ATA’s Women in Motion urges Congress to expand truck parking
The American Trucking Associations’ Women in Motion (WIM) Council is urging Congress to prioritize expanded truck parking access as lawmakers prepare the next surface transportation reauthorization.
WIM Chairwoman Emily Williams sent letters to leaders of the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, stressing that the shortage of safe truck parking is limiting opportunities for women to enter and remain in the trucking industry.
The two committees are responsible for updating and extending federal highway programs before the current authorization expires 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 wrote. “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.”
Williams said increasing truck parking capacity would address a critical safety and workforce need for the nation’s 3.6 million truck drivers, including hundreds of thousands of women.
“This is the least we can do for America’s essential workforce,” she wrote.
The call comes as studies continue to highlight the scale of the parking shortage. A U.S. Department of Transportation study found 98% of truck drivers regularly struggle to find safe parking. Research from the American Transportation Research Institute estimates drivers lose about 56 minutes of drive time each day searching for parking — costing roughly $6,813 annually in lost wages.
Truck parking has received bipartisan attention in recent years. The 2021 surface transportation reauthorization funded construction of roughly 2,000 new truck parking spaces, while the fiscal 2026 transportation funding bill included additional funding specifically aimed at expanding truck parking.
Williams urged lawmakers to build on those investments in the next surface transportation bill.
“We urge Congress to build on this momentum by paving the way for meaningful, sustained investments in truck parking,” she wrote.
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