Among the findings include perceptions among drivers on the extent of the need for new parking development in both public (rest areas and the like) and private (truck stops) arenas, as well as an awareness of the difficulties faced by any entity, public or private, that would attempt to invest in parking. “Adding the needed capacity” identified by the recent major federal study, notes the report, “is expensive and rarely politically acceptable, so alternative methods of managing parking resources are being explored. One alternative solution that has seen limited usage is ‘reservation-for-fee’ systems, a somewhat controversial approach that charges carriers or drivers for a guaranteed parking space in advance.”
The first Tech Memo on parking put a close focus on driver opinions of reservation systems, finding that those with pay-to-park options may face an uphill acceptance battle if such systems proliferate.
Respondents’ reported willingness to pay for a parking space, by price:
Source for above: ATRI’s Commercial Driver Perspectives on Truck Parking survey, Tech Memo No. 1
Though some major truck stop chains have moved in a limited fashion in the direction of offering a select number of spaces for paid reservations (TA Petro’s Reserve-It system, for instance), close to half of all ATRI survey respondents, as shown in the above graphed survey results, reported no willingness to pay for parking.
