The European Union will subsidize parking lots. Not enough
There will be more modern parking lots for trucks in #EU countries. This is because the European Commission will subsidize the construction of new parking lots or the improvement of the infrastructure of existing ones.
The CEF-INFRA (The Connecting Europe Fac Europe Facility) program will allocate 100 million euros for this purpose, with a target of 600 million. However, this is a drop in the ocean of needs.
The acceptance of applications will end on January 19, 2023, and the investment period can last up to five years. According to the Commission’s plans, a total of three competitions will be announced. Although the transport associations believe that this is a step in the right direction, the amount of the budget no longer inspires enthusiasm. The construction of a new parking lot, with an adequate length of parking spaces, lighting, and sanitary facilities can cost up to 10 million euros. Meanwhile, the IRU (International Road Transport Union) is sounding the alarm that there is a shortage of some 100,000 parking spaces for trucks across Europe.
As Radu Dinescu, president of the IRU, reminded the European Parliament recently, because of the shortage of drivers we are facing a logistics crisis on the continent, which could cripple economic development. How does this relate to the lack of parking spaces?
Very much, as reminded in the European Parliament by parliamentarians interested in the subject. Because the shortage of drivers is not only a question of wages but also of working conditions. Indeed, the lack of parking lots, rest areas, showers, etc., affects the comfort of drivers.
