Post by astheshipturns on Oct 7, 2008 19:11:07 GMT -5
Trucks Adjusting to Clean Air Program,
say Port of L.A. officials
Officials with the Port of Los Angeles say implementation of the Clean Truck Program is moving along smoothly, at least relative to the massive undertaking the emission and security plan has become.
“The implementation is going very well considering the magnitude of the effort,” said Arley Baker, a spokesman with the Port of Los Angeles. “Our terminal operators reported compliance rates of 97 percent to 99 percent. Just a handful of truckers were turned away at the gates for not having concession stickers.”
The twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach each have approved similar versions of a Clean Truck Plan, including bans on pre-1989 trucks that took effect Wednesday, Oct. 1, and the phase-in of other bans on older truck engines until all trucks are required to meet 2007 emissions standards by 2012.
Each port is requiring most drayage trucks to register and become licensed concessionaires for repeated port entry. The ports also are requiring drivers to show they’ve at least applied for enrollment into the Transportation Worker Identification Credential program.
Baker said the truck traffic was slow on the Clean Truck Program’s first day on Wednesday, though it “normalized” by mid-day.
“Between the two ports, more than 35,000 concession stickers were shipped prior to Oct. 1, and they are now commonplace on our container trucks in the complex,” Baker said.
Officials with both ports have said they’ll approve a day-pass system to allow long-haul trucks into the ports 12 times annually. The ports have enacted a temporary day-pass system, with plans to roll out the permanent day-pass plan by January.
The TWIC program will require more than 1.5 million port employees, longshoremen, mariners, truckers and others who require unescorted access to secure areas of ports to have background checks before being issued cards with their biometric data and residency documentation.
Nationally, TWIC cards will be required for truckers and other port workers who need unescorted access into secure areas by April 15, 2009, although New England ports plan to require TWIC cards by Oct. 15, 2008.
Baker said all drivers with stops at the port should make sure they’re enrolled in TWIC. Also, if they’re not covered under the day-pass system, they should make sure they’re driving for a motor carrier that registers their trucks in the port’s drayage truck database.
“We don’t have TWIC readers at our terminal gates right now,” Baker told Land Line. “TWIC accountability is by and large on the shoulders of the motor carrier to ensure that their drivers have cards or receipts for TWIC applications.”
– By Charlie Morasch, staff writer
charlie_morasch@landlinemag.com
say Port of L.A. officials
Officials with the Port of Los Angeles say implementation of the Clean Truck Program is moving along smoothly, at least relative to the massive undertaking the emission and security plan has become.
“The implementation is going very well considering the magnitude of the effort,” said Arley Baker, a spokesman with the Port of Los Angeles. “Our terminal operators reported compliance rates of 97 percent to 99 percent. Just a handful of truckers were turned away at the gates for not having concession stickers.”
The twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach each have approved similar versions of a Clean Truck Plan, including bans on pre-1989 trucks that took effect Wednesday, Oct. 1, and the phase-in of other bans on older truck engines until all trucks are required to meet 2007 emissions standards by 2012.
Each port is requiring most drayage trucks to register and become licensed concessionaires for repeated port entry. The ports also are requiring drivers to show they’ve at least applied for enrollment into the Transportation Worker Identification Credential program.
Baker said the truck traffic was slow on the Clean Truck Program’s first day on Wednesday, though it “normalized” by mid-day.
“Between the two ports, more than 35,000 concession stickers were shipped prior to Oct. 1, and they are now commonplace on our container trucks in the complex,” Baker said.
Officials with both ports have said they’ll approve a day-pass system to allow long-haul trucks into the ports 12 times annually. The ports have enacted a temporary day-pass system, with plans to roll out the permanent day-pass plan by January.
The TWIC program will require more than 1.5 million port employees, longshoremen, mariners, truckers and others who require unescorted access to secure areas of ports to have background checks before being issued cards with their biometric data and residency documentation.
Nationally, TWIC cards will be required for truckers and other port workers who need unescorted access into secure areas by April 15, 2009, although New England ports plan to require TWIC cards by Oct. 15, 2008.
Baker said all drivers with stops at the port should make sure they’re enrolled in TWIC. Also, if they’re not covered under the day-pass system, they should make sure they’re driving for a motor carrier that registers their trucks in the port’s drayage truck database.
“We don’t have TWIC readers at our terminal gates right now,” Baker told Land Line. “TWIC accountability is by and large on the shoulders of the motor carrier to ensure that their drivers have cards or receipts for TWIC applications.”
– By Charlie Morasch, staff writer
charlie_morasch@landlinemag.com