Modeling Truck & Commercial Vehicle Travel

Modeling Truck and Commercial Vehicle Travel in the Baltimore Region
Where do trucks travel in the Baltimore region? How do we project where they will be traveling throughout the region in the future? It is a question decision makers ponder in making future transportation plans.

Truck travel has greatly increased in recent years, due in part to the growth of e-commerce and increased mobility. Truck traffic can account for over 15% of total traffic and consume over 25% of available roadway capacity on major freight routes, such as I-95, and near major intermodal terminals such as the Port of Baltimore and Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.

Truck and Commercial Vehicle Models CompletedBecause of the importance of air quality and goods movement as part of regional transportation planning, Baltimore Metropolitan Council updated its truck models in mid-2002.

To help project what routes trucks will use in the future, staff developed a new truck model, which captures three different types of vehicles (as pictured, right). Truck trips are generated based on type of employment – retail, industrial and office – as well as by the number of households.

This new truck model will enable the regional travel demand model to better predict freight travel, traffic congestion, and air quality emissions.

Below are a series of papers and reports ranging from the technical documentation to user friendly presentations to ease into the topic.

Detailed technical reports

• Truck Model Report – Full documentation (pdf: 583 KB)
  
  
• Commercial Vehicle Report – Full documentation (pdf: 282 KB)
  
  
• Memorandum on Revisions to the Truck and Commercial Models (pdf: 165 KB)
  

Papers submitted to TRB Applications Conference – April 2003

• Truck Model Paper - (pdf: 511 KB)
  
  
• Commercial Vehicle Paper* (pdf: 199 KB)
  

Materials prepared for group presentations

• Truck Model Presentation (pdf: 485 KB)
  
  
• Commercial Vehicle Presentation (pdf: 74.3 KB) 
  

*Cited as one of the “Best Papers From 2003 Transportation Planning Applications”

For more information:
Charles Baber, cbaber@baltometro.org or 410-732-0500 x1056.

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Last Updated: 12/17/2008