U.S. Department of Transportation Releases Broad Agency Announcement for Truck Platooning Early Deployment and Evaluation

The U.S. Department of Transportation has released a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) to assess various aspects of in-service truck platoons that are delivering commercial goods by a fleet operator on their common delivery routes over an extended time.

More than one truck platoon crossing state lines are targeted. Various data will be collected, both technical and operational, related to the vehicles, environment, and drivers to assess safety, efficiency, and mobility impacts. The data will be analyzed and documented for future recommendations.

The strategy is to partner with and leverage current industry and state agency plans for truck platooning operations and add an additional evaluation component to their plans. The two phases of the project include planning, team building, and development of a phase-two proposal and then project execution.

The objectives of this BAA are to develop an innovative and synergistic truck platooning pilot deployment concept, build partnerships among stakeholders, and prepare a comprehensive deployment plan and proposal that enables the assessment of such a concept. It will accelerate deployment of cooperative automated vehicle technologies to support the freight industry, enabling trucks to safely follow each other at distances that save fuel, thereby enhancing the economic competitiveness of freight shippers and lowering the costs of landed goods for consumers. The aim is to partner with entities that have already completed development of truck platooning systems and are ready to deploy in-service freight hauling.

The deadline for responses is October 23, 2018. To learn more about the BAA and submit a response visit the FedBizOps website.