Technology Briefs — April 3 - April 9

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• Small Carriers Say E-Manifest Rule Costly
• BestPass Offers Discount to Small Fleets

Small Carriers Say E-Manifest Rule Costly

Small trucking companies said operational costs of using electronic manifests to cross the border may cause them to give up their cross-border business, while larger companies said e-manifests speed truck traffic through checkpoints, according to a report from the American Transportation Research Institute.

The electronic transaction system, known as the Automated Commercial Environment, allows carriers to submit electronic versions of mandated paperwork in advance of a truck’s physically crossing the border.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said ACE is now mandatory at 80% of U.S. border crossings.

Dan Murray, ATRI vice president of research, said large carriers have invested “$100,000 to $1 million” in software systems that process paperwork for their fleets through ACE. Transport Topics

BestPass Offers Discount to Small Fleets

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — BestPass is increasing its offering of discounted access to the PrePass transponder toll system to include fleets with five or fewer trucks, the company’s chief executive officer said here last month.

William Joyce Jr., president of the New York State Motor Truck Association and BestPass CEO, made the announcement March 21 at the Mid-America Trucking Show.

Car and truck drivers with PrePass transponders in their vehicles can pass through toll plazas without stopping. Instead, they are billed after the fact through an itemized statement.

PrePass operates in 27 states and for trucks, the transponders also work in weigh stations.

Prior to March, the small fleet offering had been generally limited to Ohio-based carriers as part of a pilot program, BestPass said. Transport Topics