Office of Operations Freight Management and Operations

1.0 Introduction

1.1 Purpose of the Report

This report is submitted to assess the potential of certain technologies to determine commercial vehicle travel time at border crossings by automated means.

1.2 Organization of the Report

The technology assessment begins by describing the current method of collecting truck travel time data and calculating delay. Next there is a discussion of the assumptions that underlie the deployment of an automated system. Also discussed are the types of functions that a vehicle sensing technology would have to possess in order to perform effectively in an automated system that replaces some or all of the persons who currently man the data collector functions at a border crossing. This involves examining all of the current vehicle sensing technologies and their features in certain key areas. Then the sensing technologies that possess some of the desired traits will be examined in greater depth. Their basic function as well as advantages and disadvantages will be discussed.

1.3 Background

The FHWA acknowledges, "Our international border crossings are important links in the chain of freight commerce. They are also potential obstacles to efficient movement, imposing delays in response to a number of competing, but necessary Federal and State agency activities, such as immigration status verification, vehicle safety assessments, cargo assessments, drug interdiction, and toll payments.

"To ensure that transportation-related activities can be made less burdensome and facilitate the efficient and expeditious movement of cargoes across our borders, the Office of Freight Management and Operations (HOFM) began, in FY 2000, to collect empirical information about the actual movement of commercial vehicles, traveling from exporting to importing country, at designated crossings along the Mexican and Canadian borders. HOFM's purpose in FY 2000 was to establish a "baseline" of vehicle travel times at these locations."

Three border crossings had truck travel time data collected in the FY 2000 effort:

  • Otay Mesa, California
  • World Trade Bridge, Laredo, Texas
  • Calais, Maine

Seven border crossings had truck travel time data collected in the FY 2001 effort:

  • Ambassador Bridge, Michigan
  • Bluewater Bridge, Michigan
  • Peace Bridge, New York
  • Zaragoza Bridge, El Paso, Texas
  • Blaine, Washington
  • Otay Mesa, California*
  • World Trade Bridge, Laredo, Texas*

1.4 Methodology

"Travel time per truck trip" is the measurement chosen to monitor travel time and delay at the border sites. This encompasses the time taken by an individual commercial vehicle from:

  • The initial queuing point in the exporting country,
  • Through the exporting country's checkpoint, and
  • Up to and through the first inspection point in the importing country.
  • Travel in both directions is assessed.

Measurements are taken: (1) at various times during the individual workday and (2) during one or more seasons of the year. "Travel delay" as a measurement is based on an initial determination, at an individual site, of the time required for relatively low volumes of traffic to proceed through the location. Additional measurements are then taken throughout the business day, with special attention to times when significant delays may occur. Data collected at these times are compared to the initial, low volume of activity at the site, and conclusions drawn.

*Otay Mesa and Laredo received data collection on both the FY 2000 and FY 2001 activity.

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