Do You Think There Is A Truck Parking Shortage?

BAD BAD BAD idea.

Why not give tax incentives for truck stops to build. No way could they claim they wouldn't make money due to more competition. Take a ride along any interstate at 11pm and you will see lines parked on ramps...parked illegally and even on shoulders of the road. If you build it they will come.

Do you realize you will be putting an even larger burden on owner ops? That ever regulation causes carriers and one man operations to lose money or close down? Are you aware there is a proposal to increase insurance for truckers by 20%? How much money do you think we all make? Not to mention that companies will only reduce trucker pay to make up for it. We all know it will never be $100 per year. It will be much more. So much for the American dream of owning your own business cause these types of policies will destroy it.

If you think truckers or companies aren't already paying $100 per year to park you are crazy. Why not require all industrial parks to allow street parking? Many do not. Why not require any consignee over a certain size to allow drivers to park before/after deliveries. Many do not. Why not require all sanctuary cities and states to provide sanctuary for trucker parking? Don't ticket or tow us as long as we are reasonably parked, nit blocking intersections, fire hydrants etc.

When building new industrial parks zone them to have parking.

This right here. Shippers and receivers need to take some responsibility for this and they should allow some trucks to park on thier property. Every industrial park should have wide enough streets to allow one side to be parking.

In regards to why the carrier would be taxed instead of the trucker is this reason. If the trucker is directly taxed it would be taken straight from his pay and the burden of paying the tax would solely be on them. If the carrier is taxed the carrier can decide what would be the best way to make up for the loss in revenue due to the tax wether that be a direct loss of wages some for on benefits, or in what ever way they see fit so that it makes it specifics to the needs of the drivers of that carrier as to how they want to have the tax made up for. So, at the end of the day the driver is still paying but they are able to pay in a way that suits there needs better for their company.

Why would we want our employer to be taxed for having us on the payroll? There is already a shortage of drivers and now you want to create an incentive to hire less drivers? Why does the private sector of truck stops need subsidization? They are already gouging us each time we need to make a purchase inside their stores or restaurants. The prices they charge are exorbitant.

There are a lot more privately owned cars on the road than trucks. Why don't we tax them a 100 dollars each for some additional truck parking? That makes about as much sense to me. They would like having less of us on the road at a time anyways. That makes about as much sense as what you are asking.

I feel taxed enough already. Besides there is no way of knowing if that money would actually go to truck parking or not. I still remember Barak Obama claiming he had boots on the ground for infrastructure improvements and he needed billions from congress to put those people to work improving our infrastructure. He got the money he requested and our highways are still in shambles. There never has been an accounting of that money to this day. Maybe we should just do an investigation into where all that money went and retrieve it for a taking care of a perceived truck parking shortage.

So regardless of how you take it we the drivers end up paying for it. Let me explain through a story why you are getting such a visceral response here. For the sake of this story I and we = truck drivers including company drivers, lease purchase, O/Os and companies. You= everyone else.

You and I are starting from the same city location, driving 800 miles to the same city destination. I am in a truck taking a load of Oreo cookies to a Walmart DC and you in your car visiting grandma. You have to buy 32 gallons total of gas which has an 18.3 cent per gallon excise tax, Ihave to buy 100 gallons of diesel with a 24.3 cent per gallon excise tax a little over 30% more per gallon and I use 3 times the fuel you do. So you drive straight through till you get to grannies house. I have to stop somewhere legal within the first 8 hours for a 30 minute break, it's the law, then legally have to stop at 11 hours of driving so after loading took some time I managed to get 600 miles in. I finally found a truckstop with a few open spots but they are all reserved spots so I have to pay $18 to park. I have no choice since the rest areas were all full and I'm out of time. The next day I get up and have to pay $15 for a shower since I wasnt able to shower the day before then I put the other 200 miles in. While you were eating grannies home cooking I paid 25% more for truckstop food since that's what they all charge. We had to run on some toll roads and a toll bridge so you in your car paid $7.50 in tolls, I in my truck had to pay $110. I finally get my load of 1000 packages of oreo cookies unloaded. Out of that 1000 packs maybe 30 of the people buying them are drivers the other 970 are regular people. We both buy the same products but there are way fewer of us than of you however we have incurred the brunt of the expenses of infrastructure maintenance, repair and building as well as forced to pay to park and bath yet now you want US to pony up yet another $100 a year while YOU benifit more than we do yet bear none of the costs? I think the rush to put all the costs on trucking is absurd. We don't make that much money and besides, without the trucks which you all hate you all would starve, walk, be naked, thirsty and bored.

The private industry does not deserve our money to subsidize parking. Most truckstops have some or all of their parking is PAID parking meaning you pay to park or get towed.

