BACKGROUND
ACRP Report 40: Airport Curbside and Terminal Area Roadway Operations was published in 2010. In the 10 years since it was published, the inception of ride sharing services has brought a paradigm shift, not only to the airport curb but to society in general. Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) demonstrated the effectiveness of peer-to-peer mobile services so much so that new services are embracing this same model. There are both opportunities and challenges in managing the different types of traditional and disruptive ground transportation service providers.
The focus of ACRP Report 40 was on data gathering and analysis, but did not explicitly address planning, modifying, and operating roadways and curbsides to achieve maximum efficiency, safety, security, and customer service. Curbs must accommodate various modes of access/egress, ranging from single occupant vehicles to large buses while accommodating important security issues at terminal curbsides. Since the cost of adding curb can be significant (e.g., adding a second level), airports would benefit from identifying best practices for curb management (e.g., access prioritization, tolling, etc.) to increase existing capacity.
Finally, airports are placing more of a focus on the customer experience. At the same time, passenger traffic continues to grow. Many airports are already experiencing significant congestion on their roadways and at the curb, often because of geographic location or land use constraints. These two realities can be in conflict with each other and it has become challenging to expand the capacity of landside facilities to meet current and future demand while maintaining an acceptable level of customer service.
OBJECTIVES
The objectives of this research are to produce a guidebook that is a thorough, user-friendly update of ACRP Report 40: Airport Curbside and Terminal Area Roadway Operations by (a) publishing an updated text based on the original guidebook; (b) reviewing and updating the associated analysis tools, including the Quick Analysis Tool for Airport Roadways (QATAR), for currency, relevance, and usability; (c) incorporating new information on recently implemented ground transportation services (e.g., TNCs, peer-to-peer services, etc.); (d) discussing how airports can anticipate future services (e.g., autonomous vehicles and other disruptive technologies) and design flexible landside spaces to accommodate those services; and (e) identifying scalable strategies for traffic demand and congestion management.
Scalable strategies for traffic demand and congestion management, must, at a minimum address: policy and regulatory issues, typical peak vs. irregular operations traffic demand, stakeholder engagement and possible political issues, and operational techniques and new technology being used by airports and ground transportation service providers.
STATUS: RESEARCH COMPLETE. The results should be published by 3Q 2024.
