TCA Urges Lawmakers to Address Truck Parking Shortage
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WASHINGTON — The Truckload Carriers Association highlighted the need for additional parking for the nation’s truck drivers during recent meetings with members of Congress.
The group’s sixth annual “Call on Washington” this September featured visits with lawmakers, their federal legislative staff and industry experts.
David Heller, TCA’s senior vice president of safety and government affairs, described the advocacy conference as a meaningful opportunity for amplifying issues central to industry operations.
In addition to explaining benefits associated with expanding access to parking, dozens of TCA members shared concerns related to a transition to electric vehicles as well as Biden-era emission standards.
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TCA members also emphasized the independent contractor model for the industry and strategies for addressing workforce concerns via recruitment and retention. During the week of Sept. 9, the group hosted panel discussions with stakeholders and federal agency officials.
Heller
“The stories I got back from our members that had gone on these visits — there was not a bad meeting out there. There was not a meeting where somebody wasn’t engaged,” Heller told Transport Topics on Sept. 13, a day after TCA’s Hill visits. “There’s certainly a workforce caveat to a lot of these issues.”
The annual inside-the-Beltway “fly-in” method that groups such as TCA use for connecting with the legislative branch is meant to maximize face time with policymakers. Heller indicated that TCA participated in 100 meetings during this month’s fly-in. He explained that by bringing TCA members to Capitol Hill to discuss trucking issues, the organization aims to provide lawmakers with a clearer understanding of the daily challenges faced by the industry.
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“We as an industry and as an association are speaking with one voice and putting forth the shield,” he said. “And certainly there are issues that are going on at Capitol Hill that are very important to our membership, and it allows them the opportunity to voice their opinions on those issues.”
A fiscal 2025 transportation funding bill in the House of Representatives would dedicate $200 million for expanding parking options for commercial drivers. A vote to clear the legislation for the president’s signature has yet to be scheduled. TCA is among several freight stakeholders endorsing the House bill’s truck parking provision.
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If funding for more parking is not approved for fiscal 2025, Heller expressed optimism the provision would be advanced in upcoming comprehensive highway policy legislation.
“Certainly there has to be an avenue in the next [surface transportation] reauthorization to include truck parking funding,” Heller said. “We as an industry recognize the problem that is truck parking and the priority that the professional truck driver has placed on it.”
Earlier this year, TCA announced its drivers of the year. These celebrated safety ambassadors took part in the “Call on Washington” meetings on Capitol Hill.
Tim Chelette, a driver for Big G Express and a former America’s Road Team captain, raised parking concerns.
“If they want their freight, [then] they need to have places for us to park as well, along with a bigger truck stop. You could go in some of these states, and they have a rest area that you could put 500 trucks in and you go in another state and you can’t move but 15, maybe 20 trucks.”
TT's Seth Clevenger and Mike Senatore dive into the details behind the 2024 Top 100 Private Carriers list. Tune in above or by going to RoadSigns.ttnews.com.
Chelette’s parking concerns were echoed by fellow TCA drivers of the year. As James White, a driver for P&S Logistics, observed, “Hopefully we can get something done.”
Rosalinda Tejada, a driver for Knight Transportation, acknowledged the value of the Capitol Hill meetings. “We’re able to adequately educate those people who might want to come [into] the industry or have questions,” she said. “So we’re able to utilize this platform that we have been presented as truck drivers of the year, and I think it’s up to us to see where we go with it.”
Knight-Swift Transportation ranks No. 7 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America.
Clark Reed, a veteran driver for Nussbaum Transportation, said his priority is to point to drivers’ contributions.
“This is such a noble profession that, like we talked about, we keep this economy rolling,” Reed said. “If it wasn’t for us, and this sounds very conceited, but if it wasn’t for us, nothing would be here. We wouldn’t have anything.”
