Availability and future of safe and secure parking areas for professional drivers in the EU
The construction of new truck parking areas and upgrades of existing facilities are needed to better meet the growing demand for safe and secure truck parking areas and rest facilities in the EU. This is one of the key messages from the presentation of results and recommendations from a Panteia led study on Safe & Secure Parking Areas (SSPAs). This month, project manager Rob de Leeuw van Weenen presented these results and recommendations alongside representatives from the European Commission at an ESPORG conference. Other key messages were:
- EU-wide action and cross-border collaboration are essential to promote SSPAs.
- Investment must be mobilised—Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) will play a crucial role.
- Driver well-being and gender-specific needs must be prioritised as the workforce diversifies. Awareness campaigns can help drive this change.
- Better connectivity will improve security, resilience, and seamless travel.
- An EU-wide reservation system should be developed to provide real-time availability and enable direct communication with facility operators.
The report recommends measures and strategies to address identified issues regarding SSPA’s. More investments in upgrading existing facilities and developing new ones, as well as the certification of currently non-certified parking areas, are needed to close the gap between supply and demand. Improved driver security, comfort and well-being, including for female drivers, will help combat the current driver shortage.
For this study, several dozen advisory board discussions and stakeholder meetings took place, as well as some 1400 interviews with drivers and companies.
The study was commissioned by the European Commission and was conducted together with ESPORG and TiS.
Find more information and the full report here and here.
