On Oct. 3, the NATSO Foundation launched the mobile app Park My Truck, a new highway
safety initiative to help professional drivers find available truck parking.
The app was created by the Truck Parking Leadership Initiative, which includes the NATSO Foundation, NATSO Inc., the American Trucking Associations (ATA) and the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI).
“Park My Truck was developed by the truckstop industry in conjunction with our trucking partners based on feedback from professional drivers and trucking companies who often describe truck parking availability as a critical need,” said Lisa Mullings, president of NATSO and the NATSO Foundation. “The NATSO Foundation and its allies are committed to providing America’s truck drivers with easy, up-todate information regarding available truck parking. Working together, we can advance safety on the highways for all drivers by sharing information and helping truck drivers more easily find and utilize existing capacity.
Park My Truck includes the total number of truck parking spaces for nearly 4,500 truckstops in the United States and some rest areas. Participants reporting available truck parking information include independent truckstops as well as chain locations representing 150,000 truck parking spaces.
“Finding a safe place to park is a consistent issue for drivers in our industry,” said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear. “While we would love to see the number of spaces increase, tightening state and federal highway budgets will limit the opportunity to expand parking capacity for the foreseeable future. It is important we have ways to let drivers know where the spaces currently exist, which is why this app, developed in cooperation with ATRI and NATSO, is so important. Directing drivers to safe parking spaces will give them the rest they need and the off-duty time they are required to have."
The success of the initiative hinges on the nation's truck parking providers working in partnership to supply drivers with current, reliable data on available truck parking. Truck parking providers can contact the NATSO Foundation at (855) 650-6935 or hello@parkmytruck.com to establish an account to provide truck parking availability.
Why Participate?
In addition to being an important industry initiative, Park My Truck is an exciting new way for drivers to find your truckstops or travel plazas. Reasons to participate include:
- Participation is free and simple - all you need is the ability to count.
- Participation in the app shows your commitment to provide safe, reliable parking for your customers.
- The success of this initiative hinges on the nation's truck parking providers working in partnership to supply drivers with current, reliable data on available truck parking.
How To Participate
What You Need. Truck parking operators need only to have internet access and the ability to count available spaces, whether by observation or by electronic means.*
Specifically you need:
1. Username and password
2. Internet access of any speed and on any device to visit the parking provider portal here.
Update Your Parking Availability. The NATSO Foundation recommends parking providers updated their availability at a minimum every two hours between 3:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m.
Get Started. Truck parking providers can contact the NATSO Foundation at (855) 650-6935 or hello@parkmytruck.com to establish an account to provide truck parking availability.
*There is also an application program interface (API) to submit your parking availability electronically.
Park My Truck Demo
Truckstop and travel plaza operators can watch an app demo here.
The demo covers:
- What the app is and why we created it
- How to participate as a parking provider
- Frequently asked questions
Where To Find the App
Park My Truck is accessible for free through smart-phone apps.
The Google Play Store at: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.natso.availableparking
iTunes Store at: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/park-my-truck/id1078688452?ls=1&mt=8
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