Cross-town Improvement Project Evaluation

Appendix C. Delphi Assessment Questionnaires

C.1 First Round Questionnaire

Contact Information (Optional)
Name:
Title/Position:
Company/Organization:
Phone/Fax:
E-mail Address:

Introduction and Problem Statement

In many large cities where multiple railroads converge (e.g., Chicago or Kansas City), intermodal freight transfers between railroads necessitate truck trips between rail carriers. Intermodal rail movements also generate significant local deliveries which must be made by truck. There are known inefficiencies associated with these cross-town “rubber tire” freight transfers, including freight delays due to congestion, significant unproductive truck moves (bobtails, chassis repositioning), and emissions, noise, and safety impacts. The Cross-Town Improvement Project (C-TIP) is an experimental technology application designed to improve the efficiency of intermodal container transfers via truck between cross-town railroads. C-TIP is comprised of the following key elements:

Intermodal Move Exchange (IMEX) – An open architecture port that allows for a collaborative dispatch management model among rail lines, truckers, and terminal operators;
Real-Time Traffic Monitoring (RTTM) – Real-time monitoring and distribution of route- and location-specific travel time and congestion information and control of traffic management systems and devices;
Dynamic Route Guidance (DRG) – Combines RTTM, <acronym title="Geographic Information Systems">GIS</acronym>, and simulation tool inputs to provide real-time visual routing around congested areas;
Chassis Utilization Tracking (CUT) – An application that allows for collaborative use and management of intermodal chassis among railroads and trucking companies;
Wireless Drayage Updating (WDU) – Utilizes low-cost wireless technology as an interface between drivers and dispatchers, and between the core functions within C-TIP and its users; and
Wireless Notification System – Notifies cross-town truck drivers when a load is available for pickup, allowing them to respond in real-time rather than returning to their home base or awaiting direction from a dispatcher.

An initial C-TIP system has been deployed in Kansas City. This study seeks to assess the potential benefits of, and private sector interest in, full deployment of a similar system in Chicago.

Survey Questions

1. What segment of the intermodal freight transportation industry do you represent? Please check one:

Freight railroad
Drayage trucking firm
Terminal operator
Other (please describe)

2. In terms of time savings, please rate the importance of the following C-TIP capabilities on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being not at all important, 3 being moderately important, and 5 being extremely important):

Avoiding recurring traffic congestion (e.g., rush hour traffic)

1 2 3 4 5

Please explain:

Avoiding traffic incidents (e.g., accidents)

1 2 3 4 5

Please explain:

Minimizing delays at the terminal (e.g., idle time waiting for information to be processed)

1 2 3 4 5

Please explain:

Automatic notification of load availability to truckers (i.e., when a load is grounded at the terminal, or when a shipper such as a retail store releases a box for pickup)

1 2 3 4 5

Please explain:

3. If the C-TIP system were fully implemented in Chicago, what percentage of travel time do you think could be saved on a per-trip basis through the following C-TIP route guidance features?

Initial route recommendations – This alerts drivers if a particular route is congested, and suggests alternate routes prior to beginning the trip

None
Less than 5% per trip
5%-10% per trip
10%-15% per trip
More than 15% per trip
No opinion/don’t know

Please provide your rationale for your estimate of travel time savings from initial route guidance:

En-route redirection – This provides drivers with real-time dynamic route guidance, allowing them to avoid congestion arising from an accident or similar event

None
Less than 5% per trip
5%-10% per trip
10%-15% per trip
More than 15% per trip
No opinion/don’t know

Please provide your rationale for your estimate of travel time savings from en-route redirection:

4. In the entire Chicago region, how many bobtail trips (trucks moving without a chassis) do you think are made between cross-town rail terminals each day?

0 to 150 bobtail trips per day
151 to 300 bobtail trips per day
301 to 500 bobtail trips per day
More than 500 bobtail trips per day
No opinion/don’t know

5. If the C-TIP system were fully implemented in Chicago, what percentage of those bobtail trips do you think could be eliminated each day?

None
<5% bobtail reduction per day
6%-10% bobtail reduction per day
11%-15% bobtail reduction per day
15%-20% bobtail reduction per day
More than 20% bobtail reduction per day
No opinion/don’t know

Please provide your rationale for your estimate of bobtail reductions:

How many additional revenue loads do you think this would translate to?

6. In the entire Chicago region, on average, how much time do you estimate a typical truck spends idling in intermodal terminals on a per trip basis? This includes time spent waiting in check-in/check-out lines, waiting for lifts, looking for units, inspecting units, problem resolution, etc.

