The American Trucking Associations' Women in Motion has teamed up with Trucker Path to help female truck drivers identify safe places to stop and park.
Through this new partnership with Women in Motion, Trucker Path is adding a number of features to its existing mobile app that will help women identify and locate facilities that have seven specific safety features:
Lighted parking
Lighted bathroom access
Lighted lounge areas
Lighted shower facilities with 24/7 access
Lighted laundry facilities with 24/7 access
Round-the-clock maintenance
Onsite security
Facilities with all seven amenities will be marked with the Women in Motion logo in the Trucker Path app. Drivers will be able to provide updates on the condition of these amenities through the app as well.
Brenda Neville, president and CEO of the Iowa Motor Truck Association, joined Trucker Path's Chris Oliver to introduce the partnership.
Photo: Deborah Lockridge
Women in Motion is a program created last year by the American Trucking Associations to focus on the core issues women face on the road and in the industry.
The Trucker Path app is a truck-safe routing and navigation app for truck drivers. Nearly 1 million truckers in North America use the Trucker Path app to find the closest truck stop, available truck parking, weigh station status, etc., according to the company.
“Through our platform, women can quickly and easily identify stops along their routes offering amenities catering to their needs, all while accessing real-time information on parking availability, fuel pricing and discounts, and so much more,” said Trucker Path CMO Chris Oliver in a news release.
These amenities were chosen based on input from women drivers, although Oliver noted that they help male drivers, as well.
Brenda Neville, president and CEO of the Iowa Motor Truck Association, said she recently talked to competitors and other women drivers at the Iowa state truck driving championship about what they were looking for on the road.
“The number one issue was safety,” she told reporters in a press conference during ATA’s recent management conference. Women are looking for locations that are well lit and have security, for instance. (Internet access, she noted was their second most important amenity.)
Trucker Path App Uses Crowdsourcing to Identify Parking and Truckstop Amenities
“Trucker Path was born to help truckers find parking,” Oliver told reporters. It has expanded since then, using crowdsourcing to improve life on the road for truck drivers.
The app has 20,000 parking locations that are geofenced, sending app users a notification to provide information on that location, from how full the parking lot is to the amenities available.
“This was a perfect extension,” he said. “All we really had to do was add seven boxes.”
While truckstops check those boxes, the information is verified in the app through crowdsourcing.
“ATA is committed to bringing more women into our industry and addressing their concerns. This partnership between Women in Motion and Trucker Path is a way to address one of the persistent concerns women in trucking express – safety,” said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear in a news release. “Helping women drivers identify truck parking facilities with essential amenities like lighted parking, bathroom access and on-site security will play a role in addressing this longtime challenge for our industry.”
