PublicPrivate Partnerships in Transportation Infrastructure

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Transportation Border Working Group Data
WorkshopIdentification of New Technologies for
Data Collection TechnologiesRFID
Juan Carlos Villa Texas Transportation
Institute
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Agenda

• Border Crossing Time
• Technology Assessment
• The Northbound Border Crossing Process at the
  U.S./ Mexico Border
• Implementation
• Border Crossing Delay
• Next Steps

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Why Measure Border Crossing Time

• FHWA is undertaking a Freight Performance
  Measurement (FPM) initiative aimed at measuring
  travel times in freight significant corridors and
  border wait times at major U.S. land border
  crossings
• Delay time for commercial motor vehicles entering
  and leaving the U.S. at ports-of-entry is a key
  indicator of transportation and international
  supply-chain performance
• Information collected should be consistent across
  all border crossings

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Why Measure Border Crossing Time (cont.)

• Identify appropriate ITS or other commercial
  technologies that enable border travel and
  crossing times to be more easily and precisely
  measured for commercial Northbound traffic
• Specific areas of interest
• To implement a sustainable system that can
  measure border delay and crossing times for
  freight traffic
• Proposed system should be transferable to other
  Land Port of Entries along US / Mexico Border
• Analysis should explore technologies that would
  support the measurement of crossing times for
  passenger vehicles as well

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Technology Assessment

• Six Technologies were analyzed
• Automatic Vehicle Identification (AVI)
• AVI using Laser Frequency
• AVI using Radio Frequency (RFID)
• AVI using Infrared Frequency
• Automatic License Plate Recognition (ALPR)
• Vehicle Matching
• Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL)
• GPS
• Mobile Phone Location
• Inductive Loop Detectors

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Technology Comparative Analysis
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Technology Comparative Analysis
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Technology Selection Recommendations

• Two technologies emerged as best candidates
• Automatic Vehicle Identification - AVI --- RFID
• Automatic Vehicle Location AVL--- GPS

• RFID was chosen for the Texas border crossings
• Why??

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The Northbound Border Crossing Process at the
U.S. / Mexico Border
1. Mexican Export Lot
2. U. S. FederalCompound
3. State Safety Inspection Facility
Warehouse/ Yard
Warehouse / Yard
Mexican export documentation verification and
cargo inspection selection
CBP primary inspection (document inspection)
Visual vehicle safety inspection

Secondary inspection VACIS, X-Ray, FMCSA Others
Detailed state truck safety inspection
Mexican export cargo Inspection
MEXICO
U. S.
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Technology Recommendations

• Given that
• CBP already is using RFID technology and a large
  population of trucks have RFID tags, and
• DPS is already implementing RFID technology
• RFID was selected

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Implementation

• RFID Tags
• CBP
• DPS
• Installation of al least 2 measuring locations
• RFID readers
• 1 before queue on Mexican side
• 1 at exit of State Inspection Facility
• Possibility of additional measuring locations

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Proposed Measuring Locations
Bridge of the Americas El Paso/Ciudad Juarez
Optional
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The Pharr-Reynosa Bridge
Proposed Measuring Locations

• A Mexican Export Lot
• B US Federal Compound
• C US State Inspection Facility
• t Toll Booth
• R1 Potential Measuring Location (Mexican Side)
• R2 Potential Measuring Location (Mexican Side)
• R3 Potential Measuring Location (US Side)

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Measuring Border Crossing Delay

• Delay (observed truck crossing time)-(optimal
  truck crossing time)

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Next Steps

• Technologies being piloted at 2 border crossings
• El Paso Bridge of the Americas (BOTA)
• Pharr-Reynosa Bridge
• Developing information dissemination system
• Self-sustainable system
• Identify users
• Develop a Border Congestion Index

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Thank you, Merci, Gracias
Juan Carlos Villa Manager Economics, Trade and
Logistics Program Texas Transportation
Institute 979-862-3382 j-villa_at_tamu.edu