PierPass celebrates anniversary

PierPass celebrates anniversary    The extended hours truck gate program at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles celebrated its one-year anniversary Monday, with PierPass officials announcing that 2.5 million truck trips have been diverted from peak daytime traffic during the first full year since the so-called OffPeak program launched on July 23, 2005.
   Current projections by PierPass are that in 2006, between 2.8 and 3 million trucks will enter marine terminals during night time and Saturday gates.
   'The OffPeak program has been a tremendous success,' Richard Steinke, executive director for the Port of Long Beach, said in a statement. 'It shows how the goods movement industry can implement an innovative solution to resolve a very serious traffic issue. And an additional benefit is that the reduction in truck idling is improving air quality for the entire region.'
   Since the start of the program, between 30 percent and 35 percent of container cargo at the ports has moved during the six night and Saturday shifts, though critics say some of that diverted cargo was already moving at night prior to the implementation of PierPass.
   To incentivize cargo to move at off-peak hours, a $50 fee per TEU is assessed on cargo that enters or leaves the ports during weekday daytime hours. The fee initially began at a $40 per TEU rate.
   According to Geraldine Knatz, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, the OffPeak program has delivered important benefits to port operations. 'OffPeak has had several benefits for the Port of Angeles, but foremost among them has been the expansion of our capacity to handle more cargo and helping alleviate the considerable daytime traffic in and around the port,' said Port of Los Angeles Executive Directot Geraldine Knatz.