Finding parking in a big city can be a stressful experience. Now, imagine being a long-haul truck driver who needs to park a 50 ft. semi-trailer in an unfamiliar town---all while coming up against a federally mandated curfew that says you can only drive 11 hours per day.
To simplify the parking process for truck drivers, Chicago startup TruckPark believes it can be the digital tool drivers need to easily and safely park their trucks.
TruckPark, founded last year by Anthony Petitte and Joshua Walls, is a booking platform that allows truck drivers to find and reserve parking in real time. The app allows drivers to book parking on-demand or days in advance, guaranteeing drivers they'll have a place to park at the end of their shift.
There are around 3.5 million professional truck drivers in the United States, but less than 400,000 available parking spots. That, combined with the 2017 electronic logging device mandate that requires drivers to spend no more than 11 hours per day on the road, finding a parking spot when and where you need it can be a challenge, Petitte explained.
"There's just not enough parking," Petitte said.
TruckPark is doing for truck drivers what apps like SpotHero and ParkWhiz have done for every-day motorists, Petitte said. By creating a platform where drivers can search for available parking inventory and book a spot when they need one, it takes the guesswork out of figuring out where their truck will stay overnight.
It also provides a layer of safety for truck drivers, who will occasionally park on the side of the highway or at an unsecured lot when they can't find parking or when lots are full. Petitte said each parking lot TruckPark works with is vetted for security.
"It's a huge safety issue," Petitte said. "Drivers are pulling over on the side of the road or at gas stations, and there's no security there. A lot the times they're getting robbed, or even worse."
TruckPark forms partnerships with parking lots and makes money by taking a brokerage fee from the lot owner on each transaction. It currently has agreements with eight lots in the Chicago area, as well as parking locations in New York, New Jersey, Georgia, Ohio and Texas. In its app, which officially launched to the public this week, there are more than 600 available parking spots for truck drivers to choose from.
Prices vary based on the city, but Petitte said the average cost to drivers is $20 a night. In New York, however, it will cost drivers nearly $100 a night to park their trucks.
TruckPark's competitors include TruckerPath, which takes a crowdsourced approach to parking by relying on its community of drivers to note which lots have available spaces. Pilot Flying J has an online parking booking system, but it only covers 5% of its total available parking inventory.
Other apps like SpotHero and ParkWhiz could also theoretically move into the trucking space, as well as Uber, which operates Uber Freight, an app that matches carriers with shippers.
TruckPark, which has raised around $500,000 in outside funding, plans to grow its geographical presence to help more truck drivers around the country find parking, Petitte said.
