3.73 Road Freight and Network Efficiency

Road Freight and Network Efficiency: 
Linking Road Freight Data and Transport Systems in Real Time for Mutual Benefit

Freight vehicles depend on and impact the transport network, however a reluctance to exchange data has led to little interaction between the two systems, resulting in missed opportunities to gain efficiencies. This project will work closely with freight operators and transport network managers to investigate specific opportunities for enhanced collaboration and communication to create mutual benefits.

Objectives

The objective of the project is to identify the potential for mutual benefits for government and the freight sector to collaborate by harnessing data and innovative technologies to enhance freight operations and improve transport network management outcomes. This will be achieved by:

1. Working with partners and key stakeholders to identify current perceptions around likely technology innovations suitable for the freight sector and how they can be applied.
2. Investigate the business case for government and industry for greater data collaboration and the associated risks and rewards.
3. Explore models for data collaboration and associated technologies and policy considerations.
4. Identify specific recommendations for implementation and policy options.

This project applies to investigation of both products and processes including installation.

Industry Outcomes

The greater interaction between freight and the transport network will deliver a range of potential industry benefits including reduced freight trip times, reduced fuel consumption, and enhanced congestion management. Informing the early stages of achieving this will accelerate such efforts and lead to capturing associated benefits sooner.

The project will deliver national outcomes in the area of harnessing value from new technologies in the planning, operation and maintenance of our transport networks. The outcomes will be in line with the National Science and Research Priority to ‘develop low cost, reliable, resilient and efficient transport systems that respond to Australia’s changing urban, regional and remote communities and meet the needs of businesses’. It will contribute particularly in the area of ‘improved logistics, modelling and regulation, urban design, autonomous vehicles, electrified transport, sensor technologies, real-time data and spatial analyses’.