Parking Platforms – a New Dawn for Secure Truck Parking in Europe? 

Giving member companies access to a bigger pool of secure truck parking locations to support the resilience of their supply chains remains one of TAPA EMEA’s key priorities.

One of the latest initiatives aimed at driving this is greater collaboration with the region’s major Booking Platform Operators (BPOs) which have established working relationships with parking sites across Europe to leverage their contacts and influence. This includes introducing direct booking links from the secure parking section of the TAPA EMEA Intelligence System (TIS) to each partner platform.

So, how’s it going … and what is the Association hoping to achieve? 

Vigilant asked Markus Prinz, TAPA EMEA’s Senior Manager, Standards, Training & Certifications, and Panayiotis Laimos from the Association’s Standards & Training Services team to tell us more…  

How many BPOs has TAPA EMEA contacted to provide secure parking booking links direct from the TIS tool?

TAPA EMEA initially contacted SNAP, OTRA, Park Your Truck, Bosch Service Solutions, Travis, and Motis Truck Parking to help spread the message across their members. The majority response has been positive. TAPA EMEA’s campaign aimed at secure parking areas is asking BPOs to promote the Association’s Parking Security Requirements (PSR) among their parking place partners/members and transport customers. Already, BPOs – notably SNAP, PARK YOUR TRUCK and OTRA, have helped us attract 20 new PSR Partners. In the period from 1 May to mid-July 2024, this has added 1,637 new truck parking places into our PSR database in France, the United Kingdom, Romania, Ireland, Spain, Germany, Czech Republic, Hungary and Russia.

• How many parking locations are currently listed in the PSR database?

PSR certifications as well as the Partnership declarations (PPD) are growing at a steady rate. Of course, we would like to see the number skyrocketing but we accept this is a long-term process. Our goal is to keep moving forward. The latest figures show 93 secure parking locations listed in the PSR database: 17 PSR certifications covering all 3 levels, 71 Partners, and 5 Parking Place Operators (PPOs) that have been granted the equivalent PSR certificate based on their EC SSTPA (Safe & Secure Truck Parking Areas) certification status. PSR certified parking places account for 2,400 of the current total, while Partners/PPOs represent almost 7,000 parking spaces. Additionally, the PSR database includes over 800 PSR equivalent EC SSTPA certificated places. So, overall, we are providing visibility for more than 10,000 secure parking places across Europe. 

Most of these parking locations are in Central, Western, and Northern Europe. There are also a small number located in Southern and Eastern Europe.

• What’s driving this initiative? 

In support of its members, TAPA EMEA is committed to supporting the growth of secure parking areas in Europe and, in doing so, increasing the safety of the drivers and the security of vehicles and the cargo they are transporting. Some of you may have noticed in the June issue of Vigilant that among the latest 1,300 recorded cargo theft incidents in EMEA, 835 were related to attacks on vehicles. Of these, 137 took place in unclassified parking locations and only 3 gave their location as secure parking areas. Even though utopia is to have no incidents in secure parking areas, we believe that this ratio of 137 to 3 is quite promising and shows us the way forward. 

The primary focus is on our members, Trucking Security Requirements (TSR) certified truckers, and making the entire supply chain safer. The TSR Standard requires the use of secure parking spaces, so the continued addition of reliable parking areas with security features into our PSR database must continue to receive our full attention and support. 

• Does TAPA EMEA have a growth target for secure parking places? 

Our goal a year ago was to reach 200 parking locations in the TIS tool by the end of 2024 to double the number of sites in our database. Realistically, this will be difficult to achieve at the current rate, but we still have four months to go. It would still represent significant progress year-over-year if we can reach 150 parking sites. Our numbers are growing month-by-month. 

• To be added to the TIS secure parking database, must BPOs get their parking place partners to sign a PPD with TAPA EMEA?

Every partner’s parking space listed in the TIS tool is based on a Parking Place Declaration (PPD). This declaration can be submitted and managed by the BPO with the consent of the parking place operator or directly by the PPO. The process always includes an annual review to ensure that the security requirements are compliant. Operators submitting a PPD are responsible for ensuring the information provided is accurate and reflects the reality of their offering. 

Only BPOs which are Security Service Provider (SSP) members of TAPA EMEA are permitted to offer booking options/links for parking places in the TIS tool. 

If a Parking Place Operator (PPO) wants to be visible in our TIS database and have direct visibility to the TAPA EMEA membership, they need either to be TAPA PSR certified or at least to have Partner status by signing a Parking Partnership Declaration with TAPA. 

The TAPA EMEA membership fee for a Parking Place Operator is €750.00 annually and includes, among other benefits, one free place on our online PSR training course. These fees are intentionally kept low but only provide a single PSR training spot compared to Full membership. The benefits of this membership begin from the moment of membership registration and activation. Submitting a PPD without the Authorised Auditor qualification and associated training is cost neutral.

• How do Booking Platforms benefit? 

