Performance Measures for Freight Transport and General Traffic: Investigating Similarities and Differences Using Alternative Data Sources

Efficient and reliable movement of freight is an essential and critical requirement for a vibrant economy. A significant percentage of freight (both in terms of volume and value) is moved on trucks along the national highway system. So, it is important to monitor the transportation network conditions to identify bottlenecks and take adequate measures to alleviate traffic congestion along the major freight corridors. Furthermore, it would be useful to examine if there are any significant differences between the spatial and temporal profiles of bottlenecks of the freight and general passenger traffic. Such comparisons are also important for understanding whether a congestion relief program for a given bottleneck or corridor would benefit both freight and general-purpose traffic. In this regard, the main objectives of this project are: (1) Generate freight-specific and general-traffic performance measures (PMs) for select freight corridors in Hampton Roads region using three probe data sources -INRIX, HERE, and American Transportation Research Institute's (ATRI's) global positioning system (GPS) data. (2) Develop appropriate statistical methods to investigate the correlation between the freight and general traffic PMs based on probe-vehicle data. (3) Compare and identify similarities and differences between the characteristics of general and freight traffic. The statistical methods and the research findings of the project will be summarized in a detailed technical report. The study area of this project is the Hampton Roads region that has several freight-significant transportation corridors (for example, I-64, US 13, and US17). Moreover, Hampton Roads is also a major freight hub with more than 80% of the entire freight traffic being either inbound or outbound (instead of pass-through) due to three major port terminals in the region. Research findings regarding spatial and temporal profile of bottlenecks will be communicated to regional planning agencies including Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization (HRTPO), Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), and City of Norfolk. The project will be using three different probe data sources - INRIX, HERE, and ATRI GPS data to undertake the analysis in this project. So, this research will help identify if there is merit in obtaining freight specific data streams from these private vendors. If the differences between passenger and freight travel times are not significant on certain corridors, there is no immediate need to obtain freight-specific data because general traffic is representative of the traffic conditions along these corridors. Alternatively, if passenger and freight travel times vary considerably on specific corridors, then there is a need to explore the reasons for these differences in greater detail. So, the study findings will aid efficient allocation of departments of transportation (DOTs') resources and can potentially result in significant cost savings.

• Record URL:
  http://www.matsutc.org/performance-measures-for-freight-transport-and-general-traffic-investigating-similarities-and-differences-using-alternative-data-sources/

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Completed
• Funding: $71967.00
• Contract Numbers:

  DTRT13-G-UTC33

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Research and Innovative Technology Administration

  University Transportation Centers Program
  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590

  Old Dominion University

  Norfolk, VA  United States  23529
• Project Managers:

  Parkany, Emily

• Performing Organizations:

  Old Dominion University

  Norfolk, VA  United States  23529
• Principal Investigators:

  Paleti, Rajesh

  Cetin, Mecit

• Start Date: 20150206
• Expected Completion Date: 0
• Actual Completion Date: 20150524
• Source Data: RiP Project 39772

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bottlenecks; Freight traffic; Global Positioning System; Performance measurement; Probe vehicles; Traffic data; Transportation corridors; Travel time; Truck traffic
• Geographic Terms: Hampton Roads (Virginia)
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Freight Transportation; Highways; Motor Carriers;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01566130
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Mid-Atlantic Transportation Sustainability Center
• Contract Numbers: DTRT13-G-UTC33
• Files: UTC, RIP
• Created Date: Jun 11 2015 1:01AM