Run by XXLKW Secure Parking Elbebrücke GmbH, the parking area opened back in December 2022 and was covered in this trans.iNFO report.
The lorry park sports a kitchen area for truckers with hot plates and microwaves, free Wi-Fi, a 24/7 shop & snack bar, showers & toilets, washing machines, CCTV, a lounge area, as well as charging facilities for electric trucks and refrigerated trailers.
In addition to this, the operators of the lorry park told trans.iNFO in December that the site has a food truck offering cold and hot food.
It all sounds rather good, especially given the highly reported lorry parking space shortage in Germany. However, despite the on-site facilities and handy location just off the A9 between Leipzig and Berlin, the lorry park is largely under utilised according to German news outlet mdr.de.
MDR claims that the owners of the lorry park have declined to comment on the situation. However, the local mayor told the news website that it was early days yet as far as the lorry park is concerned. He said that it would take time for hauliers to change routes and added that there is a lack of signage to direct truckers to the facility.
Hier ein Einblick in eins unserer Sozialgebäude.
Ihr seht unsere liebevoll eingerichtete Trucker Lounge, die…Posted by XXLKW Secure Parking on Wednesday, 7 December 2022
However, the Managing Director of Germany’s “Park your Truck” website, Denise Schuster, offered MDR an alternative hypothesis.
She claims that the new lorry is simply prohibitively expensive. As we reported back in December, the standard pricing according to the lorry park’s website is as follows:
Duration of stay | Standard price (after the “soft launch” promotion) |
---|---|
up to 10 hours | normal rate 3.50 € / hour |
from 10 to 12 hours | €35.00 |
from 12 to 18 hours | €40.00 |
from the 18th to 24 hours | €45.00 |
from the 24th to 48 hours | €65.00 |
each additional day started | €20.00 |
As pointed out by Schuster, the prices are noticeably higher than other lorry parking areas in the country. She thus believes that pricing is the primary reason for the under utilisation of the new facility.
In what could be an attempt to address the issue, the lorry park is providing a 50% off promotion when a second truck from the same operator parks on site. The offer, advertised on the lorry park’s website, is valid until the end of March.