARE AUTOMATIC, or CAR DRIVERS WOULDNT USE THEM EITHER.
●THE FACT IS: A PERSON CAN GET A DRIVERS LICENSE AT 16..AND NOT ONCE HAVE TO TRAIN OR RETRAIN UNTIL THEY ARE 70+ RETIRED OR INCAPABLE OF GETTING INTO A CAR BECAUSE THEY ARE TOO DAMN FAT.
●NOT WITH A TRUCK DRIVER
CAR DRIVERS DONT NEED A PHYSICAL
..TRUCKERS DO..DONT PASS/DONT DRIVE.
●THERE IS A COST FOR THAT MIZZ Lisa Mullings.
TRUCK DRIVERS MUST MEET A MINIMUM AMOUT OF TRAINING & RETRAINING YEAR AFTER YEAR AFTER YEAR MIZZ Lisa Mullings.
●THERE IS A COST FOR THAT
Getting a ticket in a car, counts against a truckers score…minimal amount of points..WE CANT DRIVE, OR POINT OF FACT MOST COMPANIES WONT HIRE YOU.
●IF YOU DRIVE A CAR YOU CAN HAVE A HORRIBLE DRIVING RECORD, THAT DOES COUNT AGAINST YOU, AS LONG AS YOU SHOW UP FOR WORK IN MOST JOBS MIZZZ Lisa Mullings
●NOT FOR TRUCKERS
That and so much more, is the challenging life of a trucker, delivering everything all Americans want.
●Ps.. mizzz Lisa Mullings
If you drive a car/pickup
You can take off from California & try to DRIVE TO BOSTON<–NOT 1 RULE AGAINST THAT. EXCEPT FOR COMMON SENCE, BUT YOU CAN TRY..
●NOT IN A TRUCK, 11 HRS THEN A MADATED BREAK OF 10 HRS, PLUS A MADATED PRETRIP
WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU PRETRIPPED YOUR CAR?
●At the end of a 11 hr driving/14 hour on duty day, mizzz Lisa Mullings
●We need to TO TAKE A BREAK.
●THE LAST THING "We" want to do is shell out another $17+ to park to meet another FEDERAL RULE.
The TA/PETRO, PILOT/FLYING J, LOVES, etc etc have "ALL" LEARNED ANOTHER WAY TO MAKE MOSRE MONEY 💰…NOT
DIRECTLY FROM THE BIG TRUCKING COMPANIES SWIFT, WERNER, etc etc
●DIRECTLY FROM THE MOST AFFECTED..THE TRUCK DRIVER
GREEDY RAT BASTARDS 🐀 AT THESE FUEL STOPS, GOT THE IDEA TO MAKE A TON OF MONEY 💰
●NOT, FREE PARKING AFTER SPENDING $3 TO $400 AT THE PUMP, PLUS FOOD, DRINKS, GEAR.
PLUS MIZZZ Lisa Mullings
LESS YOU FORGET WE DONT SHOWER AT HOME OR IN SOME SWANKY HOTEL YOU STAY AT.
●We, the truck driver
A, if we have a shower on our card
Can take a shower 🚿
Or
Again, "We" have to pay for that 1 simple pleasure.
●●Then Mizz Lisa Mullings
You want us to pay, everyday we are out, another $17 dollars.
How about you become a LOTT LIZARD 🦎..THEN HAVE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TAX YOUR SORRY, UNEDUCATED WORTHLESS, SELF IMPORTANT OPINIONATED SELF INTO THE POOR HOUSE 🏠
SINCERELY,
Ssg Rock, former US ARMY MEDIC 🇺🇸
Ben Barkley says
Truck stop owners/corporations don’t care about parking. They care about the bottom line. Look at the average Love’s parking lot – highly popular stop because of their points, free showers and free refills program but bare bones minimum parking spaces at most of their sites. I don’t even look for a Love’s parking lot at the times of day I usually stop. Pilot the same. Flying J’s usually have larger lots but they also fill up early. Petro, TA’s and whatever other large chains the same. They make their money in convenience stores and lessor selling fuel as well as restaurants on-site. I go to Love’s to fuel, I rarely park at any chain sites because they fill up – and this was not the case as it is now before the ELD mandate. I guess people were cheating on their logs and driving longer than they were supposed to, I don’t know, but this problem did not exist before more federal bs shoved down our throats. The idea that company drivers would want to pay for parking a truck that doesn’t belong to them is a non-starter. Any many OO’s don’t want to pay, either. Perhaps these greedy CEO’s should just buy more land and eat the costs. It’s the cost of more land and paving it, keeping it cleaned up (if they even do that) and maintaining the pavement. There is far more to this story than their simplistic claims made in an attempt to deceive the public. They are greedy, they don’t care about truckers, they want their money. Period. Fortunately for me, I go to the same offloading sites every time – about 15 different places and I have learned where to park, knowing that I can find a spot there without paying and always spots available. My loading plant is the same place and I live near it, so that’s not a problem either. But that isn’t true for most truckers and they are getting sent all over the place. There was an app that used to exist that showed you off the beaten path places to park (where I learned many of these places) – it went out of business unfortunately. I figure there is a market for parking lots for trucks – just bare bones nothing more than a parking place – that charge $5 or somewhere around that figure per night. How do you make money off of that? Open one up on an Interstate corridor where finding parking is a hassle, such as most of I-81, I-40, I-30 and many more. Partner with trucking companies and have accounts, just like buying fuel, put in a thousand spaces. Minimal labor costs, minimal liability insurance costs. Doesn’t have to be in prime real estate, either. Truckers will stop wherever, a lot of us plan our trips and that includes where we – hope – to be able to stop at. I don’t care if I stop in the middle of nowhere, I just need a place for my truck to call home for 10 hours and then I’m out of there.