Transportation industry changing fast, says MLA Westhead

by Truck West

BANFF, Alta. – Cameron Westhead, Alberta MLA for Banff-Cochrane, says the transportation industry is on the brink of some major changes.

“We are now standing on the edge of a significant shift in the transportation industry,” said Westhead, who kicked off an impressive list of speakers at this year’s Alberta Motor Transport Association (AMTA) Leadership Conference April 28 in Banff, Alta.

Westhead told attendees how the movement and safe transportation of goods is the backbone of Alberta’s economy, reciting the old adage “If you got it, a truck brought it.”

Westhead said demand for electric vehicle options is increasing, particularly on the passenger vehicle side, but that demand must reach out to other segments of transportation, like trucking.

The Alberta government is currently looking at truck stop electrification, where drivers are able to maintain the operation of all systems on their vehicles without having to keep the engine idling, something Westhead said would help curb greenhouse gas emissions and help companies financially by reducing fuel consumption.

Westhead also highlighted the province’s single wide-base tire pilot project, which the AMTA has been spearheading along with Westcan Bulk Transport and Rosenau Transport for the past year, and the role the AMTA has played in improving the functionality of the TRAVIS system, an online transportation service.

The AMTA collected the data from the single wide-base tire pilot project and Alberta Transportation is now reviewing the findings which will direct the government on how it intends to move forward.

Other speakers at this year’s Leadership Conference include Canadian Trucking Alliance president David Bradley and vice-president Stephen Laskowski, as well as assistant deputy minister of safety, policy and engineering for Alberta Transport Shaun Hammond.


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