Integrative Freight Demand Management in the New York City Metropolitan Area

This project is one of the first in the world that has successfully integrated the use of remote sensing technology—in this case Global Positioning System (GPS) enabled cell phones—as part of a system that effectively reduces truck traffic in the congested hours of the day, through the use of incentives to receivers. In doing so, the project designed, developed, and pilot tested a concept that: Exploited the use of GPS technology and its estimates of travel times and delays, for compliance verification, data sharing among participating partners, and validation of the traffic models used to predict the effects of the proposed program on the traffic network; Developed state of the art analytical formulations and simulation systems to study and predict the behavior of carriers and receivers—together with the underlying behavioral theories—that were successfully verified during the pilot test conducted; Led to new policy paradigms that, by exploiting the nature of Large Traffic Generators and unassisted deliveries, greatly reduce the need for financial incentives to receivers; Garnered the enthusiastic support of large corporations involved in urban delivery activities, trade organizations, trade publications, and the industry at large, as they understood the concept‘s potential as a business-friendly and effective freight demand management tool they could embrace; Conducted institutional analyses to identify and preliminarily discuss potential inter-agency arrangements that could support the concept; and Has received considerable research acclaim.