PierPass mulls extended gate options at LA/LB port complex

PierPass, which is operated by container terminal operators at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, has retained consulting firm The Tioga Group to explore ways of providing further traffic mitigation benefits at the Southern California port complex.    PierPass Inc., the not-for-profit company that oversees a traffic mitigation fee charged to cargo owners picking up or dropping off loaded containers at the marine terminals between 3 a.m. and 6 p.m. weekdays, has hired a consulting firm to evaluate alternative models for reducing container traffic during peak times, PierPass said in a statement.
   PierPass, which was formed in 2005 and is operated by member container terminal operators at the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach, has retained Philadelphia-based consulting firm The Tioga Group and its Southern California-based partner, World Class Logistics Consulting, to explore ways of providing traffic mitigation benefits at the ports.
   Tioga will analyze the traffic, commercial and operational impacts of two potential alternatives to the current model used by PierPass’ OffPeak program, which mitigates traffic congestion caused by port truck operations through encouraging the pickup and delivery of containers on weeknights or Saturdays and charging traffic mitigation fees of $70.49 per twenty-foot container and $140.98 per forty-foot container.
   The traffic mitigation fee also helps pay for the labor and other costs of operating the OffPeak shifts. PierPass manages the OffPeak program as the agent of the West Coast MTO Agreement, which is comprised of the 12 marine terminal operators at the adjoining LA and Long Beach ports.
   More than 40 million truck trips have been diverted out of weekday daytime traffic in the Los Angeles area since the program began in 2005, according to PierPass.
   The two alternatives currently under consideration for traffic reduction are appointments to control traffic flow, combined with a flat fee on both daytime and nighttime cargo moves; and port-wide peel-off, in which trucks would operate like taxis in an airport queue, each truck picking up the next container in the stack, rather than a specific container that must be located and picked among hundreds of others. Hybrid models may also be considered, PierPass said.
   The West Coast MTO Agreement has said that any model adopted must continue to spread truck traffic across the terminals’ daytime and nighttime shifts of operation, while continuing to fund the operation of extended gates. 
   The process has already included a series of meetings, beginning with a workshop where West Coast MTO Agreement met with over 70 leaders representing importers, exporters, trucking companies, logistics providers, elected officials, government representatives, port authorities and other supply chain stakeholders.
   Subsequent meetings were held with 40 supply chain stakeholders who together comprise the PierPass Advisory Committee and the Extended Gates Subcommittee.  
   Recommendations and a final report from Tioga regarding the two options under consideration are expected during the first quarter of 2018.