At a NYMTC meeting yesterday, officials from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey presented preliminary research findings of a limited study they had commissioned to look at the possible impacts of applying different peak and off-peak toll rates to trucks.

Trucks account for 6-13% of traffic volume on Port Authority crossings - more if the trucks are viewed in terms of "passenger car equivalents" for purposes of analyzing volume and capacity - and are a sizeable contributor to peak period congestion.

However, based on 55 interviews with trucking firms, the study finds that trucks that can avoid peak periods are largely doing so already. 60% of trucks using the Port Authority crossings during rush hour are destined for NYC deliveries. Many of them are constrained in their times of travel by customer needs, the requirements of multiple-delivery trips, work rules or community restrictions. Moreover, tolls may not make up a significant portion of the cost of many truck trips.

The NY State Thruway Authority implemented variable toll rates for trucks at the Tappan Zee Bridge in 1997. An October, 1998 evaluation of the program indicated some shift of trucks out of peak traffic periods, but was unable to separate the impact of variable tolls from a number of other factors. A 1998 Regional Plan Association paper suggests that truck traffic is indeed sensitive to toll prices.

The Port Authority intended its look at trucks as a complement to its 1996 study of the effects of variable tolls on passenger cars, which found that a $1 peak toll surcharge at the Lincoln and Holland Tunnels could reduce morning vehicle-hours of delay at its six crossings by 17% (see MTR #92).

PA officials said yesterday that they intended both the 1996 study and the new truck analysis to become building blocks for a far more detailed, regional look at roadway pricing options. The Port Authority and the MTA have discussed a joint approach to such a regional analysis, but the MTA is unwilling to get the effort underway. Other agency representatives at yesterday's NYMTC meeting voiced support for the start of the regional analysis. The MTA representative was characteristically silent throughout the entire pricing discussion.

The NYC Dept. of City Planning said it was developing a proposal for a hands-on look at variable pricing - it will urge the Port Authority and MTA to reduce tolls for service and commercial vehicles during the 5-7 a.m. "shoulder" hours for an experimental period.

The Port Authority representatives said the pricing study for trucks will be released later this year.