Artur Express Inc — Local services in Hazelwood

I have been running with Artur since September of 2023 under the Lease program. I hear sooo many operators whine and cry about the program, which isn’t the best, at the same time it isn’t the worse. The biggest issue being fuel and the restriction on using their fuel card. The simplest solution is to use your own credit card for fuel as Artur doesn’t dictate to you where you fuel using your own card. Of course you have to have your own IFTA account, but that’s par for the course if you’re going to be an O/O. You can save an additional $300-400 a week on fuel which increases your net income by using your own credit card. If you don’t have a credit card with at least $6k credit line you should stick to the company side.

The other complaint I hear is about the dispatchers being rude or not keeping drivers rolling. I haven’t had that experience with my assigned dispatcher. It’s been a great working relationship the entire time, nothing forced, and when I want time home or time off for vacation it has never been an issue.

And lastly, I saw someone say something about the company not keeping people in a hotel during the entire time of orientation. What they failed to point out was the headquarters where the orientation takes place has clean shower facilities, a nice size theater-lounge with big screen tv, a great workout room, kitchen and seating areas. Why would any company waste unnecessary money on a hotel when you can assign the driver their truck (with an APU) so they can quickly move in, get familiar with, and situate the vehicle they are going to be working out of after orientation??

Sometimes I hear drivers complain about the most trivial things and it makes me wonder why in the world did they get a CDL in the first place for OTR when they show and prove they really don’t have the mindset for OTR work.

My only complaint is the rates, at the same time, like with everything else in the trucking industry, things fluctuate, fuel prices fluctuate, rates fluctuate. Steady work and consistency wins in the end and that is the thing I like about Artur, they have kept me rolling steadily and consistently over the past 16 months.

I have had my own authority, also worked company driver starting out and been an O/O the past 8 years, I switched to Artur because the fuel, insurance and other expenses as a lease to own truck O/O increased to where I was only breaking even in 2023, not to mention the time and money I had to spend under the hood or truck whenever anything broke down (as I have diesel mechanic experience/skills),… so with this lease, any breakdowns, Penske to the rescue with a sub-unit so I can keep getting loads while my unit is worked on, one less headache I have to worry about, and didn’t have to pay for towing, etc. They do a pretty good PM service and any issues with the unit I can bring to the headquarters Penske shop or elsewhere and it’s addressed in a fairly timely manner. It isn’t the best, and it isn’t the worst. It’s steady though, which for me is important.

Every company has pros and cons, Artur’s pros have outweighed its cons for me as a Lease driver. The company drivers are always complaining about the loads or home time from what I hear, but in my experience, drivers complain and complaining is second nature for drivers it seems. Yes, I would recommend Artur, but I don’t recommend the company for drivers who really don’t have the mindset...

If you don’t want us to idle the truck then get us in a truck with an APU! I have to live in this truck on the road, it’s my home at that time. Telling me not to maintain my home temperature is like me coming to your house and telling you what to do with your system! No respect at all for the driver. We’re not hours, we are people out here away from home. Stop telling us about hours of idling! We’re not all the same, some of us don’t care about the heat/cold, others yes but I don’t have to explain that anymore than I don’t have to explain how I shower, rest, care for my dog, etc.

Again, this truck my home, don’t tell me how to keep my temperature. It’s not fair at all for us to have to deal with this when there are those with an APU.

This place is also trying to get you to only take a 10hr break, nope. This is more of that disrespect. 10hr is just a minimum time. If you want me to take 10hrs then everyone working in that office needs to take only 10hrs. I’ll take what I need to get rested and get safely back on the road. They basically want you to falsify your logs to make it seem like you’re rested when you’re not.

When it’s time for you go home it’s an issue of how much time you’re off but while you’re out here, you won’t hear a peep or complaint about you being on the road for a long period of time.

This place use to be better, I don’t like where it’s headed at all and I won’t be...

The lady told me leased owner operator pay was around $1.70 per mile but when I got rolling. I was literally make right at $1.00 per mile. Also…don’t do the lease program with them. Total rip off. Clearly they have a Penske shop within their facility and most of the money you’ll make goes right back into Penske/Arturs pocket. It’s definitely not worth it at all. It’s literally cheaper to rent a truck on your own to work elsewhere. First company that I’ve ever leased on with that’ll charge you for everything all the way down to the Tolls, pre pass and scale tickets. That’s pretty low down and petty. But I just wanted to see how it was to work for them and now that I know. Never again. I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone. They put all that money into pointless amenities inside the terminal and not to where the money should actually go. To the driver. Don’t be fooled by the amount they say you’ll make per year as an owner operator. Like I said before, that money goes right back into artur and Penskes pocket. I’ll give this company a 2 out of 10....