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February 15, 2002 9:40 AM, EST

Fred Kirschner, a Petro franchisee in Bordentown, N.J., has been in the truck stop business long enough to know that some good ideas are not as good as they sound — and sometimes new services for truckers take time to be profitable.

Nonetheless, three years ago as he remodeled Bordentown Junction, he was left with 500 square feet and an opportunity to try something new.

During a vacation, he saw his first cybercafe and decided to dedicate the spare space to what is now known as the “Cyberstop.”

“We wanted to appeal to drivers with laptops, so we built a place for them to come and plug in,” he said. “Then we also installed five computer workstations. Drivers can access these with a timecard they buy from us that can be inserted into the computer terminal.” Five dollars buys 30 minutes of computer time.

For the full story, see the Feb. 11 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.

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