Skip to main content

California ports testing congestion-reduction software

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are testing efficiency software for the next six months to streamline traffic and improve air quality. The Freight Advanced Traveller Information Program is expected to reduce traffic congestion during peak hours by improving the information flow between truck fleets and port terminals, according to the ports. “By using Bluetooth proximity readers in and around the marine terminal in conjunction with dynamic routing, the system can communicate where congestion i
December 12, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are testing efficiency software for the next six months to streamline traffic and improve air quality.

The Freight Advanced Traveller Information Program is expected to reduce traffic congestion during peak hours by improving the information flow between truck fleets and port terminals, according to the ports.

“By using Bluetooth proximity readers in and around the marine terminal in conjunction with dynamic routing, the system can communicate where congestion is to truckers and dispatchers. Using this information allows us to plan terminal visits in a way that can assist all parties in moving containers more efficiently,” Harbor Trucking Association president Michael Johnson said in a statement.

The real-time information will allow drivers and schedulers to reroute and reschedule according to current roadway conditions in the port and on freeways.

The project is public/private collaboration funded by the 324 US Department of Transportation (DOT) 321 Research and Innovative Technology Administration and partners including Harbor Trucking Association, Port Logistics Group, Yusen Terminals and 5673 Cambridge Systematics.

“If the demonstration is deemed successful by the stakeholders and implemented here on a larger scale, we can expect to see reduced congestion in peak hours and at key choke points. That translates directly into improvements in mobility and air quality for the region,” Cambridge Systematics Principal Mark Jensen said in a statement.

The test began on 11 December, and once completed, DOT will publish the results of an independent assessment.

Related Content

  • Adaptive control reduces travel time, cuts congestion
    January 20, 2012
    Situated in San Diego County, California, the growing city of San Marcos has seen its population increase by 53.5 per cent since the turn of the century. Although this dramatic population increase has spurred economic growth bringing new business, homes and opportunities to the city, it has also increased traffic congestion along its central corridor, San Marcos Boulevard. This became the most congested arterial in the city, and, by 2006, the second-most travelled corridor in San Diego County.
  • Washington, DC, tops list of gridlocked US cities
    August 26, 2015
    The 2015 urban mobility scorecard for the US, published jointly by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute and Inrix, indicates that urban areas of all sizes are experiencing the challenges seen in the early 2000s and population, jobs and therefore congestion are increasing. The US economy has regained nearly all of the nine million jobs lost during the recession and the total congestion problem is larger than the pre-recession levels. Cities of all sizes are experiencing the challenges last seen before t
  • Inland waterways can de-stress city roads
    March 17, 2016
    David Crawford looks at an under-utilised solution for city-centre deliveries. The use of rivers and canals for moving freight is a well-established mode in North Western Europe, where it can take advantage of an intensively developed network. In the Netherlands, 40% of the total volume of goods transported internally goes by water; the figure for Flanders (the neighbouring Dutch-speaking region of Belgium) is 11.5%.
  • Bespoke ITS is helping to reduced collisions on America’s rural roads
    October 22, 2014
    David Crawford cherrypicks conference and award highlights Almost 30% of all US citizens live in rural areas or very small communities, and 34 of the 50 states exceed this level in their own populations, with the proportions rising as high as 85%. And although rural routes carry only 35% of all traffic, the accidents that occur on them account for some 54% of all US road traffic accident deaths.