DEAR MEMBERS & FRIENDS OF WEST STATE ALLIANCE . . .

The following is a review of recent activity at WSA.  You'll see that WSA has been active on a number of fronts, most notably in developing collaborative projects with the Port of Oakland, and in our strategic partnering with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission on a program of regional significance.  Beyond that, WSA is leading the effort to reform the overweight permitting process (and prospects for wide use by Port truckers) for the benefit of industry and government alike.  Finally, in the current election cycle in Oakland and in sending an elected representative to Sacramento, WSA remains the "voice of the Port of Oakland trucker."  As always, we welcome your comments and suggestions.  Please, read on . . .

OVERWEIGHT PERMITTING

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West State Alliance continues to work on and make headway on a number of projects of great importance to Port truckers.  In February we reported to you about proposed changes to the permitting process required of overweight trucks operating within the Port.  WSA is leading the effort to modify both the time-consuming, often convoluted process for obtaining permits and the rules themselves.  Proposed changes would eliminate the need for tri-axle chassis as a condition of transporting overweight loads and raise the overall weight limit for tractor trailers operating in the designated Port "green zone."  An additional benefit of proposed changes would be considerable new demand for the Port's providers of transload services as a consequence of trucker compliance with strictly enforced transportation weight limits outside the Port safety zone.  Proposed boundaries would be Maritime Street beginning at West Grand; Middle Harbor Road as far as APL; and on Seventh Street from Bay Street to Ben Nutter Terminal.  

Since we last reported, WSA has met both with Caltrans and with the USDOT.  Both agencies say they agree with the logic behind the changes, and that local jurisdictions are permitted the authority to modify overweight rules in accordance with local need.  Since the proposed new boundaries for the safety zone would contain overweight trucks to inside an area not requiring a bridge overpass, both Caltrans and USDOT are able to sanction these changes.  Next move for WSA is a meeting with Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan.


PORT CAMERA SYSTEM

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At the April meeting of the Trucker Work Group the Port demonstrated the brand new (still in beta testing stage) video observation system with a goal of real-time feeds from 20 cameras mounted at each of the Port's seven marine terminals.  Trucking companies have the option of accessing a variable multi-screen feed from four different sources on a Web based platform, or viewing a single-camera still frame via a smart phone app.  The goal remains to provide dispatchers and truckers with up-to-the-minute information on Port traffic conditions and terminal wait times.  The system has been in development for over a year and will continue to be phased in in the near-term.  WSA thanks the Port Maritime Division for their responsiveness in developing this system and notes that it came into being as a direct result of ongoing, regular meetings between the Port and West State Alliance.


VIRTUAL CONTAINER YARD

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WSA also reported to those present at this month's TWG the Port's plans to develop a virtual container yard (VCY) for drayage truckers.  A concept we're sure familiar to many, the VCY permits street turns of containers eliminating the need to in- and outgate containers needed for use by other carriers.  Old-timers will recall using a version of the VCY system developed by SynchroNet (under Port sponsorship) some 20 years ago and intended for use by commercial subscription.  Depending on the particular solution, dispatchers might be able to access the newly proposed VCY via email, an online reservation system with a search function, or some other form of electronic interface.  At the present moment the Port is looking to WSA for help in developing system requirements.  The intent is to create a resource maintained by the Port and made available to the local drayage industry at no charge.  WSA is eager to hear from our members about their needs for such a system and, in fact, recently participated in a focus group helping to define system requirements for a new SynchroNet proposed solution.  The Port estimates that within a few months an RFP will be issued for VCY solutions from interested vendors.  WSA is pleased to be able to participate in this process.


TRUCKER WORK GROUP

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Speaking of the Trucker Work Group, WSA welcomes ideas for future topics and encourages all its members to get involved in the planning of individual meetings.  Ideas--or offers of assistance--can be directed to TWG trucker co-chair Paul Larking at oakporttwg@comcast.net.  The TWG is a collective volunteer effort and, while now in its fifth year, can not continue to sustain itself for the benefit of the Port trucking community without a little help from our friends.  The TWG meets the third Monday of each month and is planned by a small group of volunteers who take responsibility for ensuring a timely agenda and informative presentations each month.  Please lend a hand or suggest a good meeting topic.


OT511 TRAFFIC INFORMATION SYSTEM

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By now our members are well aware of OT511 Trucker Traffic Information Twitter feed originated by West State Alliance with support from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and co-sponsored by the Port.  In the coming weeks and months you'll see a flood of promotional flyers and full-color maps distributed to Port truckers courtesy of the MTC.  These brochures and bulletins contain sign-up information for truckers to follow in English, Spanish, Chinese, Punjabi and Vietnamese.  Signifying our success to date in promoting the program, the MTC and WSA together have been nominated for a "Tranny" award from the California Transportation Federation.  We now are a finalist in the public outreach category and will be recognized during a May awards ceremony.


PUBLIC ELECTIONS

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One final thought . . .  As everyone's aware, the election season's gearing up and local campaigns are well under way.  As the events of the past couple of years demonstrated, the support of our local elected officials is an indispensable asset in dealing with government policy and regulation.  We urge all our members to make their voices heard in political matters of local interest.  The seat for Oakland City Council District 3 in West Oakland is up for grabs this November as is the District 18 California state Assembly seat.  Whoever wins these elections will represent areas served by Port trucking in the legislative affairs of city and state government.  We at WSA try to make sure that candidates know who we are and what our interests are, and it has become our policy to offer support to all leading candidates from Port jurisdictions.  Whoever gets elected, we want him or her to know we were supportive of their campaign for office!  To this end, we recently attended election fundraisers for Alex Miller-Cole and Derrick Muhammad, both running for City Council, and Joel Young, candidate for state Assembly.  We urge you, too, to get involved however you can in election politics.  The continuing success of Port trucking depends on it.


MEMBERSHIP

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For those of you whose membership in WSA has lapsed, we urge you to take this opportunity to renew.  You can execute your dues payment online via PayPal, send a check or pay with a credit card.  For credit card payments, please make arrangements with WSA directly by calling or emailing the office.  We'll personally process the payment for you.

Other motor carriers remain on the sidelines and have yet to take out a WSA membership.  We urge you, too, to take this opportunity to join.  The success of WSA as your advocate is predicated on strength in numbers.  Please take a moment to visit weststate.org and look over  membership benefits and services, and we're sure you'll see find the value in becoming a new member.

We thank you for your continued support of WSA . . .