Implementing High Productivity Freight Vehicles in Urban Areas

Abstract

Many urban areas are experiencing growing levels of traffic congestion and increased freight demand due to population growth, globalization and contemporary logistics systems. High Productivity Freight Vehicles (HPFVs) are large combination vehicles that offer significant benefits for lowering costs, improving safety and protecting the environment by reducing the number of truck movements in cities that would otherwise be needed. This paper describes how HPFV are being implemented in Australian urban areas within the Performance Based Standards (PBS) framework to allow better use of existing urban freight networks.

PBS is a flexible non-prescription framework for regulating the weight and dimensions as well as network access of road freight vehicles. This paper presents details of case studies used to estimate the productivity gains from operating PBS vehicles in urban areas. A range of PBS vehicles have been identified as being suitable for urban freight operations including Super B-doubles and rigid trucks. This paper demonstrates how the productivity gains from PBS vehicles operating in urban areas can be estimated. The results of simulations of a number of freight networks for specific commodities are presented. The analysis presented shows that substantial benefits can be achieved by the take-up of PBS vehicles in urban freight networks. Case studies show a lowering of several key freight exposure metrics, which involve kilometres, trips, task travel times and vehicle numbers.

A description of the HPFV route assessment process as well as the Intelligent Access Program (IAP) is also presented. The route assessment process is used to examine the road geometry and pavement conditions for the first and last mile access. The IAP uses the Global Position System (i.e. GPS) to monitor heavy vehicles’ compliance with access conditions.