3.0 Other Considerations

3.1 Cost

The cost of a system that automates the detection of trucks and the calculation of their travel time must take into account that the information it derives might be part of a larger, more detailed information-providing system and that the continuous data might be more valuable than sporadic visits. The costs of an automated system must therefore be measured against the recurring and non-recurring costs from having a team of data collectors travel to a site for one, or perhaps two, data collection cycles per year. Rather, the automated system (depending upon the configuration chosen) could yield data on an hourly basis for every day of operation throughout the year. The value of that data must be weighed against the system cost on some type of amortization schedule.

The opportunities to leverage concurrent use of technologies that emerge from local, state, and federal uses as well as from the response to the terrorist threat should be a key part of any deployment. In fact, it may be appropriate to study the operating, trade, and security-related technologies that are being considered in terms of potential dual-use technology.

3.2 Maturity of the technologies for deployment

Any of the technologies in Table 2 could probably be made to work in the application of vehicle identification and travel time calculation. Most would require some non-recurring effort to design software for those applications. Most of the candidate technologies are mature in at least a related use. Some are still being developed but appear to be well along the path to achieving reliable results in the field.

3.3 Site security/vandalism

Equipment security is a concern. Should equipment be located outside of Customs property, whether permanently mounted or portable, it may be subject to theft or vandalism. For example, this would be a concern if a sensor were located well upstream in the flow of traffic due to a long queue. That is currently the situation as increased security concerns are causing delays at the border crossings for all vehicles.

3.4 Privacy

Many recent articles have dealt with the issue of privacy and commuters. There is a transportation system in New York that tracks cars that have electronic tollbooth tags, to help gauge speeds and congestion. In the Washington area, an ITS project (section 2.6.6 above refers) allows transportation officials to monitor movement of drivers talking on cell phones. There is even equipment that "sniffs" passing cars to identify which radio stations motorists have chosen.

Combined with the September 11 terrorist attacks, there is understandably increased interest by government organizations in what members of society are doing. Some of the same technologies that help us respond to incidents and manage congestion can reveal information about the driver. One example is the use of cameras to snap photos of cars that run red lights, and there are sites where cars that are out of standards for emissions are photographed automatically. Closed circuit television cameras are increasingly used to monitor roads; as their resolution gradually improves, they could be used to automatically match vehicle occupants' faces to reference databases. (Note: some uses of the technologies above have been legally – and successfully – challenged). Some on-board navigation systems allow vehicles to be tracked. The mobile phone location matching discussed above takes care to remove any identification of the driver, but many drivers are aware that such a system is tracking their vehicle. Law enforcement authorities at many border crossings in fact, use the license plate readers that are also discussed above, for the principal purpose of identifying lawbreakers attempting to cross.

For all of these reasons, truck drivers may feel anxiety about a visible automated technology, particularly when it first appears. Government organizations like Customs or toll operations may find it prudent to get acknowledgement from unions or trucking associations of any automated technology used to determine travel time. Those groups may need to be reassured that the technologies are not an attempt to identify, conduct surveillance, or otherwise invade the privacy of the truckers who are their members. In the current climate, there will be a natural tendency to suspect that any new technology has something to do with security.

3.5 Portability

For some types of devices, portability offers advantages if equipment were truly "plug-and-play." If automated sensing was not needed full-time, the equipment could be used temporarily then moved to another site. However, not all technical approaches have infrastructure that fall into this category. Even with those that do, the sensitivity of the equipment may not reasonably lend itself to any approach beside a permanent installation. And security is also a concern.

3.6 Hourly count data

Due to the difficulty that Battelle and others have experienced getting hourly truck travel information from some crossings, particularly from the Mexican side, it would be useful to collect ongoing hourly counts. Some of the sensing technologies like the signature inductive have the capability to count vehicles. Without this inherent capability in the technology, it may be desirable to set up "semi-permanent" inductive loops or pneumatic tubes at the crossings to count hourly traffic. Ideally these would be at the same locations on both sides of the border, for example around the tollbooths (where traffic outbound from the U.S. is tabulated, although not all crossings have toll operations).

However, recognizing that other national governments would be involved, these loops or pneumatic tubes could all be on the U.S. Customs side of a crossing for expediency. If that approach is taken, however, there would be errors in comparing outbound and inbound travel that are induced by positional differences. Since the pneumatic tubes would all have to be on the same side of the border, they would not be not at the same upstream-downstream positioning as the ideal tollbooth–primary inspection pairing. But the error would perhaps not be significant for the purpose intended: determining patterns.

3.7 Developments Since 9/11

Following the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, additional security measures at the border crossings resulted in delays that produced significantly longer travel times, particularly for traffic inbound to the U.S. Work-around measures were implemented to alleviate the congestion created, recognizing the detrimental effect that the condition was having on trade. A December 18, 2001 article in the El Paso Times discussed a homeland security approach being considered that could perhaps affect the selection of a technology to automate truck travel time determination.

"Under the coordinated agenda, truck drivers, motorists, and pedestrians would be issued 'Smart Cards,' which have been mainly used by commuter lane traffic. The cards contain biometric information and photo images, which can be checked in seconds by computer and verified by port officials. In addition to the cards, scanners – 12 for trucks and vehicles would – be used to peer into semi trucks as well as into autos to examine their contents. At least 20 scanners would be used to check motorists and pedestrians."

"…the Ysleta (note: also known as the Zaragoza) port of entry in far east El Paso is the second largest in the state." "…it would cost about $18 million to outfit the (Ysleta/Zaragoza) crossing with personnel, scanners, and other high-tech equipment."

As mentioned in section 2, smart cards with RF transponders are already used by most of the truck drivers passing through the tollbooths of the World Trade Bridge border crossing to pay tolls as they leave the U.S. If these newer smart cards with biometric information are used at all border crossings, they could in theory be adapted to support toll collection as well as register a timestamp through recording equipment. If so – and if Customs agencies support the idea – such smart cards might be the technology of choice for automating the truck travel time process. Of course, there would need to be an agreement with Mexico and Canada to allow equipment to be installed in order to read both points in a matched pair of sectional travel locations.

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