The
American Transportation Research Institute’s (ATRI) Critical Issues in the
Trucking Industry 2018 survey found that 48.7% of respondents said the parking
shortage leads them to park on ramps or the side of the highway between three
and five times a week. About 40% spend an hour or more looking for a place to
park. TruckPark was
founded to change this.
Now, InMotion Global’s AscendTMS transportation management system has incorporated TruckPark’s
reservation system into its TMS, giving drivers, carriers, dispatchers and even
brokers the opportunity to make a parking reservation without leaving the TMS.
“The key to making driver parking
reservations is saving the spaces well before someone else does. 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,” Bert Goo, executive vice president of
partnerships and channel marketing at AscendTMS, explained. “This partnership
allows the dispatcher to help their drivers out by seeing all the
forward-looking parking spaces available based on the driver’s current
location, their hours of service available, and their average speed.”
The option was formally announced
on Wednesday. Since then, several brokers have told Tim Higham, CEO of
AscendTMS, it will help them secure capacity, he relayed to FreightWaves.
Most parking rates are less than
$20, with the average cost $15 per night, according to TruckPark.
Users of the AscendTMS will be
offered several parking suggestions when booking loads, allowing the dispatcher
or broker to make a reservation with a single click.
“The driver is then notified
automatically of their reservation by SMS text message or by ELD text message.
No other TMS platform has ever done this before,” Goo said.
“As a company, TruckPark is focused
on solving parking challenges in today’s trucking industry, and we’re proud
that we’re able to help simplify the lives of truckers for thousands of
AscendTMS carriers and drivers with this integration,” said Anthony Petitte,
CEO of TruckPark. “Fleet managers, brokers and digital freight markets can
leverage our technology to reduce costs, improve operational efficiency and
boost safety. We’re excited to make this new integration available today to any
AscendTMS customer.”
TruckPark has been busy creating
collaborations and adding locations to expand its services. In December, the
company announced an integration to allow Dock411 users to
reserve one of TruckPark’s thousands of available spaces through a link in the
Dock411 app. That link takes the user to TruckPark’s system, allowing drivers
to see and reserve available parking. Shippers will also be able to see the
location of these trucks through the Dock411 web portal, providing insight into
the vehicle’s location.
In addition, the company is working
with insurer Reliance Partners to explore how truck parking reservation systems might improve
the quality of a driver’s rest. Reliance said it believes that drivers who are
more rested return to duty fresher and as a result operate more safely.
Fatalities involving trucks are up nearly 5% from 2018, the firm said, adding
that improving quality rest for drivers could potentially improve their
performance.
“This partnership exemplifies our
commitment to safety and innovation by looking at how technology can be used to
improve driver well-being and operational safety of commercial trucks,” said
Chad Eichelberger, president of Reliance Partners. “We’re confident that
providing our members with solutions like TruckPark’s app-based parking
reservation platform will help our members improve safety on the roadways by
improving the quality of driver rest standards within their fleets.”
TruckPark launched in 2017 in the Chicago area and has been slowly expanding ever since. In
August 2019, the company announced a partnership with Storemytruck.com that Petitte said will ultimately result in over 10,000 new truck
parking systems becoming available in the TruckPark network.
Storemytruck.com is a parking lot
owner located primarily in the Southeast as of now, with a large presence in
the Atlanta and Charlotte, North Carolina, areas. It also has a substantial
presence in other parts of North Carolina and in South Carolina, Alabama and
Florida. The agreement with TruckPark opens up locations in Atlanta, as well as
in the Carolinas, to drivers.
