Transportation Management

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Facilities can improve transportation management by reducing the air emissions of travel activities related to a facility's operations. Transportation impacts can result from shipping products and raw materials. Other transportation impacts result from the operation of vehicle fleets. Finally, employees contribute to transportation impacts through commuting. The Performance Track program encourages applicants and members to translate improvements in transportation to the resulting reductions of air emissions (e.g., emissions of greenhouse gases, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, and carbon monoxide). See the Air Emissions category for details on aspects and measures to report improvements in air emissions.

Performance Track members are:

encouraging telecommuting and teleconferencing,
facilitating carpooling and ride-sharing programs for employees,
subsidizing mass transit options for employee commuting,
purchasing fuel efficient vehicles for fleets,
reducing or eliminating gasoline vehicle fleets, and
expanding the use of alternative fuels in vehicle fleets (e.g., replacing diesel trucks with compressed natural gas vehicles).

Other examples of successful transportation management strategies include:

improving product design and packaging efficiency to increase pallet utilization and reduce shipping volume, and
obtaining raw materials from local suppliers to reduce shipping distances.

Bottom-line benefits of improved transportation management can include:

reduced distribution and fuel costs,
more efficient routing and increased speed to market, and
increased productivity and reduced employee turnover due to increased employee satisfaction.

EPA and many non-governmental organizations, trade groups, and companies collect and share information on techniques and tools for improving a facility's transportation management practices. The links below highlight sources of information on the following topics:

Green Vehicles
Commuter Options
Transportation Planning

Disclaimer: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides this information as a free and open service to the public. EPA does not endorse any company or product identified on this or any subsequent pages listed herein, and makes no claims regarding the accuracy, validity, or effectiveness of this or any other product or service represented by these data.

If you would like to suggest additional resources to feature on this website, please email a description of the site (including what topics the site addresses) and the URL to hamilton.luctrician@epa.gov.

Green Vehicles

GreenerCars.com is the online home of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy's (ACEEE's) Green Book: The Environmental Guide to Cars and Trucks. The Web page includes listings of the top-rated vehicles by class, plus the overall best and worst vehicles for the environment.

California's Air Resources Board's Buyer's Guide to Cleaner Cars compares exhaust emissions of "cleaner" cars with cars that meet emission standards.

DOE's Clean Cities program works with local stakeholders to encourage the use of alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs) and their supporting infrastructure throughout the nation. The Web page includes consumer tips and a listing of alternative fuel vehicles.

SustainableBusiness.com offers links to resources on the location of electric vehicle re-fueling stations; organizations, publications, and Internet listservers on alternative fuel fleet vehicles; and related topics.

Alternative Fuels for Fleet Vehicles is a topical report by the Pacific Northwest Pollution Prevention Resource Center. It offers case studies, descriptions of alternative fuels for fleet vehicles in terms of performance, availability, and cost, and other online resources.

Commuter Options

EPA's Transportation Air Quality Center (TRAQ) provides information on employee commuter planning and the Transportation Control Measures Database, which includes descriptions of employee commuter programs undertaken by governments, companies, and organizations.

Best Workplace for Commuters Web page , a program of EPA's TRAQ Center, provides state and local air quality regulators and transportation planners with access to information regarding transportation and mobile source incentive-based programs and tools, partnership opportunities, grant funding sources, useful contact names, and technical assistance.

EPA's Commuter Model, a project of EPA's TRAQ Center, calculates the transportation and emissions benefits of commuter choice and other voluntary strategies to reduce solo commuting. It is designed to be usable by people with basic computer skills who do not necessarily have experience with models.

Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Commuter Choice Toolkit is designed to help employers and employees discuss implementation of a Commuter Choice plan at a company or organization. The site also includes other Commuter Choice links.

Commuter Check helps companies learn about and implement tax-free mass transit fare subsidies to improve air quality, promote the use of public transit, reduce traffic congestion and raise employee morale.

Tr@ks , a smart travel organization based in the San Francisco area, illustrates methods that companies can use to improve commuter options and sponsors ridesharing among Bay Area commuters.

Transportation Planning

EPA’s SmartWay Transport Partnership is a collaborative program between EPA and the freight industry that help s shippers, logistics companies, and trucking/rail companies improve the environmental performance of their freight operations.

EPA's Office of Transportation and Air Quality (formerly Office of Mobile Sources) focuses on protecting public health and the environment by controlling air pollution from motor vehicles, fuels, and nonroad equipment, and encouraging travel choices that minimize emissions. This Web page includes resources on how to reduce air pollution from mobile sources.

DOE's Sustainable Transportation page provides resources for planning sustainable communities. Resources include planning tools, success stories, sample codes/ordinances, articles, and educational materials.

TransAct , a program of the Surface Transportation Policy Project, works to ensure a diversified transportation system. The Web page includes a number of reports and tools, as well as a Directory of Transportation Reform Resources where users can search for public interest groups working on transportation reform by state.

Transportation Management

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