PierPASS Inc. said its OffPeak program has diverted more than 5 million truck trips from peak daytime traffic since the program's start in July 2005. The program has eliminated bottlenecks at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach,
reduced gridlock on area freeways and curtailed air pollution from idling traffic.
In an average week, OffPeak removes 60,000 truck trips from the freeways during busy commuting hours, reducing congestion and benefiting local air quality.
OffPeak uses a congestion-pricing model that provides an incentive for cargo owners to move shipments at night and on weekends. Cargo owners moving containers at the two ports during peak daytime hours are required to pay a Traffic Mitigation Fee, which helps fund the cost of operating five new shifts per week at marine terminals (Monday through Thursday nights, and Saturdays). The new night and Saturday truck gates help alleviate port congestion while giving government, community and business stakeholders a window of opportunity to work together on longer-term solutions.
"The OffPeak program has achieved real results in reducing traffic congestion and air pollution near the ports," said Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. "OffPeak has helped keep the economic engine of the ports running, while reducing the impacts on Los Angeles residents. It is hard to conceive of going back to the days before OffPeak."
In 2006, more than 2.9 million truck trips used OffPeak operation hours. This represents more than 13,000 trucks per OffPeak shift, or about 36 percent of all container traffic at the ports.
Together, the adjacent ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are the fifth largest in the world, handling more than 40 percent of the nation's total import traffic and 24 percent of its total exports. They are the primary gateway for trade between the United States and Asia.
Officials at other U.S. ports and in the federal government have paid close attention to the success of the OffPeak program, as growth continues to strain the capacity of many U.S. ports to operate efficiently and satisfy community concerns.
For more information, visit www.pierpass.org.