I'm a veteran of the USAF and have first hand experience how badly our tax dollars are wasted. It would blow your mind! My first week at my duty station I rolled 12 snap on tool boxes full of snap on tools into a scrap bin. These boxes and tools were only a year old. Nothing was wrong with them! When I asked why I was told it's the end of the year and we haven't spent all our budget so we are getting new tools. If we don't spend it they will cut next year's budget. This is just one example I've seen. There were many in my four years serving. I would rather see reform to make sure our taxes are spent wisely and not wasted. The government has plenty of money all ready to run this country. We are in debt because the politicians allow it.

In some states, there are rest areas that are called service plazas. They have full services, including fuel and several restaurants, and plenty of overnight parking. They appear to be state owned, and probably generate enough income from rents to cover construction costs and to provided way more than enough income for maintenance. More states need to do this. Many of us drivers would be happy with just more gravel lots for parking. Those wouldn't cost much to construct. You must also take into account of all the regulations and red tape that prevent both private parties and governments from constructing more parking. Yes, I could drive more if I knew that I would have parking. I drive a lot of Western and mountain backroads. Sometimes I have to shutdown with three or four hours left on my clock, because the next place to stop is three or four hours away, and it would mean getting there after 1900 pm.

I'm a veteran of the USAF and have first hand experience how badly our tax dollars are wasted. It would blow your mind! My first week at my duty station I rolled 12 snap on tool boxes full of snap on tools into a scrap bin. These boxes and tools were only a year old. Nothing was wrong with them! When I asked why I was told it's the end of the year and we haven't spent all our budget so we are getting new tools. If we don't spend it they will cut next year's budget. This is just one example I've seen. There were many in my four years serving. I would rather see reform to make sure our taxes are spent wisely and not wasted. The government has plenty of money all ready to run this country. We are in debt because the politicians allow it.

They were doing that back in the 70s and 80s when I was on active duty in the Air Force....tho I was in accounting and part-time LE, so no tools to throw out, but other supplies. Hasn't changed any.

Laura

In some states, there are rest areas that are called service plazas. They have full services, including fuel and several restaurants, and plenty of overnight parking. They appear to be state owned, and probably generate enough income from rents to cover construction costs and to provided way more than enough income for maintenance. More states need to do this. Many of us drivers would be happy with just more gravel lots for parking. Those wouldn't cost much to construct. You must also take into account of all the regulations and red tape that prevent both private parties and governments from constructing more parking. Yes, I could drive more if I knew that I would have parking. I drive a lot of Western and mountain backroads. Sometimes I have to shutdown with three or four hours left on my clock, because the next place to stop is three or four hours away, and it would mean getting there after 1900 pm.

You and I have a difference of opinion on what plenty of parking means. They have some parking...not plenty of parking. The service plazas you speak of are on toll roads and they are part of the toll agreement with whomever won the toll road contract. If you notice on toll roads where you have service plazas there are generally no other truck stops, restaurants or stores without having to exit the toll road then re-pay the toll when you get back on. I'd rather not have more toll roads.

Do you guys think there is a truck parking shortage? Would you be able to get more miles in if there were substantially more? How would you feel about a new tax that was introduced on carriers to pay something like $100 per truck driver employed to put towards the construction and expansion of public parking for trucks as well as subsidizing the private sector of truck stops?

"A new tax"? Just what we don't need is more government rules and regulations!

You talk like I’m not a trucker too. To be clear I am. I have as much to loose and gain from this problem as anyone else. At the end of the day the questions is where is the money coming from to fix this problem. If it’s not a tax dedicated to the problem then what is it? We say we pay enough already, but the DOT isn’t going to divert their current funds to more parking. I believe this sacrifice must be made if we want there to be any significant increase in the number of parking over the next decade. The other option is to let the truck stops keep their monopoly over the parking and slowly keep increasing their paid parking to where we are paying much more than $100 a year. So, if that’s not the solution what is?

In regards to why the carrier would be taxed instead of the trucker is this reason. If the trucker is directly taxed it would be taken straight from his pay and the burden of paying the tax would solely be on them. If the carrier is taxed the carrier can decide what would be the best way to make up for the loss in revenue due to the tax wether that be a direct loss of wages some for on benefits, or in what ever way they see fit so that it makes it specifics to the needs of the drivers of that carrier as to how they want to have the tax made up for. So, at the end of the day the driver is still paying but they are able to pay in a way that suits there needs better for their company.

Why would we want our employer to be taxed for having us on the payroll? There is already a shortage of drivers and now you want to create an incentive to hire less drivers? Why does the private sector of truck stops need subsidization? They are already gouging us each time we need to make a purchase inside their stores or restaurants. The prices they charge are exorbitant.

