My research on energy policy builds on my long-standing interests in climate change, which began with my time as a research associate at the Natural Resources Defense Council. I am supported in my current work on truck efficiency by the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. There I work to understand ways to improve the fuel efficiency of trucks, particularly through improving overall operations efficiency and the adoption of new technology.

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Urban Truck Ports

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My primary energy policy project is a proposal for what I call Urban Truck Ports, an idea I developed in 2011. At Truck Ports super aerodynamic long-haul trucks would swap trailers with electric urban trucks.

 

Urban truck ports would:

• Help drivers avoid congestion by enabling loads arriving in urban areas during congested periods to be held for off-peak delivery,

• Improve fuel efficiency and safety by facilitating the transfer of trailers between tractors designed specifically for travel in urban or rural areas,

• Spur innovation by enabling the use of new fuels and technologies by acting as a central hub for fuel and maintenance,

• Improve vehicle utilization by allowing multiple driver shifts to use the same tractor,

• Improve driver retention by allowing long-haul drivers to avoid congestion and creating more regular route and short haul driving jobs that get drivers home more often,

• Reduce roadway expansion needs by removing trucks from urban highways during peak periods, and

• Cut overall emissions by reducing congestion on urban roadways and increasing truck fleet efficiency.

 

You can learn more about the concept at www.urbantruckports.com