Americas 2020 International Trade and Transportation Summit Travel Time/Wait Time Studies at Commercial Crossings Esther Hitzfelder Texas Department of Transportation 1
Agenda 1. Why Measuring Commercial Crossing/Wait Times 2. Implementation Process Technology Assessment Implementation Plans Implementation Steps Lessons Learned 3. Operation Data analysis and dissemination Real time data Archived data 4. Next Steps 2 2
Why Measure Commercial Crossing/Wait Times FHWA undertaking a Freight Performance Measurement initiative Measuring travel times in freight significant corridors across the country At major commercial land Ports of Entry Projects focus on travel time and variability of travel time Variability and lack of reliability in travel time contribute to freight costs Less competitive in the global marketplace 3
Why Measure Commercial Crossing/Wait Times Coordination at Border Ports of Entry There is no systematic and consistent way of measuring border crossing time at land ports of entry Delay time for commercial motor vehicles entering and leaving the U.S. at ports-of-entry with Mexico is a key indicator of transportation and international supplychain performance. 4
Wait Time and Crossing Time Wait time CBP and FHWA defined wait time as the time it takes a vehicle to cross into the US from the beginning of the queue to the CBP Primary Inspection booths. Crossing time Time required to cross into the US from the beginning of the queue to end of the process, where the vehicle is in the free flow. Allows calculation of border delay 5 5
Border Crossing Delay Difference between the observed crossing time and the optimal crossing time Cumulative Travel Time High-Volume Crossing Time Delay Time Process Time Optimal Crossing Time Free Flow Crossing Time Mexican Export Lot U.S. Federal Compound State Safety Inspection Facility Truck Path Border Crossing Delay = (observed truck crossing time) 6 (optimal truck crossing time) 6
Implementation Technology Assessment Six Technologies were Analyzed Automatic Vehicle Identification (AVI)» AVI using Laser Frequency» AVI using Radio Frequency (RFID)» AVI using Infrared Frequency Automatic License Plate Recognition (ALPR) Vehicle Matching Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL)» GPS Mobile Phone Location Inductive Loop Detectors Bluetooth Two Technologies Emerged as Best Candidates GPS RFID 7 7
Technology Assessment GPS Implementation Benefits Data is precise Some carriers already use GPS to monitor fleets Environmental impact of wait times can be estimated Concerns The continuing costs of operation is high CBP and DPS use different technologies Carrier cooperation is essential for this type of system GPS equipment must be distributed and installed in enough tractors to assure a sufficient sample size of 8 data collected 8
Technology Assessment RFID Implementation Benefits RFID technology already in use by CBP for FAST program, Tolling Systems and is being implemented by DPS at State Inspection Facilities No in-truck equipment installation required Continuing costs of operation is relatively low Concerns Data collected is not as precise as GPS Agreements must be made with US / Mexican agencies to 9 install RFID readers Information system more complicated than GPS 9
Technology Assessment Implementation Recommendations RFID technology is best suited to meet project objectives at the Texas and Arizona POEs Veterans, Brownsville Pharr-Reynosa Laredo Colombia Bridge of the Americas, El Paso Mariposa, Nogales 10 10
Implementation Planning Installation of at least 2 measuring locations at the bridge 1 before queue on Mexican side 1 at exit of State Inspection Facility Other measuring locations can be added to segment crossing times 1 before the beginning of the physical bridge 1 at the CBP primary inspection booth* (this allows calculation of Wait Times) 11 11
Implementation Planning A new addition to the system is installation of readers at the CBP primary commercial lanes. After the Peer Exchange meeting in San Antonio in November, 2009, CBP suggested /approved installing equipment to calculate Wait Time. After coordination with CBP local and Washington, local authorities, GSA, and FHWA, a successful test was conducted on August 17 to ensure that the RFID equipment did not interfere with any CBP systems. 12
Implementation Installation Exit of DPS Facility Beginning of the Queue Bridge of the Americas, El Paso, Texas 13
Implementation Reader Locations Veterans in Brownsville Steps 1. Identify Potential Reader Location 2. Define site characteristics and needs 3. Final design 4. Equipment procurement 5. Equipment Installation 6. Testing 14
Reader Location and Characteristics R1 Matamoros Farthest point before queue starts Sign covering two lanes Solar powered 15 15
Reader Location and Characteristics R3 - Veterans CBP Primary truck lanes Power provided by CBP 16 16
Reader Location and Characteristics R4 -- @ DPS exit. 1 reader, solar power, needs pole 17 17
Implementation Final Design Potential Measuring Location at CBP Primary Inspection Booths 18 18
Implementation Installation Bridge of the Americas, El Paso, Texas 19
Operation Centralized Control of Sparsely Located RFID Systems El Paso Laredo Region Pharr Region 20 Brownsville Region
Operation Data Dissemination 1 2 Provide Border Crossings Related Pre-Trip Traveler Information Develop a Centralized Repository of Border Crossing Data Provide a single window of information. Provide mechanisms to push and pull information. Archived data source for planners, researchers and decision makers. Estimate economic impact of border crossing delay. Calibrate cross-border traffic assignment models. Long range transportation planning of border infrastructure 21
Possible Data Dissemination Current Truck Crossing Time at Pharr > 45 min 31 min 45 min < 30 min 22
Possible Data Dissemination Reports 23
Lessons Learned Troubleshooting equipment at remote locations is difficult Coordination with multiple stakeholders binationally is time consuming Not all POEs are the same Installation takes more time than expected Need to plan for constant change 24
Next Steps Hardware Finalize equipment installation and testing at all POEs Troubleshoot minor issues Software Define real-time dissemination tools Develop final catalog of reports Define long-term operation of the system 25
Questions / Comments Esther Hitzfelder Texas Department of Transportation International Relations Office Government & Public Affairs Division Ph: (512) 416-2030 Esther.Hitzfelder@txdot.gov 26 26