Simulation Testbed and Evaluation of Truck Movement Concepts on Terminal Efficiency and Traffic Flow

摘要

Marine terminals are in need of additional capacity in order to handle increasing demands. In metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles/Long Beach, the scarcity and high cost of land forces the terminals to increase capacity by using advanced technologies rather than expanding in square footage. Higher efficiency within the terminals however could imply more truck traffic in and out of the terminal that will lead to congestion on the roadway network adjacent to the terminals. This traffic congestion will, in turn have a negative effect on the efficiency of the terminals, in addition to increased pollution. It is therefore clear that the efficiency and capacity of the terminals cannot be decoupled from the effect on congestion on the traffic network outside the terminals. In this study we develop a simulation test bed that allows us to investigate the impact of various technologies and concepts on the terminal capacity and cost as well as on the traffic network outside the terminals in an integrated manner. The test bed is of general use and could be employed to evaluate a wide range of concepts and technologies associated with terminals and ports and the traffic network surrounding them. The test bed is used to evaluate and analyze truck movement concepts that include the use of an inland port with dedicated truck lanes; empty container reuse strategies; and centralized processing and use of chassis. The test bed consists of three modules: TermSim, TrafficSim and TermCost. The TermSim module includes the simulation of operations within the terminal and at the interfaces. The TrafficSim module includes the simulation of trucks, vehicles and traffic flow on the roadway network outside the terminals. TermSim interacts with TrafficSim at the interfaces. The TermCost module is a cost model developed by the authors for cost evaluation of terminals and is used to evaluate the concepts under consideration. The TermCost module interacts with TermSim. An inland port concept and empty container reuse strategies are evaluated using the test bed in order to investigate and quantify their effect on the terminals and the traffic network outside the terminal. As a specific example, the traffic network surrounding a terminal in the Los Angeles/Long Beach port is used to demonstrate the use of the test bed in evaluating and quantifying benefits associated with the use of an inland port and empty container reuse strategies. In addition the test bed is used to perform a preliminary study of the concept of centralized processing and use of chassis.