Appendix C. Detailed Results from Review of Prior Literature
According to the motor carrier companies contacted as part of the CVISN Model Deployment Initiative (FHWA 2002), companies spend a good deal of staff time in managing and administering their credentials and permitting programs. Adjusting for fleet size, total staff time expended per unit per year varied as shown in Table C-1.
|
Mean value (± 95% confidence limits) |
Median value |
|---|---|---|
11 to 50 power units |
1.6 ± 0.4 |
2.0 |
Over 50 power units |
1.0 ± 1.2 |
0.2 |
Source: FHWA (2002)
Pre-CVISN and post-CVISN costs and savings from electronic credentialing from three companies contacted for the 2002 study (two in Kentucky and one in Maryland) are identified in Table C-2.
|
Carrier 1 |
Carrier 2 |
Carrier 3 |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Cost ($) |
Time (hrs) |
Cost ($) |
Time (hrs) |
Cost ($) |
Time (hrs) |
Pre-CVISN |
|
|
|
|
|
|
New Credential |
2334 |
11 |
312 |
6.5 |
5525 |
49.3 |
Credential Renewals |
346 |
17 |
360 |
24 |
344 |
88.5 |
Post-CVISN |
|
|
|
|
|
|
New Credential |
480 |
2.2 |
130 |
1.4 |
765 |
24.5 |
Credential Renewals |
167 |
7.2 |
201 |
11.2 |
NA |
NA |
Percent Savings |
|
|
|
|
|
|
New Credential |
79% |
67% |
82% |
78% |
86% |
50% |
Credential Renewals |
52% |
80% |
44% |
53% |
NA |
NA |
Average Savings |
75% |
59% |
60% |
58% |
86% |
50% |
Source: FHWA (2002)
Based on this information, it was estimated that motor carriers participating in pilot tests of electronic credentialing reported saving between 60 and 75 percent of their costs for credentialing, with minimal start-up costs. Start-up costs are limited to a personal computer and most motor carriers use personal computers with internet access on their premises. Communication charges are an additional cost for carriers who did not have internet or email service prior to electronic credentialing. No separate or additional operation and maintenance charges are expected because operating and maintenance costs of equipment and software are covered by service warranties that come with equipment purchase. Motor carriers also reported a time savings of approximately 60% as carriers can print their own credentials without waiting for the mail or traveling to state agency offices. Savings are expected to be higher for new credentials than for renewals because of the additional data entry that accompanies new applications processed via paper based systems.
Results from the FHWA (2002) study were further documented in a peer-reviewed journal article (Brand et al., 2002) to identify whether project benefits to society greatly exceeded project costs. Three road enforcement (RE) scenarios were examined: scenario RE 1 did not include screening, scenario RE 2 included electronic screening with no change in compliance, and scenario RE 3 included screening with improved compliance. Two electronic credentialing (EC) scenarios were modeled: scenario EC 1 involved end-to-end IRP credentialing for those states with in-house credentialing (without Vehicle Information System for Tax Apportionment [VISTA]) systems and EC 2 involved end-to-end IRP credentialing with VISTA. Benefits were estimated with one-time start-up costs in 2000 and to extend through 2025. Net present value of the benefits and costs to carriers and states are reported in 1999 dollars.
Scenario RE 2 and scenario RE 3 identified nationwide benefits to motor carriers in transit-time savings (including O&M and air/noise pollution) of $4,817,000,000. Scenarios RE 2 and RE 3 identified increased operating cost to carriers of $2,131,900,000. Increase in OOS costs to carriers was identified as $19,891,000 for scenario RE 1, $139,400,000 for scenario RE 2, and $104,500,000 for scenario RE 3.
Total operating cost savings to carriers for scenario EC 1 was $56,700,000, for scenario EC 2 was $18,600,000. Inventory cost savings to carriers for scenario EC1 was $243,100,000, for scenario EC 2 was $79,900,000.
