Road transport is vital for Europe, transporting around three-quarters of the EU’s internal freight. However, the truck parking areas where drivers rest are inadequate or in dire need of upgrading. Now, employers’ organizations and trade unions in European road transport have joined forces to demand action from the EU and its Member States to create a denser network of Safe Truck Parking Areas (SSTPA) offering appropriate services. The social partners, IRU and ETF, met with EU Transport Commissioner Bulk to call for dedicated support and incentive mechanisms to ensure the necessary policies and financing.
Long-haul drivers often face difficult conditions in truck parking areas in Europe. One in four drivers has been the victim of violence or attack, and roadside facilities provide drivers with a level of comfort during their rest periods that is below acceptable standards. The European Social Partners, IRU and ETF, met with EU Commissioner Bulk on 7 May to share their concerns about the situation and request the establishment of a network of SSTPAs in Europe.
Currently, there are only 300,000 parking spaces in Europe, and only a small fraction of them guarantee basic services and safety levels. Another 100,000 parking spaces are needed across Europe to provide decent working conditions and resting places for truck drivers.
“Many professional drivers have to take a break in roadside parking spaces. Decent work in the field of road transport can only be ensured when safe and comfortable parking spaces are available for drivers. It is unfortunate that drivers still face overcrowded and lacking parking areas.” Basic facilities. Now the entire road transport sector, both trade unions and employers’ organisations, are calling on politicians at all levels to make a network of safe truck parking a reality in Europe,” said ETF Head of Roads Roberto Parrillo.
In fact, the lack of safe parking spaces has become one of the major obstacles for truck drivers, making it difficult to attract a young and diverse workforce.
“The deployment of the SSTPA network is vital for the future of the industry, to provide safe and comfortable working and rest conditions for our drivers. The industry is already facing a severe driver shortage, and in order to attract new talent we need good and attractive working and rest conditions. In particular, we want to attract more young people and women to This is a profession, and the availability of safe and comfortable parking spaces is a prerequisite for this,” said Matthias Maidge, IRU Action Leader in Brussels.
In a statement accompanying today’s meeting, the IRU and the ETF called on all EU Member States and European institutions, in particular the European Commission and Transport Commissioner Bulc, to make building and improving SSTPAs a political and funding priority. This means adopting EU parking standards and an ambitious European plan to roll out the core of the EU network of SSTPAs during the next legislative session. In fact, the European Commission recently finalized a study on SSTPA and the social partners expect this to remain a priority for the next Commission.
Violeta Bulc, EU Transport Commissioner, said: “Our drivers need and deserve better and safer comfort conditions when they are on the road. Today’s initiative from our partners IRU and ETF shows that we are working towards a common goal: safe, secure and comfortable parking areas for our drivers across Europe. EU measures, including active financing of parking areas and setting standards for high-quality parking spaces.
The European Social Partners for Land Transport welcomed today’s fruitful discussions with Commissioner Bulk. Looking to the future, we now expect the European Commission and EU Member State governments to make a real difference for truck drivers by working at European, regional and local level to support the development of safe truck parking areas across Europe. Priority funding must be provided through EU programmes, such as the Connecting Europe Facility and the European Cohesion Funds. Securing a true EU-wide network rollout of the SSTPA will also need to be supported by the profit margin processes in the new Eurovignette Directive.