0 to 30 minutes per trip
31 to 60 minutes per trip
61 to 90 minutes per trip
More than 90 minutes trip
No opinion/don’t know

Please explain your rationale for your estimate of average terminal idle time.

7. If the C-TIP system were fully implemented in Chicago, approximately how much of this terminal dwell time (idle time) do you think could be eliminated per trip?

None
0 to 15 minutes idle time per trip
16 to 30 minutes idle time per trip
31 to 60 minutes idle time per trip
More than 60 minutes idle time per trip
No opinion/don’t know

Please provide your rationale for your estimate of daily terminal dwell time reduction:

8. Are there specific cross-town routes/lanes (i.e., origins and destinations) in the Chicago region that have particularly high volumes of dray movements? If so, what are they?

Please describe specific cross-town routes:

9. In your view, how would improving the efficiency of cross-town drayage movements improve railroad financial performance? Please be specific.

10. Do you think C-TIP has the potential to replace manual processes such as telephone calls and faxes?

Yes
No
No opinion/don’t know

If so how? What specific processes could be automated?

Assuming these processes are not totally automated, what percentage of them do you think might be reduced?

How would this benefit your business operations?

C.2 Second Round Questionnaire

Contact Information (Optional)
Name:
Title/Position:
Company/Organization:
Phone/Fax:
E-mail Address:

Introduction and Problem Statement

Intermodal Move Exchange (IMEX) – An open architecture port that allows for a collaborative dispatch management model among rail lines, truckers, and terminal operators;
Real-Time Traffic Monitoring (RTTM) – Real-time monitoring and distribution of route- and location-specific travel time and congestion information and control of traffic management systems and devices;
Dynamic Route Guidance (DRG) – Combines RTTM, <acronym title="Geographic Information Systems">GIS</acronym>, and simulation tool inputs to provide real-time visual routing around congested areas;
Chassis Utilization Tracking (CUT) – An application that allows for collaborative use and management of intermodal chassis among railroads and trucking companies;
Wireless Drayage Updating (WDU) – Utilizes low-cost wireless technology as an interface between drivers and dispatchers, and between the core functions within C-TIP and its users; and
Wireless Notification System – Notifies cross-town truck drivers when a load is available for pickup, allowing them to respond in real-time rather than returning to their home base or awaiting direction from a dispatcher.

An initial C-TIP system has been deployed in Kansas City. This study seeks to assess the potential benefits of, and private sector interest in, full deployment of a similar system in Chicago.

Survey Questions

Importance of Features

In the first round of the Delphi, respondents were asked to rate various features of C-TIP on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being not at all important and 5 being extremely important. The following questions seek to achieve a consensus group opinion on these features by summarizing the overall group ‘majority’ response, and providing you an opportunity to either amend answers from the first round, or provide additional justification for them.

1. Avoiding recurring traffic congestion (e.g., rush hour traffic). [Provide respondent with their answer from the first round.] The majority of respondents rated the ability to avoid recurring congestion as either ‘very important’ or ‘extremely important.’ Their reasoning included: maximizing efficiency under hours of service limitations, the fact that dray truckers only make money when they’re moving, and the ability to make tight delivery windows. Given this information, would you rate the importance of a C-TIP feature that lets truckers avoid recurring traffic congestion using real-time data differently than you did (1 being not at all important, 3 being moderately important, and 5 being extremely important)?

1 2 3 4 5

If not, why?

2. Avoiding traffic incidents (e.g., accidents). [Provide respondent with their answer from the first round.] The majority of respondents rated the ability to avoid traffic incidents or other nonrecurring congestion as either ‘very important’ or ‘extremely important’. Their reasoning included: It adds to the situation awareness that drivers have, truckers wouldn’t normally have that information, it would help to keep them moving rather than sitting in traffic, and it allows them to make tight delivery windows more easily. Given this information, would you rate the importance of real-time dynamic route guidance to avoid traffic incidents differently than you did (1 being not at all important, 3 being moderately important, and 5 being extremely important)?

1 2 3 4 5

If not, why?

3. Minimizing delays at the rail terminal (e.g., idle time waiting for information to be processed). [Provide respondent with their answer from the first round.] The majority of respondents rated the ability to minimize delays at the rail terminal as either ‘very important’ or ‘extremely important’. Their reasoning included: There are substantial inefficiencies associated with truckers having to wait around at a terminal, so anything that could reduce turn times at a congested terminal would be beneficial. Taking that into account, would you rate the importance of this feature differently (1 being not at all important, 3 being moderately important, and 5 being extremely important)?

