Idleaire closing

Road Medic: It's not fair to ask company drivers to have to pay for IdleAir out of pocket. They're not getting the financial benefit (savings), so why should they be the ones to pay for it? That's why we need your help to get your fleet signed up! Send us the name of your fleet, DOT#, and name of your fuel manager, and we'll take it from there!

JoeCitizen: IdleAir can be used anywhere trucks idle, like truck stops, ports, warehouse/distribution facilities, public rest areas, and more. Public rest areas are tricky because there's an old law on the books, over 50 years old, that says you can't have commercial services at public rest areas. There's a lot of talk about changing this law now because states dont have the money to keep public rest areas open, and they're closing them down for the night - or permanently. That's obviously a REALLY bad thing for drivers. I believe Allen Smith, AskTheTrucker, will be discussing truck stop electrification (IdleAir, EnviroDoc, ShorePower, etc) - as well as commercialization of truck stops - on one of his blog talk shows this month.

 

123456: You've got a very important point about Federal backing. That's one of the biggest differences between the old IdleAire and the new IdleAir. The old IdleAire depended on government grants as part of their business model. The new IdleAir does not.

 

Thanks for the response,,,,,,,,,,

Best of Luck !!

 

How many times are they going to shock this dead horse back to life to kick it some more?

One, as Roadmedic pointed out, it's too expensive. Even at $1 an hour, that comes to $70 a week, or $280 a month out of a company driver's pay check. I'm pretty sure they were charging 2-3 times that amount. For $29, I can get a motel room in some places. May be a great deal for the owner op, but:

Two, more trucks than ever have APUs and other options to idling installed. Your customer base is SHRINKING and will continue to shrink as fuel prices go higher, which will cause MORE APUs to be purchased or simply drive more companies out of business. Either way, that reduces your demand.

I'm sorry Idleaire, but I wouldn't invest a dime on your stock, and you are wasting your time and money. You might as well be putting your money into a buggy whip factory.

 

Even as an owner operator, I have to question the value of this.

I priced it in Effingham once on a stop of 14 hours. The price per hour was more than the motel.

The motel had a good heating and cooling system.
The TV had many more movies.
The room did not smell of smoke.
There was a shower and restroom facilities where I did not have to get dressed up and walk a long way to.

 

Those are good points, but I think convience has alot to do with drivers using Idleaire. Sure, a motel is cheaper and provides better ammeneties, but how many drivers would rather go through all that for just a 10hr stay? Yes, Im aware that its not much trouble to get a motel for the night, but Id imagine some drivers think it is too much trouble. How many accomidate big trucks? Some do, yes. But how many can accomidate 60 trucks for the night? Imagine 60 trucks all lined up at the same motel. hmmm
Its alot easier to just stay in the truck for 10hrs, then head down the road. 34hr reset is a whole different story.
Bottom line, Idleaire is convienent and thats why I think the motel vs. Idleaire argument doesnt hold much water.

 

You are right.

You can spend your money on it.

I will spend it where I see fit as well.

 

This may be all fine and dandy for some drivers, but there is no way I could afford the service, even at .25 an hour as a C/O or even at .50 as an O/O. Figure out the monthly charges for a company driver and it is a bit and an owner operator would be better off investing in an apu. Perhaps a little better engineering and a price structure that doesn't try to recoup all the monies invested in so short a time might be a better fix. Just my opinion and I have one just like everyone else. I used to use the park-n-view and never really had any bad issues with it...and the price was something I could live with. But, that was a couple of days ago, wasn't it?

 

We used the idleaire, on occasion. It was convenient, offered internet service, and the cable shows we like to watch. Was/is it expensive? Yes, it is....but with two dogs, and two adults, it was/is still far less expensive than a motel room. Just sayin', and this is purely from OUR perspective and experience.

Judi Kay

 

I love your Quote:
"Grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked, anyway...the good fortune to run into the one's I DO like, and the eyesight to tell the difference!!"

I may want to borrow it. It fits me so well. LOL