The PrePass program for electronic screening is reported to have resulted in fuel cost savings, increase in legal miles traveled, and increased incomes for drivers (Walton, 2002). Walt Keeney, the owner of Food Express, which operates a fleet of 120 power units in the western U.S., has indicated that the time saved from preclearance can add significant miles of legal driving time to each truck per day, which greatly increases productivity.
PrePass benefits have been captured on a programmatic basis by Affiliated Computer Services (ACS), the system integrator and the operator of the PrePass system (PrePass, 2007). Table C-3 illustrates the historical levels of estimated screening activity and cost savings for motor carriers participating in electronic screening.
Review of corporate press releases yielded additional anecdotal evidence on the economic benefits of the PrePass electronic screening System:
- According to Dick Landis, President and CEO of HELP, Inc, which offers the PrePass service, weigh stations cost carriers about $5.00 for every unnecessary stop (PRNewswire, 2006a).
- Operational in Illinois since 1999, PrePass equipped trucks have complied electronically on the mainline – traveling at normal highway speeds instead of idling in truck inspection facility queues more than 11 million times. In Illinois alone, this has resulted in 915,000 hours of driver time saved; approximately 5.5 million gallons of fuel consumption eliminated; and operational savings for motor carriers and the Illinois shippers they serve of more than $54.9 million (PRNewswire, 2006b).
| Calendar Year |
Jurisdiction Benefits |
Carrier Benefits |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Successful Electronic Screening Bypasses |
Time Savings Based on 5 min/pull in |
Fuel Savings Based on 1/2 gal/stop |
Operational Cost Based on $5/stop |
|
2001 |
14,322,663 |
1,193,555 |
7,161,332 |
$71,613,315 |
2002 |
20,542,294 |
1,711,858 |
10,271,147 |
$102,711,470 |
2003 |
26,639,069 |
2,219,922 |
13,319,535 |
$133,195,345 |
2004 |
35,711,954 |
2,975,996 |
17,855,977 |
$178,559,770 |
2005 |
45,120,415 |
3,760,035 |
22,560,208 |
$225,602,075 |
2006 |
51,124,786 |
4,260,399 |
25,562,393 |
$255,623,930 |
Total Since Inception |
211,047,599 |
17,587,300 |
105,523,800 |
1,055,237,995 |
*Iowa State University Center for Transportation Research and Education study found that approximately 0.55 gallons of fuel was being used per stop |
||||
Source: PrePass web site (2007).
- Operational in Kansas City since 2002, PrePass equipped trucks have complied electronically on the mainline – traveling at normal highway speeds instead of idling in truck inspection facility queues more than 6.4 million times. In Missouri alone, this has resulted in 535,000 hours of driver time saved; approximately 3.2 million gallons of fuel consumption eliminated; and operational savings for motor carriers and the Missouri shippers they serve of more than $32.1 million (PRNewswire, 2006c).
- Operational in Wyoming since 1999, PrePass equipped trucks have complied electronically on the mainline – traveling at normal highway speeds instead of idling in truck inspection facility queues more than 3.3 million times. In Wyoming alone, this has resulted in 279,000 hours of driver time saved; approximately 1.6 million gallons of fuel consumption eliminated; and operational savings for motor carriers and the Wyoming shippers they serve of more than $16.7 million (PRNewswire, 2006d).
- Operational in Nebraska since 1999, PrePass equipped trucks have complied electronically on the mainline – traveling at normal highway speeds instead of idling in truck inspection facility queues more than 1.8 million times. In Wyoming alone, this has resulted in 147,900 hours of driver time saved; approximately 887,000 gallons of fuel consumption eliminated; and operational savings for motor carriers and the Nebraska shippers they serve of more than $8.9 million (PRNewswire, 2006e).
- Benefits of PrePass since its inception in California include 2 million hours of driver time saved; approximately 13 million gallons of fuel consumption eliminated; and operational savings for motor carriers they serve, exceeding $131.5 million (PRNewswire, 2006f).