TAPA’s secure truck parking database breaks through the 7,000 barrier as more sites join up in EMEA

The number of secure truck parking places in TAPA EMEA’s Parking Security Requirement (PSR) database broke through the 7,000 barrier in July as more sites joined the Association’s programme to support the resilience of trucking operations, improve driver safety and reduce cargo thefts across the region.

The programme’s most recent growth has been driven by SNAP Account, the cashless payment system working with over 220 HGV parking sites across the UK and Europe, which is actively encouraging parking operators to adopt the TAPA security standard. 19 of these sites are already participating in TAPA’s PSR, with the latest locations in the UK, France, the Netherlands and Slovakia. Six more are in the pipeline, according to SNAP, which provides 10,500 parking spaces per day or 3.7 million a year for over 100,000 truck drivers.

This latest expansion of TAPA’s PSR means the Association is now giving its Manufacturer and Logistics Service Provider members access to a secure parking database of nearly 7,200 parking places at 68 secure sites in 11 countries; Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain and the United Kingdom.

Criminal attacks on trucks accounted for 53.8% of the 8,548 cargo crimes reported to TAPA’s Incident Information Service (IIS) in 2019. TAPA members effectively protect their supply chains by using the Association’s digital supply chain resilience tools. This includes identifying cargo crimes on specific transport routings across EMEA to support risk assessment and loss prevention, alongside a listing of the nearest TAPA-approved secure parking locations to ensure drivers, vehicles and high value, theft targeted loads remain safe during mandatory rest breaks.

SNAP, which recruits 2-3 new parking sites each week, is volunteering the support of its Access & Security team to bring more locations up to PSR Level 3 of the TAPA security standard.

Nick Long, SNAP’s European Network Manager, said: “We always try our best to help a location bring its standards up to reach the TAPA PSR Level 3. When a new location starts working with SNAP, we explain the benefits of joining the PSR programme and ask if they would like to gain the accreditation. It is vital to increase security throughout the haulage sector and we illustrate the reasons why. Our Access & Security team are continuing to carry out security ‘health checks’ and offering specialised advice to any parking locations who would like to join the programme. SNAP will continue to volunteer and support TAPA to create safer parking areas across Europe because the market size for secure parking completely overshadows the availability.”

Thorsten Neumann, President & CEO of TAPA EMEA, commented: “We greatly appreciate the support we are receiving from SNAP Account. They clearly understand the importance and value of creating more secure truck parking places in our region, and are taking proactive action to support the growth of our parking database. Our PSR standard is gaining such wide support because it has been designed by the industry, for the industry, or to be more precise, by the companies that want to book secure parking places. We have already seen record growth in 2020 and I am confident this will continue.” 

TAPA is also hoping to benefit from SNAP’s recently-formed partnership with ELVIS, the European Cargo Federation of International Freight Forwarders, to extend the number of secure parking areas in Germany. The ELVIS network has more than 250 companies that could be suitable for SNAP’s Depot Parking scheme, with over 10 locations set to launch very soon. Earlier this year, a SNAP survey of 350 people working in the Transport and Automotive sector in Germany on the causes, impact and solutions to rising cargo crime, found that 46.3% of those working in the industry have been affected by cargo crime or know someone affected.