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

  • Advanced ITS truck screening aids border control
    March 14, 2012
    State-of-the-art ITS technologies are being deployed for tracking of commercial vehicles at the US-Mexico border in Arizona, reports Pete Goldin. The border between the US and Mexico may be the epitome of America's wild west, but this remote desert frontier is being tamed by the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) with a state-of-the-art ITS system. A comprehensive port-of-entry (POE) screening system is being deployed at the Mariposa Port of Entry – one of the busiest land ports in the nation – at
  • Advanced ITS truck screening aids border control
    March 14, 2012
    State-of-the-art ITS technologies are being deployed for tracking of commercial vehicles at the US-Mexico border in Arizona, reports Pete Goldin. The border between the US and Mexico may be the epitome of America's wild west, but this remote desert frontier is being tamed by the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) with a state-of-the-art ITS system. A comprehensive port-of-entry (POE) screening system is being deployed at the Mariposa Port of Entry – one of the busiest land ports in the nation – at
  • Belfast and Bristol ‘most congested cities in UK’
    April 5, 2013
    According to the 2012 Congestion Index from satellite navigation specialists TomTom, motorists in Bristol and Belfast now face the slowest moving traffic in Britain. Even London’s infamous rush hour is less congested than peak-time jams in cities like Manchester and Nottingham, the annual global traffic figures found. The index shows that the average journey for drivers in Belfast takes 32.1 per cent longer than it would do if traffic moved freely, while in Bristol, journeys take 31 per cent longer. Londo
  • Inrix informs FHWA’s data improvements
    December 19, 2017
    Refinements in the data available from the US Federal Highway Administration will improve road management across America. David Crawford reports. In August 2017, the US Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) issued the first results from an upgraded version of its National Performance Management Research Data Set (NPMRDS). Developed to identify the locations and times of high congestion affecting traffic flows along America’s 259,000km (161,000 mile) national highway system, this is a key resource for sta