A new tool allows users to optimize their shipping modes and routes based on time, distance, or emissions. Users specify a transportation origin and destination and the specific types of trucks, trains, and marine vessels that would be used for each mode. It then identifies the best multimodal routes based on the factors selected by users. Three models drive the tool, two of which are integrated to provide the costs associated with operating different types of freight vehicles on the domestic multimodal network. A third, EmissionsCalc, calculates vehicle energy and emissions under different circumstances.
web-based tools
Federal agencies unveil online housing and transportation pricing tool
USDOT and the Department of Housing and Urban Development have launched a new online tool to help households and policy makers better understand and reduce the costs of transportation. The Location Affordability Portal joins a family of such tools, including Walk Score and the H+T Affordability Index, which have become popular in recent years.
Sustainable Highways Self-Evaluation Tool
An ambitious effort by the FHWA to create a web-based self-evaluation tool for measuring sustainability over the life cycle of a transportation project or program is available in Beta. The tool provides for self-evaluation from …