In this episode of Taking The Hire Road, Jeremy Reymer, CEO of DriverReach, is joined by Evan Shelley, Co-Founder and CEO of Truck Parking Club, a platform designed to connect truck drivers with available parking spaces.

Every day, truck drivers crisscross the vast expanse of the United States, often hundreds or even thousands of miles from home. During their journeys, they encounter the constant challenge of finding a safe and secure place to pull over and rest.

Parking shortages consistently rank among the top pain points for truckers. Historically, solving this problem has been a challenge for carriers, as they have limited control over parking availability.

Truck Parking Club, which launched less than a year ago, is dedicated to addressing this issue. With just a few taps on a screen, truckers can discover parking options near their current locations across the nation and conveniently reserve spots on a nightly or monthly basis, all without incurring transaction fees. This also means they have a place to park a trailer, potentially enabling them to accept loads they might have otherwise declined.

Evan Shelley highlights the impact, saying, "You’d be surprised how often we meet someone at a truck show and they’re like, ‘Man, I would have made X number of thousands of dollars if I had known about you last week because I could have dropped a trailer there, ran that load, and came back and got the trailer.'"

Truck Parking Club offers access to nearly 150 locations in the U.S., and even extends its services to Canada and Mexico. Recently, it introduced a feature that allows drivers to identify free rest areas and truck stop locations.

Carriers can encourage their drivers to utilize Truck Parking Club as an additional tool to simplify life on the road. According to Shelley, it's an excellent resource for carriers to mention to their drivers, offering them an additional means to plan ahead, reserve parking spots, and have a secure place to drop off a trailer.

Truck Parking Club delivers value to both sides of the market. Besides connecting drivers with parking spaces, it provides an opportunity for property owners to monetize their vacant properties. These properties can include surplus space at trucking companies, storage facilities, trailer leasing businesses, large yards owned by home builders, or any other location suitable for truck parking.

Property owners can post listings without incurring charges, create profiles swiftly, and are not bound by long-term lease commitments. Additionally, they stand a significant chance of generating additional income by putting their otherwise unused land to work.

The path to Truck Parking Club wasn't initially how Evan Shelley envisioned entering the truck parking industry. In 2021, he acquired an industrial-zoned property with the intention of developing it into a truck parking facility. However, he encountered roadblocks from the city government, realizing that acquiring land for this purpose and scaling the operation would be a daunting and protracted endeavor. Yet, the parking problem couldn't wait.

While he initially dismissed the idea of Truck Parking Club, Shelley soon recognized that utilizing technology to connect drivers with existing parking resources made the most sense. Similar to how app-based platforms transformed the way people book accommodations while traveling, Truck Parking Club is reshaping the traditional approach to finding parking. As the platform continues to expand, it holds the potential to alleviate parking challenges for drivers throughout the country.

Evan Shelley observes, "Truckers aren’t used to booking truck parking at a carrier’s location on the other side of the U.S., but now we’re starting to educate truckers that it is possible and it works and it’s seamless."