Transportation Operations Group 1 1 Americas 2020 International Trade and Transportation Summit Travel Time/Wait Time Studies at Commercial Crossings Esther Hitzfelder Texas Department of Transportation
Transportation Operations Group11
Americas 2020
International Trade and
Transportation Summit
Travel Time/Wait Time Studies at Commercial Crossings
Esther HitzfelderTexas Department of Transportation
Transportation Operations Group2
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Agenda1. 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
Transportation Operations Group3
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
Why Measure Commercial
Crossing/Wait Times
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Transportation Operations Group4
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 supply-chain performance.
Coordination at Border Ports of Entry
“There is no systematic and consistent way of measuring border crossing time at
land ports of entry”
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Why Measure Commercial
Crossing/Wait Times
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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 delay5
Transportation Operations Group6
Border Crossing Delay
Free Flow Crossing Time
Optimal Crossing Time
High-Volume Crossing Time
Cumulative Travel Time
Mexican Export Lot
U.S. Federal Compound
Truck Path
State Safety Inspection Facility
Delay Time
Process Time
Difference between the observed crossing time and
the optimal crossing time
Border Crossing Delay = (observed truck crossing time) –
(optimal truck crossing time)
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Transportation Operations Group7
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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
Technology Assessment
Implementation
Transportation Operations Group8
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GPS
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 data collected
Technology Assessment
Implementation
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RFID
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
install RFID readers Information system more
complicated than GPS
Implementation
Technology Assessment
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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
Implementation
Technology Assessment
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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)
Implementation
Planning
Transportation Operations Group12
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.
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Implementation
Planning
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Exit of DPS Facility
Beginning of the Queue
Bridge of the Americas, El Paso, Texas
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ImplementationInstallation
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Reader Locations
Veterans in Brownsville
1. Identify Potential
Reader Location
2. Define site
characteristics and
needs
3. Final design
4. Equipment
procurement
5. Equipment Installation
6. Testing
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Implementation
Steps
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Reader Location and Characteristics
R1 – Matamoros
Farthest
point before
queue starts
Sign covering
two lanes
Solar
powered
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Reader Location and Characteristics
R3 - Veterans
CBP
Primary
truck lanes
Power
provided
by CBP
Transportation Operations Group1717
Reader Location and Characteristics
R4 -- @ DPS exit. 1 reader, solar power, needs pole
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Transportation Operations Group18
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Potential Measuring Location at
CBP Primary Inspection BoothsImplementationFinal Design
Transportation Operations Group19
Bridge of the Americas, El Paso, Texas
ImplementationInstallation
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Transportation Operations Group20
El Paso
Pharr Region
Laredo Region
Brownsville
Region
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OperationCentralized Control of Sparsely Located RFID Systems
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Provide Border Crossings Related
Pre-Trip Traveler Information
• Provide a single window of information.
• Provide mechanisms to “push” and “pull”
information.
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• 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
Develop a
Centralized
Repository of
Border
Crossing Data
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Data Dissemination
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Operation
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Possible Data Dissemination
> 45 min
31 min – 45 min
< 30 min
Current Truck
Crossing Time
at Pharr
Transportation Operations Group23
Possible Data Dissemination
Reports
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Transportation Operations Group24
Lessons Learned
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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
Transportation Operations Group25
Next Steps
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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
Transportation Operations Group26
Questions / Comments
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Esther Hitzfelder
Texas Department of Transportation
International Relations Office
Government & Public Affairs Division
Ph: (512) 416-2030