Using Existing ITS Commercial Vehicle Operation (ITS/CVO) Data to Develop Statewide (and Bi-state) Truck Travel Time Estimates and Other Freight Measures

The transportation of freight is an important component of the Oregon economy. The Federal Highway Administration estimates that from 1998 to 2010, the total tonnage of freight shipments to, from, and within Oregon will have increased 50% and the value of those same shipments nearly doubled. While other modes are clearly important for freight transportation, trucking is the dominant mode in terms of tons and value. Currently, there is no system that estimates travel time for many major freight corridors in Oregon. However, the existing infrastructure of Oregon’s Green Light program provides an opportunity to generate travel time estimates for…

The transportation of freight is an important component of the Oregon economy. The Federal Highway Administration estimates that from 1998 to 2010, the total tonnage of freight shipments to, from, and within Oregon will have increased 50% and the value of those same shipments nearly doubled. While other modes are clearly important for freight transportation, trucking is the dominant mode in terms of tons and value. Currently, there is no system that estimates travel time for many major freight corridors in Oregon. However, the existing infrastructure of Oregon’s Green Light program provides an opportunity to generate travel time estimates for many travel corridors in Oregon with little additional investment. The Green Light program enrolls approximately 3,330 trucking companies with 30,200 transponder-equipped trucks (which does not include carriers participating in other electronic screening programs from other states). There are 22 equipped stations in Oregon where these transponders can be read and corridor travel times predicted. These estimates would also be useful to travelers and would be an additional enhancement to Oregon’s traveler information system, TripCheck. In addition, these stations also include weigh-in-motion systems which provide axle weights, spacing, and gross vehicle weight estimates uniquely matched to a transponder-equipped truck. The objective of this research is to test the feasibility of using AVI data already being collected from transponder-equipped trucks to develop travel time estimates along major Oregon highway corridors and eventually link these estimates with those produced in Washington. Further, the research will seek to integrate other sources, particularly weigh-in-motion data to capture other key freight measures. As part of the research, it would be determined whether additional transponder readers can be deployed to read information at key points not at weigh station, particularly in the Portland area. It is anticipated that privacy concerns could be addressed appropriately.