$755 million bill for new truck parking may soon be approved

The Committee approved an amended version of the Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act.

Last week, a bill to fund additional truck parking was approved by a committee of the US House of Representatives. The bill was introduced by Mike Bost (D-Illinois) and Angie Craig (D-Minnesota).

If approved by the Senate, the bill would authorize the creation of a four-year, competitive, $755 million grant program for states to fund new truck parking projects. These include expanding parking capacity and increasing the range of amenities for truck drivers.

Meanwhile, an ATRI study found that, on average, drivers spend almost 60 minutes a day searching for parking.

“Drivers spend hours looking for safe parking spots for an hour or overnight, which reduces their ability to rest and adds unnecessary stress to their days. The advancement of this legislation is a huge step towards solving what has been a major challenge to our industry’s ability to move the country’s goods safely and efficiently. ATA President and CEO Chris Speer said.

 “Having a safe and secure parking space for trucks is not just a problem for drivers, it is a hurdle that our industry must overcome in order to attract new drivers,” he added.

The American Trucking Associations praised the committee’s action on the bill as it would help solve one of the core problems of the trucking industry.