This paper introduces the GIFT (Geospatial Intermodal Freight Transport) model. Using this model, analysts can analyze the cost, time-of-delivery, energy, and environmental impacts of intermodal freight transport. The paper discusses the development of GIFT and demonstrates its use for three case studies. We believe GIFT can be used to study several interesting problems currently facing freight transportation. For example, GIFT can be used to study the impacts of infrastructure investment along our transportation networks by: creating nodes that represent proposed new intermodal transfer facilities; reducing intermodal transfer penalties to represent investments in improved freight-handling equipment; or increasing speed limits to evaluate the potential impact of highway expansion. Likewise, an opposite approach can be used to evaluate the impacts of freight movement due to natural- or human-caused disasters that might affect nodes and/or segments in the U.S. transportation network. We are also aware of the geospatial dimensions of pollution, particularly local and regional pollutants such as NOx, SOx and PM. GIFT can potentially ascribe emissions geospatially, so for example, one could evaluate the spatial distribution of SOx emissions for each of the routes presented above. That distribution may then be integrated into pollution dispersion models and ultimately health impact analyses. One would then be able to link the environmental impacts of freight transport with health conditions. In such cases, one may find that although certain emissions may be higher for certain modes (e.g., SOx for ships), the location of those emissions (e.g., over the ocean), may not have as detrimental an impact on human health as other, less polluting modes. GIFT could also be run to study entire cargo flow svstems using a set of origin-destination (O-D) pairs representing cargo flow segment endpoints. We have developed a method to conduct these network optimization analyses using O-D pairs and will be applying these techniques in the future. Lastly, policymakers can use GIFT to test the impacts of carbon taxes, fuel taxes, or modal subsidies by adjusting costs in GIFT and observing the routing impacts due to these economic instruments. For example, to simulate the potential impacts of a carbon tax on fuel, the user could increase fuel costs in the model to see how this increase would affect routing, if at all. Policy-makers could also modify emissions factors or energy consumption to simulate the impact of new emissions control technologies or fuel efficiency mandates.


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    Titel :

    Assessing energy, environmental, and economic tradeoffs in intermodal freight transportation


    Beteiligte:
    Winebrake, James J. (Autor:in) / Corbett, James J. (Autor:in) / Falzarano, Aaron (Autor:in) / Hawker, J. Scott (Autor:in) / Korfmacher, Karl (Autor:in) / Ketha, Sai (Autor:in) / Zilora, Steve (Autor:in)

    Erschienen in:

    Erscheinungsdatum :

    2008


    Format / Umfang :

    10 Seiten, 5 Bilder, 6 Tabellen, 53 Quellen




    Medientyp :

    Aufsatz (Zeitschrift)


    Format :

    Print


    Sprache :

    Englisch