VanPort to extend operating hours
VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Port Authority will extend hours of operations at container terminal truck gates in the Port of Vancouver, beginning in January 2006.
The announcement comes just weeks after a government task force recommended the VPA increase terminal operating hours beyond the current single shift operation. The task force — assigned to examine the labor strife and operational issues plaguing the port in recent years — identified congestion at truck gates as a significant concern.
“The implementation of regular extended truck gate hours at container terminals has emerged as the single most effective method for reducing delays for trucks accessing the terminals,” the task force report stated.
call to improve VanPort’s reservation system
The program is intended to increase truck gate operations at Vanterm, Centerm and Deltaport by an average of 20 percent a year, over the next five years.
“Extending gate hours will not only increase capacity, it will help alleviate congestion at the terminals, which will also speed up transaction times,” said Captain Gordon Houston, president and CEO of the Authority, in a press release. “For this initiative to be successful the port will have to work closely with all stakeholders, including local municipalities and the provincial government.”
Houston added that the extended hours will also make more efficient use of the region’s road networks, by spreading truck traffic over a longer period, reducing congestion during traditional peak times, while also reducing emissions.
In addition, the port has also implemented a system to monitor waiting times for trucks outside of the terminals’ gates. The data collected from this monitoring system will assist the port as it evaluates the effectiveness of extended gates and other operational initiatives.
The VPA is also considering improving its reservation system as well as possibly centralized dispatch operations.
As TodaysTrucking.com first reported earlier this month, the task force report urged the VPA to mandate the temporary 90-day interim licence provision it implemented to end a six-week strike by independent container haulers this past summer.
The new port licensing scheme would also include the creation of an agency with the authority to set compensation and conditions associated with eligibility for container-hauling work. Follow the “Related Stories” link below to read a detailed report on this.
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