Electrification services will expand from 21 sites currently in operation to 100 by the end of 2013 with more expansion planned, shorepower provider IdleAir announced at the Great American Trucking Show Thursday in Dallas.
Regions targeted for site development include Interstate 95 along the East Coast, the Midwest, Southeast and Southwest, where demand is highest in the summer for air conditioning service, said IdleAir president Mike Fielden. The Knoxville, Tenn.-based shorepower provider reopened under the new name, IdleAir, after the former company, IdleAire, closed more than two years ago.
As part of its turnaround, the provider lowered costs to users by choosing a lower cost bandwidth in direct TV service, among other cost-cutting efforts, said Ethan Garber, chief executive officer.
Garber noted that 350 fleets have subscribed to the service as the provider increasingly has marketed its services to carriers in what began as a service more for owner-operators several years ago.
Fielden and Garber touted fuel and cost savings for those who use the service, citing that the provider saves 5,000 gallons of diesel use a day collectively. Each station provided at truckstops across the nation costs $1.99 per hour and $1.25 per hour after 10 hours of use.
Currently sites operate in Arkansas, California, Georgia, Illinois, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas and Utah. By October, two Arizona sites are expected to open and more new ones in Georgia and Tennessee.
