Transport User Voice April 2025 – Lorry drivers roundtable

01 April 2025

Keeping the wheels turning

Logistics and road freight play a key part in the growth of the UK economy, with 81 per cent of freight moved by road.    

Attracting and retaining a skilled workforce of drivers is vital to keeping Britain moving and being able to take a decent break or park and sleep overnight is part of that. Although steps are already being taken by the industry to drive positive change, our report from November 2024 highlighted that more can be done to try and improve lorry driver facilities across the country.  

Why does it matter? Because drivers shouldn’t have to worry about where they’ll go to the toilet or whether they’ll have their vehicle broken into while they’re asleep in the cab. But also because lorries keep supermarket shelves stocked and deliver hospital supplies. Because they’re vital for growing the economy. 

To help keep the wheels turning on Britain’s haulage and logistics industry, last week we brought together a group of decision makers and operators from across the sector to start an ongoing conversation about how to make things better for drivers.  

The session is the first of an ongoing programme of activities that will help key industry leaders to regularly work together to drive improvements.   

The session focused on three key areas where we know lorry drivers want to see things getting better:  

  • better and consistent quality of services, and providing a welcoming environment 
  • parking capacity that meets demand 
  • safety and security for drivers and vehicles. 

Attendees at the roundtable were also given a detailed glimpse into the life of a lorry driver, who shared some of the stark challenges they face in terms of finding safe, convenient places to stay as they deliver their cargo around the country.  

We were really pleased with the level of engagement from across the industry and from within government. Some solutions emerged that could be delivered relatively quickly, for example, existing space can sometimes be reconfigured to create additional HGV parking or room for more showers and toilets. Others are complex, will take a lot longer and require multiple organisations to work together to deliver. We’re determined to help with this. We’ll publish outputs from the session soon and plan to get back together in 12 months to see what progress we’ve all made. 

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