FREIGHT MOVEMENT CONSIDERATIONS IN PLANNING DUAL-MODE SYSTEMS
A transit system planned and designed for passengers is not necessarily suitable for carrying freight. Like passengers, freight moves in an urban area to reach a particular destination in a timely manner. The timeliness of these moves is often critical and can be translated into business costs and sales dollars. A transportation system to accommodate freight must be planned and designed to maintain or improve the quality and economics of service. Dual-mode transportation for urban goods movement is an exciting an exiciting idea. Special terminals located outside the central business district could consolidate general freight and specialized commodities for delivery to congested urban centers by dual-mode vehicles. These vehicles could pick up and transport shipments to the consolidation terminal for breakbulk and transfer to the private and for-hire carrier vehicles. This could significantly reduce the number of trucks on city streets and freeways and, in turn, free the flow of all traffic in the urban area. To determine dual-mode system requirements will require that the shipping patterns of potential users of a dual-mode system be defined. The amount of freight, service demand, and local traffic conditions will determine the number of dual-mode vehicles necessary to provide the required level of service. Although some people have suggested that freight could be carried in passenger vehicle compartments and that passenger vehicles could be converted to freight vehicles during off-peak hours, I think that such common use of dual-mode vehicles makes no sense. Special vehicles should be designed to maneuver in tight alleys and loading areas and to interface with the dual-mode facilities and equipment. Moving freight, like passengers, improves certain requirements on any new transportation system. Moving freight by a dual-mode transit system would contribute to the solution of many urban problems and, therefore, should be considered in the planning, design, and economic analysis of such a system. /Author/
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Availability:
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Supplemental Notes:
- This paper appears in Dual Mode Transportation, which is a publication containing the proceedings of a conference conducted by the Transportation Research Board, May 29-31, 1974. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved
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Corporate Authors:
Transportation Research Board (TRB)
Washington, DC -
Authors:
- Blatner, I J
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Conference:
- Conference on Dual-Mode Transportation
- Location: Washington District of Columbia, United States
- Date: 1974-5-29 to 1974-5-31
- Publication Date: 1976
Media Info
- Media Type: Print
- Pagination: p 67
- Monograph Title: Dual-mode transportation
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Serial:
- Transportation Research Board Special Report
- Issue Number: 170
- Publisher: Transportation Research Board
- ISSN: 0360-859X
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Dual mode transportation systems; Economic analysis; Freight terminals; Freight transportation; Level of service; Traffic congestion; Transportation planning; Trucks; Urban transportation
- Subject Areas: Economics; Freight Transportation; Highways; Motor Carriers; Planning and Forecasting;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 00149245
- Record Type: Publication
- Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
- Created Date: Mar 30 1977 12:00AM