Vancouver penalty system cutting truck turn times

July 30, 2014

Last winter, congestion at Port Metro Vancouver was so bad that it triggered a month-long strike by hundreds of truck drivers. Four months later, turn times are averaging less than an hour, thanks to a government-imposed system of penalties for terminals with excessive turn times, and a program of extended gate hours implemented by the terminal operators...

Vancouver’s congestion earlier this year... was triggered by severe winter weather in the eastern half of the continent, intermodal rail car shortages that caused containers to back up at the terminals and a costly strike by drayage truck drivers who were protesting wage conditions as well as long lines at marine terminals...

Vancouver prepared the way for a penalty system by equipping all of the trucks that are registered to work in the harbor with GPS devices to accurately record turn times, Davies noted. The program is tied to an appointment system, which gives terminal operators the ability to manage traffic flow and prepare their manning and equipment allocations each day.

The Vancouver system charges terminals a penalty of $50 if the transaction time exceeds 90 minutes. An additional $25 fee is added at two hours, another $25 at two and one-half hours, and an additional $20 for each half-hour after that.

The program in Vancouver was developed by the federal government in Canada, which sets minimum rates for owner-operator truck drivers, the provincial government of British Columbia, which enforces the system, and Port Metro Vancouver, which issues the licenses that trucking companies and drivers must have to work in the harbor.

Conspicuously absent from the discussion were the terminal operators, and they pushed back strongly against the proposal by issuing a list of exemptions under which they said they should not be penalized. Exemptions were to include dual transactions (dropping off one container and picking up another), trouble-ticket transactions and requests by drivers to inspect empty containers (such as for food-quality cleanliness).

...The terminal operators in Vancouver have paid more than $1 million in penalties for lengthy truck times since the program began in April. That includes absorbing penalties for trouble-ticket transactions, many of which are problems caused by truckers or cargo owners, and other issues outside of the control of the terminals.

“That model is not sustainable,” Waltz said. The port and government agencies are reviewing the requests by terminal operators for various exemptions, he noted.

In the meantime, truckers are enjoying “Cadillac” service, Waltz said. Turn times are mostly in the 45-minute range, and only 6 percent of all transactions take longer than two hours...

This has been excerpted from the 29 July 2014 article by the Journal of Commerce and is available in its entirety at http://www.joc.com/port-news/international-ports/port-metro-vancouver/vancouver-penalty-system-cutting-truck-turn-times_20140729.html (subscription is required)


Topic(s): 
Canadian Economy & Politics
Information Source: 
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