GCT Bayonne to require early morning truck appointments

Starting next week, the terminal will be the first of six facilities within the Port of New York and New Jersey to roll out the port authority’s new Truck Management System.    GCT Bayonne, one of the two terminals operated by Vancouver, B.C.-based Global Container Terminals in the Port of New York and New Jersey, will require drayage trucks to have reservations for transactions between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. starting Jan. 15.
   Between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., reservations will not be required initially, but the port authority said, “As all users become acclimated to the system and the demand for reservations grows, GCT will expand the window for appointments” for longer and longer periods.
   The port authority said in a statement the Truck Management System (TMS) is a “major milestone,” adding that it “fulfills a pivotal tier one recommendation” of its Port Performance Task Force, a stakeholder group trying to improve operations in and around the port. Other terminals within the port are expected to use the TMS in the future.
   The TMS, which covers movements of import, export, empty, and reefer containers, was jointly funded and developed by Sustainable Terminal Services, Inc., a consortium of the port’s six marine terminal operators.
   But Dick Jones, the executive director of the Association of Bi-State Motor Carriers, said drayage drivers are “not too optimistic” about the reservation system because of traffic congestion in the region, which may at times make it impossible for truckers to arrive at the terminal in time to make their appointments. If truckers miss their time slots, he said they would have to make a brand new appointment.
   According to the port authority, the TMS “aims to meter truck arrival rates while keeping resources for all stakeholders operating at maximum levels, decreasing truck turn times, and adding a level of consistency for each trip.
    “Positive results are already being realized,” the authority said. “During one of the most recent test periods, a 38 percent lower turn time was experienced over transactions that occurred after the test period that same day.
   “Reservation windows run for a full hour with a half hour grace period on either end,” it added, and “since truck traffic will be metered into the terminal, the system is expected to accommodate single moves in 45 minutes and a double move within one hour.”
   The reservation system can be accessed by registered users at www.porttruckpass.com.