PPOs who meet the minimum-security requirements stated in their application will have their approved sites listed in TAPA EMEA’s secure truck parking database. This forms part of the TAPA EMEA Intelligence System (TIS), which allows transport and route planners to identify safer and more secure transportation routes by using incident intelligence and mapping tools to avoid cargo crime ‘hotspots’ and to identify secure truck parking places. 

Furthermore, route planners can get immediate access to the booking platforms of BPOs via the TIS tool to simplify the parking place booking process. This is quite a benefit for SSP BPOs that are visible to route planners that usually perform also the booking and payment activities for Logistics Service Providers. 

• How can TAPA EMEA members be confident new parking sites have the minimum levels of security required?

The status of PPOs who have signed a Parking Partnership Declaration is reviewed and renewed annually. Therefore, TAPA EMEA ensures that the minimum-security elements declared at the initial PPD submission are still in place, or even improved on an annual basis.

By signing the PPD, TAPA ensures that minimum-security measures are in place. Within the PPD Form, PPOs insert all location and contact details as well as the number of parking places within the facility. They must also list the security measures in place, such as fence/perimeter, gates or barriers, lighting, CCTV in use and supervised 24/7/366, and site comfort features for drivers; toilets, food, wi-fi and phone.

• How can TAPA EMEA members support this initiative?

TAPA EMEA members need to use these secure parking areas to ensure they remain financially sustainable. Parking costs are not that high compared to the cost of the whole transport route and the increased peace of mind. When it comes to who picks up the tab, our personal belief is that this cost should be borne by the owner of the goods, meaning the manufacturer or the “buyer” in our terminology. We do not consider it fair to pass the cost to the freight forwarder or the carrier. 

From our experience, as most of us have spent several years in the logistics business, most buyers do not object to the cost of secure parking to further protect their cargoes as long as this actually happens for real. Goods valued in the millions or hundreds of thousands of Euros are regularly transported onboard a single truck, so there should be no shortage of operators ready to pay an overnight or daytime fee for a secure parking place and improved driver safety.

• TAPA EMEA says incidents in unclassified parking places have declined significantly. Is there a demand for more secure parking places?

Despite the decrease in incidents of theft and attacks on vehicles in unclassified parking areas, we still see a necessity for additional secure parking spaces. Perhaps not necessarily high-security parking areas, but solid parking places with controlled access, good illumination, a CCTV system, and associated security processes. In combination with a TSR Level 1 or 2 vehicle, this provides a very good basis for making the supply chain more secure. 

10.Are EC SSTPA parking sites also visible in TAPA EMEA’s parking database?

By Q2 2024, we had initiated a campaign to attract SSTPA certified parking locations to be listed in our TIS tool. We have offered them the opportunity to obtain a PSR Equivalent certificate free of charge, based on the SSTPA certification they hold. 

By executing an in-depth analysis of the PSR and the SSTPA requirements, we have previously identified specific situations where both certificates (PSR and SSTPA) are almost equivalent. Therefore, we are confident in offering the Platinum and Gold SSTPA certificate holders a PSR-1 Equivalent certificate. Similarly, to the Silver level holders, we offer a PSR-2 certificate, and to the Bronze level holders, a PSR-3 certificate. 

Of course, on these certificates we list the differences between the two Standards to present a clear picture of what is in place and what is missing related to the PSR certificates. We have contacted all 30 SSTPA certificate holders and have so far managed to welcome five PSR-1 Equivalent certified parking locations in Spain and Hungary. Even though this number looks small, it represents approximately 17% of the SSTPA holders’ group in the European Union. 

This effort is continuous. We always aim 

to convince PPOs to join our parking database in TAPA EMEA’s TIS tool as it clearly offers them significant benefits, most notably visibility with our almost 1,000 member members and their representatives without any commitment or obligation from their side.

1. What does the future look like? 

Secure parking sites are missing in major transport locations throughout Europe, so TAPA EMEA strongly supports the improvement of the secure parking network. Since the beginning of 2023, TAPS GmbH has also offered members or interested parties support with applications for European funding through the EC CEF Funding project that aims to drive the development of new secure parking sites or the improvement of existing ones across the TEN-T network which covers the main road transportation in the Union.

Last year, only four funding proposals were approved, but this year there has been a significant improvement in the funding figures, resulting in 11 secure parking funding proposals seeking approval from the European Commission for a total funding amount of some €60 million. This funding opportunity is valid until 2027, and the next call is expected to be released by September 2024 with the call remaining open for 3-4 months for the submission of funding proposals.

The funding request process is quite straightforward, but the documentation and studies required are time consuming. Therefore, we strongly encourage interested investors to initiate their funding proposal preparation as early as possible. Investment related expenses are eligible for funding right after the submission of the proposal, so there is no need to wait for approval to initiate a project.

There are specific criteria for the EC to evaluate the proposals. In principle, the EC prefers projects close to or on the TEN-T network, endorsed by the Members States where the secure parking locations plan to be built, and for the process to be quite mature at the stage of submission, so no delays are experienced if funding approval is granted. We would be quite happy to provide more insight and additional details related to these funding opportunities.