Do you agree with reserved truck stop parking?

It’s an absolute necessity. Many of us work with appointments all over the clock and running across all 48 and don’t have complete control of our schedule. I refuse to park at on ramps and the like and prefer to avoid rest areas where possible and I don’t ever want to be “that guy” who parks stupid at midnight.

It’s a cost of doing business when the economy is booming and elogs don’t allow any fudging. I stay out for months at a time in the temp controlled segment and will reserve for later arrival in busy markets maybe 3 nights a month. It’s reimbursed. Often we have to run to our limits daily to make distant appointments and it can take days to work back into a manageable schedule that you can park before they fill

 

M.B
I think its the dumbest crap i have ever seen. Why not pay for breathing the air. This is just another way to take away the drivers money out of their pockets. I hear all the talk about reserved parking due to the new ELD's. Even before the came along, there was parking issues. I hear all this talk about planning ahead. Planning is a useless theory in this industry, as we all know if you've been in trucking more than a year. There is always a wrench, or that bad man Murphy right around the corner to F.U the works.

All these supposed new technology, devices, and safety features of your trucks has only added to the headaches for the drivers. Pay to park, or reservation of spaces is a joke. I am so glad i do not have to run ELD's.

 

If you park in a reserved spot that you didn’t pay for then expect sometime to come back from the hotel and find that your truck got towed away.

 

Parking charges don’t come out of my pocket. My carrier has no problem reimbursing them. They are in the temp controlled business and as such, dealing with reserved parking is a worthwhile cost to insure on time pickups and deliveries, and reduce risk of torn off hoods or illegal parking tickets. They bill premium rates and the money is there to deal with occasional reserved parking.

 

If the person who owns the land offers parking for free, and reserves some spaces for paying customers, that's his business. That's called "free market". I'd rather pay for a spot to park to know I have one and that it'll be there. How rude to just take a space... what if I come in at 2 am and that's MY paid for spot? Hope you enjoy getting woke up and told to move. Kinda screws up your 10 doesn't it? Especially if the free spots are all taken and you got nowhere else to go but down the road. Then you'll be stuck taking your ten all over again. Have fun with that. Entitled much?

 

You feel justified parking in a spot that someone else reserved because you ate in the restaurant?

 

I hope he means he’ll park there for a quick dinner break. I too will park at empty reserved spots in the early morning or middle of the day if I’m going to be in and out in 40 minutes. But I will never park in them to take an extended break without having paid.

 

I like it. Can remember a long time ago drivers saying they wish they could call ahead to save a spot and it would be worth a few bucks. Glad they did it for us.

However, these places that are half reserved spots or more are a bit out of control.

 

Glad i run alot of country, backroads. No need for travel plazas and their overpriced items, pay to park, maybe they can come back with an Idle Aire style machines and you can pay twice as much for the reserved spot, and use of such unnecessary means.