WASHINGTON — The American Trucking Associations’ (ATA) Women In Motion Council (WIM) is calling on two congressional committees to prioritize expanding access to truck parking in the upcoming surface transportation reauthorization.
WIM chair Emily Williams sent letters to the leaders of the U.S. House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure and the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works in response to feedback from WIM members that a lack of truck parking is severely limiting opportunities for women to pursue trucking careers. The two committees are tasked with updating and extending the nation’s highway programs before they expire on Sept. 30.
“Amenities like lighted parking lots, bathroom access, and on-site security are not simply matters of convenience—they are essential to ensuring women’s safety and wellbeing,” Williams said. “Serious safety implications exist for the broader public as well. When trucks are forced to park in unmarked and unauthorized locations, such as along highway ramps, it creates hazards for truck drivers and motorists alike, contributing to thousands of crashes each year.”
A Basic Safety Necessity
“[Investing in truck parking] would address a basic safety and workforce necessity for our nation’s 3.6 million truck drivers, including hundreds of thousands of women truck drivers, who deserve a safe, secure place to rest at the end of their shifts,” Williams said. “This is the least we can do for America’s essential workforce.”
According to an USDOT study, 98% of truck drivers regularly experience problems locating safe parking. An analysis by the American Transportation Research Institute found that the average driver sacrifices 56 minutes of drive time per day. This results in $6,813 in lost wages for truck drivers each year.
Meaningful Investment in Truck Parking
According to WIM, increasing investments in truck parking is a bipartisan issue. The last surface transportation reauthorization in 2021 supported the construction of roughly 2,000 truck parking spaces. Additionally, the fiscal year 2026 transportation funding bill that was signed into law earlier this year allocated significant new funding specifically to expand truck parking.
“We urge [Congress] to build on this momentum by paving the way for meaningful, sustained investments in truck parking in the next surface transportation bill,” Williams said.
Dana Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has been featured in multiple newspapers, books and magazines across the globe. She is currently based in the Atlanta, Georgia, area.
