A study of the commercial vehicle value of time for operation at border crossings

Commercial transport is one of the most important economic activities in the transportation industry. Significant proportion of Canadian trade volume with the rest of the world extends over the Canada-United States border. The mobility of freight movement across the border is vital for regional economies and cross-border businesses. Border delays constitute significant cost to the motor carrier industry as well as the end consumer. Recently, a renewed interest in border studies was focused on adopting advanced technologies to enhance inspection efficiency as well as reduce congestion at the border. One of the key determinants of social benefits of improved border management policies is the value of time for commercial vehicles operating at border crossings. Key studies in the literature about this issue are limited and outdated. Besides, little, if any, work has been done on measuring the value of time in the context of border operation. To address these shortcomings, a SP mail-in survey was conducted in collaboration with the British Columbia Truck Association to collect data from members of the motor carrier industry. On-phone interviews were also conducted as a follow up. Despite the limited response rate, the findings of this study suggest that the value of time for border operations is higher than the general-freight value of time available in the literature. Further work is required in order to gain a more precise estimate. This study presents the design, conduct, and findings of this survey