Transportation management software (TMS) vendor InMotion Global Inc. has partnered with the parking reservation platform TruckPark Inc. in a deal that allows dispatchers to book online parking spots for truck drivers who are nearing the end of their hours of service (HoS) limits.
That linkage allows dispatchers who use InMotion's AscendTMS product to see a list of parking spaces mapped ahead for each driver based on their remaining HoS and their current average speed, and then reserve parking spots online, Tampa, Florida-based InMotion said Wednesday.
The service addresses a common complaint by fleets that the 2018 transition from paper logbooks to federally mandated electronic logging devices (ELDs) is holding drivers to such strict caps on their available driving hours that truckers are forced to pull over at the end of their shifts into unsafe or illegal spots.
Under rules set by the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), a trucker may drive no more than 11 hours before being required to take a 10-hour break. Additional rules limit the maximum number of driving hours per week.
While those rules are intended to increase the safety of truckers and those who share the roads with them, many fleets say they don't match the parking infrastructure now available. Overall, U.S. truck parking demand significantly exceeds supply, creating a national shortage of truck parking spots, according to Chicago-based TruckPark Inc. Faced with dwindling available hours, drivers endure stress and unsafe conditions as they waste time driving around in search of a spot, the firm says.
In response, TruckPark says its app-based platform connects truck drivers with open parking spaces, improving driver safety while increasing spot-rental income for property owners such as truck stops, independent yard operators, or shippers who monetize their open land for truck parking.
"Drivers who are at their HoS limits will park anywhere—on the side of the road or highway ramps—but it doesn't mean it's exactly safe," TruckPark CEO Anthony Petitte said in an email. "TruckPark mitigates these safety infractions and helps drivers route plan by booking a spot on demand or ahead of time which results in guaranteed safe parking."
Using the integration between the two firms, dispatchers identify the best spot and then notify drivers of their reservation by text messages sent to their smartphones or ELD devices.
"The key to making driver parking reservations is saving the spaces well before someone else does," Bert Goo, EVP of Partnerships & Channel Marketing at AscendTMS, said in a release. "This agreement with TruckPark is a first for any TMS provider in that it allows the dispatcher to make the reservation for the driver while he or she is driving, hours before it even crosses the driver's mind."
