FORWARD: Freight Options for Road, Water, and Rail for the Dutch

This study examines possible ways to mitigate the negative impacts of the projected increase in freight transportation on the Netherlands highways, while attempting to retain the economic benefits from the efficient and reliable transport of goods. On an aggregate level, the study gives insight into the impacts of a large number of tactics (and combinations of tactics), which are single actions taken to affect the freight transportation system. The various tactics fall into three main categories: direct mitigation of negative effects, more efficient freight movement by road, and inducing a modal shift to alternative modes, such as railways and inland waterways. To assess the impacts of the possible changes in the transportation system, a microcomputer-based policy analysis model called [Policy Analytic Computational Environment for FORWARD] (PACE-FORWARD) was developed. The user can directly interact with the model to gain insights into the effects of the various tactics on emissions, noise, safety, congestion, costs, and the national economy. PACE-FORWARD is an integrative model that is composed of modules that use data, factors, and relationships from existing Dutch transportation models and databases. Results on tactic performance produced by PACE-FORWARD were used to design combinations of tactics (called strategies) that might contribute to achieving a range of national goals. In particular the authors found that efficiency tactics were the most promising, that selected direct mitigation measures could be used to "fill in" for gaps in goal achievement, and that mode shift tactics were generally not cost-effective and were relatively ineffective at changing impacts.