Efficient Route of Freight Transport by Road, Evaluated with Innotransmer

The need to make transport more efficient in order to make it less dependent on fossil fuels, more sustainable and reduce GHG emissions is included in the guidelines of the European Union. One measure to achieve this objective has been for manufacturers to improve engine performance so as to reduce GHG emissions according to regulations EURO I to VI of commercial vehicles for the transport of goods by road. This has resulted in significant savings in the fuel bill for the transport sector; however, the choice of route remains an important element to improve efficiency. In order to make this decision it is important to take into account:Travel time/distance travelled/number of tolls en route.Layout of slopes/consumption/average speeds.Technical characteristics of vehicles/power/number of axles/tonnes transported.In line with these objectives, the 2011 INNPACTO program by the Ministry of Science and Innovation approved a project called “Simulation platform for the development of innovative solutions in freight transport through high capacity roads (INNOTRANSMER, 2011)”, with the aim of developing an electronic platform which enabled freight companies to assess the most efficient routes with different vehicles and tracks, in order to determine the transport configuration with the lowest consumption/cost per tonne transported in trucks, thus creating a new instrument to assess transport efficiency and GHG emissions for a certain trip.