You and I are starting from the same city location, driving 800 miles to the same city destination. I am in a truck taking a load of Oreo cookies to a Walmart DC and you in your car visiting grandma. You have to buy 32 gallons total of gas which has an 18.3 cent per gallon excise tax, Ihave to buy 100 gallons of diesel with a 24.3 cent per gallon excise tax a little over 30% more per gallon and I use 3 times the fuel you do. So you drive straight through till you get to grannies house. I have to stop somewhere legal within the first 8 hours for a 30 minute break, it's the law, then legally have to stop at 11 hours of driving so after loading took some time I managed to get 600 miles in. I finally found a truckstop with a few open spots but they are all reserved spots so I have to pay $18 to park. I have no choice since the rest areas were all full and I'm out of time. The next day I get up and have to pay $15 for a shower since I wasnt able to shower the day before then I put the other 200 miles in. While you were eating grannies home cooking I paid 25% more for truckstop food since that's what they all charge. We had to run on some toll roads and a toll bridge so you in your car paid $7.50 in tolls, I in my truck had to pay $110. I finally get my load of 1000 packages of oreo cookies unloaded. Out of that 1000 packs maybe 30 of the people buying them are drivers the other 970 are regular people. We both buy the same products but there are way fewer of us than of you however we have incurred the brunt of the expenses of infrastructure maintenance, repair and building as well as forced to pay to park and bath yet now you want US to pony up yet another $100 a year while YOU benifit more than we do yet bear none of the costs? I think the rush to put all the costs on trucking is absurd. We don't make that much money and besides, without the trucks which you all hate you all would starve, walk, be naked, thirsty and bored.

The private industry does not deserve our money to subsidize parking. Most truckstops have some or all of their parking is PAID parking meaning you pay to park or get towed.

Also, the subsidization would be to provide more “FREE” parking only. Meaning companies like TA would be loosing customers as company that provide free parking get subsidized, expand their parking lots, get more people parking there and thrive.

In regards to why the carrier would be taxed instead of the trucker is this reason. If the trucker is directly taxed it would be taken straight from his pay and the burden of paying the tax would solely be on them. If the carrier is taxed the carrier can decide what would be the best way to make up for the loss in revenue due to the tax wether that be a direct loss of wages some for on benefits, or in what ever way they see fit so that it makes it specifics to the needs of the drivers of that carrier as to how they want to have the tax made up for. So, at the end of the day the driver is still paying but they are able to pay in a way that suits there needs better for their company.

Why would we want our employer to be taxed for having us on the payroll? There is already a shortage of drivers and now you want to create an incentive to hire less drivers? Why does the private sector of truck stops need subsidization? They are already gouging us each time we need to make a purchase inside their stores or restaurants. The prices they charge are exorbitant.

There are a lot more privately owned cars on the road than trucks. Why don't we tax them a 100 dollars each for some additional truck parking? That makes about as much sense to me. They would like having less of us on the road at a time anyways. That makes about as much sense as what you are asking.

I feel taxed enough already.

So regardless of how you take it we the drivers end up paying for it. Let me explain through a story why you are getting such a visceral response here. For the sake of this story I and we = truck drivers including company drivers, lease purchase, O/Os and companies. You= everyone else.

You and I are starting from the same city location, driving 800 miles to the same city destination. I am in a truck taking a load of Oreo cookies to a Walmart DC and you in your car visiting grandma. You have to buy 32 gallons total of gas which has an 18.3 cent per gallon excise tax, Ihave to buy 100 gallons of diesel with a 24.3 cent per gallon excise tax a little over 30% more per gallon and I use 3 times the fuel you do. So you drive straight through till you get to grannies house. I have to stop somewhere legal within the first 8 hours for a 30 minute break, it's the law, then legally have to stop at 11 hours of driving so after loading took some time I managed to get 600 miles in. I finally found a truckstop with a few open spots but they are all reserved spots so I have to pay $18 to park. I have no choice since the rest areas were all full and I'm out of time. The next day I get up and have to pay $15 for a shower since I wasnt able to shower the day before then I put the other 200 miles in. While you were eating grannies home cooking I paid 25% more for truckstop food since that's what they all charge. We had to run on some toll roads and a toll bridge so you in your car paid $7.50 in tolls, I in my truck had to pay $110. I finally get my load of 1000 packages of oreo cookies unloaded. Out of that 1000 packs maybe 30 of the people buying them are drivers the other 970 are regular people. We both buy the same products but there are way fewer of us than of you however we have incurred the brunt of the expenses of infrastructure maintenance, repair and building as well as forced to pay to park and bath yet now you want US to pony up yet another $100 a year while YOU benifit more than we do yet bear none of the costs? I think the rush to put all the costs on trucking is absurd. We don't make that much money and besides, without the trucks which you all hate you all would starve, walk, be naked, thirsty and bored.

The private industry does not deserve our money to subsidize parking. Most truckstops have some or all of their parking is PAID parking meaning you pay to park or get towed.

Truck stops make very little on fuel sales and actually lose money on parking. I would guess 75% of those that park at a truck stop spend no money there, and only use their facilities: the bathrooms, the shower (if a driver has a shower credit), and the parking lot.

Paying to park is a choice, not a requirement, at any truck stop. It's free enterprise, so I don't feel it's "a big corporate monopoly chain" forcing me to park. In five years I have used my money to park somewhere twice, and both times were not at a major chain.

We do need more parking options virtually nationwide, both public and private.