New Survey Shows More than One in Five Tow Providers Must Turn Down Work
Source: HONK Technologies press release
Digital roadside assistance and vehicle transport platform company HONK Technologies has released results from a nationwide survey of 582 towing and roadside providers. The survey indicates that tow providers are feeling the effects of motorists returning to the roadways as public health measures have loosened.
More than 1 in 5 (22%) report having to turn down work, and the additional volume is driving almost half (46%) to consider buying new trucks and hiring additional employees. These moves indicate that tow providers are paying attention to signs of economic recovery and looking to get ahead of the long-awaited return to pre-pandemic motorist driving patterns.
46% of tow providers are hiring and intend to purchase additional trucks
Tow providers want to grow their businesses. The survey found that 46% of tow providers are currently hiring, and the same percentage are intending to purchase additional tow trucks in 2022 because of the higher demand for their services.
73% of tow providers prioritize their jobs, and the No. 1 criteria is location
Tow providers want towing and roadside jobs that are closer to their available operators and trucks. Prioritizing jobs based on location enables providers to accommodate more customers per day and improve truck efficiencies, reducing overhead costs. Insurers are now opting to work with roadside assistance program providers who utilize location-based dispatching over traditional territory-based to take advantage of higher tow provider performance and 55% shorter wait times for their customers.
“These findings show that tow providers are responding to the return of demand for roadside assistance so they can accommodate the additional volume,” said Matt Bijur, Chief Operating Officer at HONK. “And beyond hiring additional staff and purchasing new trucks, efficiency is a big part of scaling up. Tow providers prefer to take the closest jobs because that creates quicker ETAs, happier customers, more jobs per truck per day, and lower overhead costs.”