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Tuck stops and travel centers play a vital role in keeping the nation’s truck drivers moving, and professional Class 8 drivers have unique needs that differ from those of the traveling public.

To help the nation’s truckstop and travel plaza operators better understand fleets, drivers, and their needs, the Â鶹ɫ²¥ Foundation launched a comprehensive survey among company drivers, leased drivers, independent owner/operators, and fleet owner/managers and used the results to create the Professional Driver Buying Behavior at Travel Centers Toolkit.

Key Findings:

This toolkit examines how professional drivers and fleets determine where to purchase fuel and how they pay using the results of a survey that was e-mailed to Overdrive, CCJ, and Truckers News newsletter subscribers beginning in April 2022 for the Â鶹ɫ²¥ Foundation.

• Fuel price is among the most important factors influencing where leased and independent owner-operators stop to fuel.
• Fuel price is also the top factor for fleet managers/owners deciding where their drivers stop to fuel, and 36% of fleet owners/managers said drivers are told where to stop based on negotiated deals.
• Drivers and fleet managers/owners pay with fuel cards most often. Independent owner-operators pay with major credit cards and cash more often than other driver types.
• How drivers and fleet owners/managers pay doesn’t always align with their preferred payment method. More would prefer to pay with credit cards, apps, and cash than do. Independent owner-operators said they’d like to pay by check at a higher rate than other driver types.