Proposal:Towing
| Towing | |
|---|---|
| Proposal status: | Draft (under way) |
| Proposed by: | Mxdanger |
| Tagging: | amenity=towing
|
| Applies to: |  , 
|
| Definition: | Service is a truck used to move motor vehicles |
| Statistics: |
|
| Draft started: | 2025-05-29 |
Proposal
Introduce amenity=towing tag along with subtags service:towing=* for specifying the services offered.
Rationale
Tow trucks are important and it's a missing link between all the other transportation related amenities. There is clear demand based on taginfo values for "towing" but without aim and interest to develop the tag or even create a preset it has gone nowhere.
Subtagging follows the same structure as service:vehicle=* and service:bicycle=*.
Tagging
Tag the location of where the tow truck operates from.
| Key | Value |
|---|---|
amenity
|
towing
|
Subtags
Using the service namespace service:towing=*.
| Key | Possible values | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
service:towing:recovery=*
|
yes / no
|
Moving a vehicle that cannot be repaired or driven. | .jpg) |
service:towing:roadside_assistance=*
|
yes / no
|
Helps broken-down vehicle get up and going again or transports disabled vehicles. See: w:Roadside assistance |  |
service:towing:enforcement=*
|
yes / no
|
Tows vehicles for parking violations, repossession, traffic obstruction, private property, outstanding parking citations, or other related reasons. |  |
service:towing:light_duty=*
|
yes / no
|
Provides towing for smaller vehicles. Typically involves relatively light loads. These tow trucks are usually wheel-lift, flatbed/rollback, lift flatbed, or hook and chain.
What classifies for light duty towing: |
.jpg) |
service:towing:medium_duty=*
|
yes / no
|
This classification of towing is common only in the United States and Canada. Provides towing for larger vehicles than light-duty towing but not the heaviest loads. Integrated tow truck.
What classifies for medium duty towing: |
 |
service:towing:heavy_duty=*
|
yes / no
|
Designed for the heaviest and most demanding towing tasks, involving very large and heavy vehicles. These tow trucks are integrated, rotator, or oversized.
What classifies for heavy duty towing: |
  |
service:towing:motorcycle=*
|
yes / no
|
Provides motorcycle towing. This includes other 2-wheeled motor vehicles like mopeds or mofas. |  |
Let me know on the discussion page if you think there should be more options!
There is no international standard for what counts as light, medium, or heavy duty. It varies by country.
Examples
to be added
Rendering
Side profile of a tow truck. I will create a vector icon and submit it to the Temaki project. https://github.com/rapideditor/temaki
Features/Pages affected
- Create Tag:amenity=towing
- Create Key:service:towing:* subtags page.
- Create Key:service:towing for redirect to subtags page.
- Update Towing (disambiguation) page with links to the new tags.
External discussions
- Discussion for top-level key and value: https://community.openstreetmap.org/t/amenity-towing-or-office-towing-or-shop-towing/130650
- 2018 discussion: Talk:Tag:shop=car repair#Should a Towing company be tagged as a car repair shop?
- 2015 discussion: https://help.openstreetmap.org/questions/47158/cartruck-towing-business
Comments
Please comment on the discussion page.