I agree with repete. Obviously, big trucks do burn a lot of fuel, but fuel sales aren't the profit centers for truck stops. Their profits are in the the sale of beverages, grab-n-go food, and general merchandise in the stores. Few people seem to understand that for businesses large and small, revenue may come in dollars, but for the most part, profits come in the forms of pennies, and fractions of pennies. On the other hand, shrinkage is found in forms of fractions of pennies, pennies, and dollars.
Add to it, maintaining an asphalt parking lot is horrendously expensive, and big trucks put a lot of wear on them. While the price of crude oil has dropped recently, the high prices of oil over the past several years has only made maintenance of those asphalt lots even more expensive. Additionally, when trying to back into a space in a crowded lot at night, driver's want those lots to be well lit. That requires something called electricity, which doesn't come cheap, either.
The real estate upon which those truck stops sit is usually sold by the front-foot or by the square foot, and it's very costly. Then, there are matters of property taxes and insurance premiums that must be paid. If most drivers knew what those taxes run each year, they would either choke, or else they would refuse to believe it. This is especially true in places like Atlanta, Chicago, California, or the Eastern Seaboard.
I don't know what's happening now, but back when I ran OTR, (about a decade ago) the truck stops that charged for parking (at least the ones that I used) would wave the parking fee with a purchase of $10.00 of merchandise from their store-fronts. I never had a problem with that. I'd rather spend a few bucks on stuff that I need or want in order to be able to park in a clean, safe, and well maintained truck stop, than park in a filthy, run down rat hole in order to save a few bucks.
Last edited by Useless; 12-18-2014 at 08:14 PM.
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