Buttigieg: Truck Parking Shortage Remains a Priority
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Increasing access to truck parking and enhancing the freight workforce remain ongoing priorities for the Biden administration, the nation’s top transportation officer recently told Transport Topics.
With two months left in his Cabinet-level tenure, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg intends to press ahead with policies aimed at boosting freight and supply chain operations nationwide. The Department of Transportation’s ongoing focus on helping to advance certain trucking industry priorities is a pillar for what he expects will be a robust post-election agenda.
Noting recent grants for regional parking expansion projects and multimodal freight operations, Buttigieg expressed confidence about continuing to provide federal-level assistance for truck carriers and drivers. Buttigieg reflected on industry matters during a wide-ranging interview on the third anniversary of the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’s enactment.
“One of the first things we heard from the first conversations in our first months with truck drivers was that there is a glaring need for safer parking options. It’s not just a convenience issue, it’s a safety issue,” he said Nov. 15. “And we know that won’t get better unless there are hard dollars put toward that goal. So we have continued to announce grants that will help with that.
Three years ago, President Biden signed the $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law—the largest infrastructure investment in a generation. It’s rebuilding America’s roads, bridges, rail, airports, and more while creating jobs & fueling our clean energy future. pic.twitter.com/Qh0YEbpvUg — U.S. Department of Transportation (@USDOT) November 20, 2024
“We’re doing one in Ohio — about $18 million to help on [Interstate] 70 and I-80, another one in Wisconsin, another in Nevada — building on announcements that we’ve made in previous years. Adding sometimes just a few dozen at a time. But piece by piece, adding the truck parking and the improved rest areas that are going to make a big difference.”
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Last month, DOT announced more than $4 billion in grants to upgrade and repair infrastructure systems. Grants were awarded to projects in Ohio, Nevada and Wisconsin to expand parking to existing facilities along interstates.
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“And this is an investment, of course, in the quality of life for the truck drivers who deserve that support,” the secretary emphasized, “but also in the safety of roads as a whole, not having trucks backed up on a ramp or having them wind up in neighborhoods. Everybody’s better off if we do this right.”
American Trucking Associations is among industry stakeholders consistently calling on officials to increase parking capacity for the women and men who drive commercial vehicles. ATA and other groups also estimate the workforce is short thousands of commercial drivers.
A danger to the public.
A drag on our supply chain.
A detriment to truckers' wellbeing.
The severe shortage of truck parking creates countless problems. Fortunately, there are solutions. Congress, it's long-past time to provide dedicated funding to expand truck… pic.twitter.com/467vXeNhfG — American Trucking (@TRUCKINGdotORG) October 8, 2024
Buttigieg acknowledged recruitment and retention concerns as he pointed to potential remedies. An apprenticeship initiative for truckers younger than 21 and an advisory group to provide outreach to female drivers are part of the administration’s workforce efforts.
“It’s both taking care of those who are already in this career and inviting more to be part of it. We’ve got funding through a program that has allowed us to support students being trained in community [commercial driver license] programs and community colleges to bring them into the career.
“We set up a Women of Trucking Advisory Board to help identify some of the challenges that women in particular face because we can’t leave 50% of America’s talent on the sidelines when it comes to the need to recruit more truck drivers,” the secretary explained. “But also we need to make sure that there’s stability, better compensation and better infrastructure for those who are in this very important job.
Truck drivers move our economy—and we can't leave any talent on the table.
We applaud the growing number of women who are getting behind the wheel and are committed to improving conditions for all drivers, from more truck parking to fewer barriers to entry. pic.twitter.com/upjePsdU7l — U.S. Department of Transportation (@USDOT) November 4, 2024
“I think that the infrastructure bill represents the biggest single round of improvements that has been made in my lifetime. But that does not mean this is a mission-accomplished moment. We’ve got to build out the projects that we announced, and we [got to] do more where they came from.”
Promoting safety throughout mobility networks is central to every transportation stakeholder.
For the department, safety is a guiding principle. Buttigieg emphasized progress that has been realized during the Biden era to reduce highway fatalities. As he wraps up his tenure, the secretary anticipates transportation leaders will continue to keep safety programs front and center.
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“One of the most important things that’s happened since we got here is that we have finally reversed the rise in roadway deaths that America was experiencing before our administration arrived. But of course, there is a very long way to go,” the secretary affirmed. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, during the first half of this year, an estimated 18,720 motorists died in crashes. During the first six months of 2023, 19,330 estimated fatalities. The secretary’s team was instrumental in updating the department’s National Roadway Safety Strategy.
“We’re working through technology, including AEB — automatic emergency braking technology — and other things that are coming online, both for light-duty vehicles and for trucks that are going to make a difference. Because the standard of expectations for roadway safety should look a little more like aviation safety where the only level of deaths that we accept in crashes in a given year is zero.”
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