Cargo app now better able to tackle congestion

Created to speed up the flow of cargo along local freight corridors by showing drivers optimum terminal entry times to avoid traffic, the DrayQTM app was criticised for its perceived inaccuracy of wait times.

Having launched the app last October, the Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA), a partnership between the ports of Seattle and Tacoma, said: “The challenge with the app has been around adoption. Truckers have told us they don’t find the wait times listed accurate enough so they don’t use it. The fewer people who use it, the less reliable the data is.”

To address accuracy concerns, the NWSA added more GPS readers in the streets leading to the entries of terminals and within terminal boundaries to help catch Bluetooth signals and better determine wait times when the driver’s smartphone reporting GPS data passes the readers.

This enables specific times within areas of a terminal yard to be monitored and recorded. As more truck drivers use the app, the data will become more reliable, said NWSA.

The app’s real-time information about wait times and traffic camera views are expected to help drivers reduce air emissions from idling and save fuel.

NWSA confirmed the app, developed by Leidos, cannot generate specific data showing how much fuel might be saved or air emissions reduced.