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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 ºÚÁÏÉçÇøFoundation 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 ºÚÁÏÉçÇøFoundation.

• 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.