Analyzing Freight Truck Platoon Accessibility with Route Deviations

Truck platooning is emerging as a sustainable means of transporting goods and commodities to destinations. Platooning optimizes road space and contributes to reducing freight truck emissions. However, there has been limited research on freight truck platoon accessibility to the destination that is often necessary to understand the impact of routes on which platoon is deployed. This study develops an analytical formulation for platoon accessibility by considering the possibility of the detour of trucks forming a platoon. Analyses with four prominent interstates in California, CA, USA, show that accessibility with truck platooning on select lengths of the I-5 continues to increase for about an initial 165 miles, attains a maximum there, and starts to drop after. The other three freeways, I-10, I-405, and I-710, show a continuous increase in accessibility for their lengths and the number of ramps considered. The findings can have significant implications in determining the selection of freeway routes that could be regarded as facilitators for a truck platoon.