Along with its industry-first certified truck parking facility in Dourges, France, TIP Group has acquired its second secure truck parking location in the country, and is planning to continue expanding its presence in Europe.
VP Managing Director MED Region, Frederic Notte, said he believes secure truck parking offers tremendous benefits to the industry as a whole.
“Secure truck parking is an important development for a wide range of stakeholders and having a comprehensive network is something the whole transport industry will benefit from,” he said, adding that TIP Group is looking to expand its presence along Europe’s TEN-T routes, with the expectation of achieving 400 locations.
Here are the challenges a comprehensive network of truck parking locations would address.
•Driver shortages: improved and safer work environment will encourage more people, especially women, to become truck drivers, addressing the driver shortage issue.
•Cargo and diesel theft: along with financial implications, cargo theft also results in additional down-time.
•Illegal truck parking: the danger and nuisance of illegal truck parking in industrial estates, hard shoulders, villages or at gas stations is a concern for both local authorities and residents.
•Insurance premiums: a reduced rate in insurance costs is beneficial especially at a time when it is on the rise.
Notte would like to see a network of parking locations, with a secure facility available every 150 kilometres, along Europe’s major routes, citing driver safety as the key reason above all.
“Being able to attract and retain drivers is key and if they can offer drivers a safe, comfortable environment for their overnight stay, that becomes an incredible competitive advantage.”
There are challenges to achieving this goal, however, with the primary issue being financial. As Notte explains, without subsidies, the high capital costs make it difficult to establish a viable business case, while competition from government-funded free parking facilities complicates efforts to charge commercial rates.
The market’s lack of transparency is another significant challenge, as selecting sites and making investments require careful consideration to avoid conflicts with future government initiatives.
TIP Group is turning its attention to forming partnerships with location-owners and stakeholders to expand the Truck e-Hub network across Europe and the UK.
The network aims to support the transition to sustainable logistics by providing secure truck parking, fast and overnight charging solutions for electric trucks and e-reefers, and other zero-emission solutions.
Notte said TIP Group is actively seeking new location partners and encourages interested parties to make contact to discuss partnership opportunities.
“By being able to plan the required charging, either overnight or on-the-go, with the mandatory rest periods, drivers can optimise the available drive time,” he said. “This is already possible with the TIP Insight telematics solution, but will be greatly enhanced by having secure parking facilities where this could be combined with necessary maintenance.”