Using GPS data to calculate the length and variability of freight vehicle journey times on motorways

This study uses GPS-derived tracking data of HGVs in order to calculate values of, among other indicators, journey times, journey time variabilities and average speeds on the parts of the trunk road network that are of most importance to freight operators. The pilot study focussed on the use of a small sample of GPS data covering the M6 corridor for a two-week period during April/May 2002 to develop a methodology, and to assess the practicality, strengths and weaknesses of the approach. The outputs of the approach will be some key performance indicators (KPIs) of network performance. It is intended that these KPIs and road speeds will be of use in updating the parameters that are used in fleet management software packages, and for more general network performance monitoring.