1 2 3 4 5

If not, why?

4. Automatic notification of load availability to truckers. [Provide respondent with their answer from the first round.] The majority of respondents rated automatic notification of load availability as either ‘very important’ or ‘extremely important.’ Their reasoning included: Timeliness of moving boxes out of the yard is paramount, it would save a lot of trucker driving time, truckers wouldn’t have to wait for a train to be unloaded at the terminal (they could just come get their box when they are notified of its availability), and elimination of human error. Given this information, and assuming full availability and use of a common dispatch platform that could notify bobtailing truckers about available loads in a safe manner, would you rate the importance of this feature differently (1 being not at all important, 3 being moderately important, and 5 being extremely important)?

1 2 3 4 5

If not, why?

Travel Time Savings

This set of questions seeks to clarify the group response to the estimated travel time savings associated with C-TIP, based on a theoretical Chicago deployment. Again, the ‘majority’ view is presented, with reasoning; respondents are asked whether they would like to amend their previous answer, or provide additional defense for their original opinion.

1. If the C-TIP system were fully implemented in Chicago, what percentage of travel time do you think could be saved on a per-trip basis through the following C-TIP route guidance features?

Initial Route Recommendations – This feature provides estimated travel time on a primary route at trip outset, and suggests alternate routes if they are expected to be faster. [Provide panelist with their answer from the first round.] Most of the respondents felt this feature could save 5 to 15 percent of travel time per trip in Chicago, on average. Their reasoning tended to revolve around the idea that there is going to be an accident/traffic/delay of some type on a proportion of trips regardless, and an initial route recommendation would help mitigate this; the savings would therefore be a function of the level of the opportunity, which in a city like Chicago could be substantial. Given this information, and assuming the routes offered are suitable for trucks, would you estimate the travel time savings associated with initial route recommendations in Chicago differently?

None
Less than 5% per trip
5%-10% per trip
10%-15% per trip
More than 15% per trip
No opinion/don’t know

If not, why?

En-route redirection – This provides drivers with real-time dynamic route guidance, allowing them to avoid congestion arising from an accident or similar event after they have begun their trip. [Provide panelist with their answer from the first round.] Most respondents felt travel time savings of 5 to 10 percent could be achieved in Chicago with this feature. These savings are more modest than those for initial route guidance because accidents are random events, so there is less opportunity for savings; nonetheless, most felt travel time savings of at least 5 percent per trip on average could be achieved. Taking this into account, would you estimate the potential travel time savings from en-route redirection differently?

None
Less than 5% per trip
5%-10% per trip
10%-15% per trip
More than 15% per trip
No opinion/don’t know

If not, why?

Bobtail Volume and Potential Reduction

These questions attempt to clarify the group opinion on the approximate volume of daily bobtails in Chicago, and how many could be eliminated if C-TIP were fully deployed there. Again, the group consensus estimate is described for each question; you may either amend your response or provide additional justification for your original estimate

1. [Provide respondent with their answer to the first round.] Most respondents felt there were more than 300 daily bobtail moves in Chicago, and quite possibly more than 500 each day; one railroad representative stated that his firm alone does a few hundred per day. Taking that into account, would you estimate the number of daily bobtail moves in Chicago differently?

0 to 150 bobtail trips per day
151 to 300 bobtail trips per day
301 to 500 bobtail trips per day
More than 500 bobtail trips per day
No opinion/don’t know

If not, why?

2. [Provide respondent with their answer to the first round.] Most respondents felt that C-TIP could eliminate at least 15 percent of empty bobtail moves each day if it was fully implemented in Chicago. Respondents noted that lack of visibility on the other end of cross-town drays creates missed opportunities for matching loads, and that C-TIP’s visibility, notification, and prediction capabilities could mitigate this. Taking this into account, and assuming full cooperation among all stakeholders was achieved, would you estimate potential bobtail reduction in Chicago differently?

None
<5% bobtail reduction per day
6%-10% bobtail reduction per day
11%-15% bobtail reduction per day
15%-20% bobtail reduction per day
More than 20% bobtail reduction per day
No opinion/don’t know

If not, why?

Cross-town Improvement Project Evaluation Appendix C. Delphi Assessment Questionnaires

C.1 First Round Questionnaire

Introduction and Problem Statement

Survey Questions

C.2 Second Round Questionnaire

Introduction and Problem Statement

Survey Questions

Importance of Features

Travel Time Savings

Bobtail Volume and Potential Reduction

Other Questions

Cross-town Improvement Project Evaluation

Appendix C. Delphi Assessment Questionnaires