5. Recommendations

GPS and ALPR both provide potential value in applying the technologies at Otay Mesa; however the study team recommended that the FHWA choose GPS as the primary means of collecting travel time information at the crossing. FHWA's limited budget made it possible to deploy only one technology and the study team concluded that GPS data would yield the most robust data set with less risk than that associated with ALPR deployment.

While a significant amount of information was captured during the project, the study team recommends that a series of actions be undertaken to establish a complete service for the various potential users of GPS data. These actions will increase the likelihood that the data obtained from a GPS-based system offers the appropriate value and usability to enable the cost of deployment to be spread over a broad set of stakeholders. The team's recommendations are offered below, along with an explanation of the value associated with exercising each of them.

Recommendation #1: Use a Larger Number of Reports.

While the rule of thumb threshold of three to five percent of the total population was successfully reached during the project, the data suggests that a larger population of GPS-equipped trucks could significantly enhance the dataset by reducing the effect of outlier trips on the mean travel time value. The relationship between sample size and variability is not known, but an increase in the number of units to 300 (at the same crossing frequency) should yield definitive evidence of it. Of course, such action would need to be balanced against the cost of the additional devices, and the expected value of the (presumably) more precise data.

Recommendation #2: Increase the Variety of Carrier Participants.

The carriers that participated in the project indicated that the overwhelming majority of their US-bound trips are FAST trips. At the very least, that means that the samples gathered for this project under-represent non-FAST trips. If a GPS data solution is to be deployed in a production setting, the team suggests that the trucks from which GPS data is collected conduct non-FAST trips into the US at a representative frequency.

Recommendation #3: Examine Secondary Uses for Data.

The measurement of travel time for vehicles entering the US represents only a small portion of the value to be extracted from GPS data. These devices are typically on when the vehicle is running, offering the opportunity to examine movements, origins and destinations, idling points, and various travel delays throughout a vehicle's duty cycle. Those entities that adopt GPS-based systems should examine these and other secondary uses for the data in order to realize its full value. For instance, a significant volume of data was captured during the project regarding southbound movements, but it was not analyzed because it fell outside the scope of the project. At this point, the value and usefulness of this data is unknown.

Recommendation #4: Use Extended Data Collection to Reinforce Calculations & Diminish Variability.

Much in the way that an increase in the number of trucks using the crossing should reduce variability and enhance confidence in the data, so too should the capture of data over a long period of time. Doing so will likely lend stability and reduce variability in historical travel time data, thereby reducing the effects of outliers. Additionally, external factors such as the level of economic activity will also affect the figures. Collecting data over an extended period offers the opportunity to examine the effects.

Recommendation #5: Examine and Test Near Real Time Data Use.

Although GPS-based traffic monitoring solutions are being used in other locations on a real-time basis (e.g., I-95 Corridor Coalition), the usefulness and usability of similar data in the border environment is still largely unknown. The approach used for this project offers an opportunity to examine whether enough value can be extracted to affect agency and carrier decisions during the course of everyday operations. This could be accomplished through a continuation of data acquisition and analysis activities, with the participation of and interaction with users who have access to a near real time data feed.

Recommendation #6: Pursue Transfer of Data Acquisition Oversight and Funding to State/Local Agencies, Customs Agencies, or Others.

It is understood that FHWA does not have an ongoing operations function at international border crossings, and that its primary role is the conduct of research and support for deployment of solutions that enhance the nation's transportation system. Hence, the funding and use of systems that measure border travel time are the purview of border management agencies, agencies with responsibility over local transportation infrastructure, and the border user community. The results of this project establish the viability of GPS technology for travel time measurement. They also present an opportunity to explore how a transition to a production solution might take place through the leveraging of carrier relationships established during the test, the expansion of data coverage to a comprehensive geographic scale, and the examination of opportunities for secondary data uses.

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