KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Pilot Co. is partnering with Kodiak Robotics, a self-driving trucking company, to develop autonomous truck services at Pilot and Flying J travel centers.
- Pilot Co. is No. 12 on CSP’s 2022 Top 202 ranking of U.S. convenience store chains by store count.
Pilot and Kodiak are in the process of creating an autonomous truckport in the Atlanta area to evaluate potential service offerings and explore scalable solutions. These services will include spaces to pick up and drop off autonomous trucking loads; conduct inspections; maintain and refuel trucks; and the ability to transfer data for processing, such as feature development and mapping. Pilot has also invested in Kodiak, and a representative will join the company’s board.
“In making this strategic investment, we understand that our customers have a need for real solutions that help address the growing demand to move goods and Kodiak is a strong leader in the autonomous trucking space. As we explore the future of autonomous trucks and how we can best support these customers, we will continue to be the travel center network that the trucking industry and professional drivers can count on for the services and care they need,” said John Tully, vice president of strategy and business development at Pilot Co.
Kodiak will lend its expertise as Pilot looks to integrate autonomous truck services into its operations. The partnership will further define service and maintenance requirements, operational necessities, facilities planning and more to meet the needs of autonomous trucks.
Kodiak has been delivering freight commercially since 2019 and currently has six routes that run regularly between Dallas and Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Atlanta, Oklahoma City and Jacksonville, Fla.
Kodiak Robotics, based in Mountain View, Calif., delivers freight daily along six routes in Texas and Oklahoma, operating autonomously on the highway portions of the routes.
Pilot, based in Knoxville, Tenn., has grown its network to more than 800 retail and fueling locations and supplies more than 14 billion gallons of fuel per year to the market. Pilot serves 1.3 million guests per day. Its Pilot and Flying J travel center network includes over 750 locations in 44 states and six Canadian provinces with more than 790 restaurants, 75,000 truck parking spaces, 5,300 deluxe showers, 6,200 diesel lanes and offers truck maintenance and tire service with Southern Tire Mart at Pilot Flying J. The One9 Fuel Network connects a variety of fueling locations to provide smaller fleets and independent professional drivers with services.
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