The Application of Smart Phone, Weight-Mile Truck Data to Support Freight-Modeling, Performance Measures and Planning

Abstract

Oregon is one of the few states that currently charge a commercial truck weight-mile tax (WMT). The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) has developed a data-collection system - Truck and Road Use Electronics (TRUE) - to simplify WMT collection. The TRUE system includes a smart phone application that collects and records Global Positioning System (GPS) data. The TRUE data have enormous advantages over GPS data used in previous research due to the level of geographic detail and the potential to also integrate trip origin and destination, vehicle class, and commodity-type data. This research evaluates the accuracy of the TRUE data and demonstrates its use for significant ODOT ancillary applications. Specifically, ancillary applications that address ODOT freight modeling, performance measures, and planning needs are explored. The use of the data for highly accurate trip-generation rates and mobility performance measures is demonstrated. In addition, it is shown that the TRUE data have strong potential to be used for safety, accessibility and connectivity, system condition and environmental stewardship performance measures. The potential use of the TRUE data for emissions estimates that take into account truck-type details, truck weight and detailed speed profiles is considered. Results indicate that TRUE data, integrated with ODOT weigh-in-motion (WIM) data, will greatly improve the accuracy of emission estimates at the project and regional level. This research confirms the potential use of the TRUE data for significant ancillary applications and demonstrates the regional value of the TRUE data to enhance existing freight modeling, performance measures and planning.