Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

(Updated March 21, 2007)

General:

What is PierPASS?
PierPASS is a not-for-profit company created by marine terminal operators at the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports to address multi-terminal issues such as congestion, security and air quality.

What is OffPeak?
OffPeak is the off peak hours program created by PierPASS. OffPeak provides an incentive for cargo owners to move cargo at night and on weekends, in order to reduce truck traffic and pollution during peak daytime traffic hours and to alleviate port congestion.

How did OffPeak shift cargo operations to nights and weekends?
Through a market-based incentive. Since July 23, 2005, all international container terminals at the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports feature five OffPeak shifts per week on nights and weekends. Containers entering or exiting these terminals by road during peak hours (Monday through Friday, 3:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.) are charged a Traffic Mitigation Fee, with certain exceptions. This fee is not charged — and will be refunded or credited if already paid — if the container enters or exits the terminals by road outside of peak hours (either during an OffPeak shift, or anytime between 6:00 p.m. Friday and 3:00 a.m. Monday). All international container terminals in the two ports have adopted the same night and weekend hours of operation.

How well has OffPeak done in achieving its goals?
OffPeak reached its million-truck milestone on December 10, 2005. Since the start of the program, between 30 percent and 35 percent of container cargo at the ports has moved during the new OffPeak shifts on a typical day. The program is well ahead of its targets: when launching OffPeak in July, PierPASS said it aimed to shift 15 percent to 20 percent of all cargo movement to OffPeak shifts by the end of the first full year of operation, and 30 percent to 35 percent by the end of the second year.

What is the impact of OffPeak Program on road congestion?
Area commuters have reported a noticeable decrease in traffic congestion on roads near the port. As of mid-October 2005, northbound truck traffic on Interstate 710 during peak hours had dropped an estimated 24 percent since the introduction of OffPeak, according to a study by the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority (ACTA). On a typical day, more than 10,000 trucks use the new OffPeak shifts — enough to stretch from Long Beach to San Diego if lined up end-to-end.

How does OffPeak help move cargo more efficiently?

Spreads existing traffic across more hours

Makes better use of valuable port assets

Reduces uncertainty of delivery times, enabling better planning by cargo owners

All terminals will operate the same days and hours

Reduces round-trip turn times (pickup and drop-off) for the truck fleet and drivers

Reduces truck traffic on I-710 and other California highways during commute hours

Why is cargo movement important to California?

In 2000 alone, nearly $200 billion worth of goods moved through the ports, generating more than $16 billion in state and local taxes and creating 2 million jobs throughout the country.

Between the fall of 2004 and mid-2005, the Pacific Maritime Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union responded to growing demand by hiring 5,000 new casual (part-time) workers and promoting almost 2,000 casual workers to registered (full-time) status

Marine terminals operating at the ports have hired hundreds of additional workers to move cargo since the inception of OffPeak, including more than 300 new high-paying union jobs at the terminals.

Transportation and warehousing account for about 51,300 jobs in Riverside and San Bernardino counties

How will the terminals know I have paid the Traffic Mitigation Fee payment?
When each payment is made, an electronic message is sent to the terminal's operating system in much the same way Ocean Freight or demurrage charges are sent which will allow the gate transaction.

What are the hours of operation for the OffPeak gates?
OffPeak shifts are Monday through Thursday from 6:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m. and Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. These hours are subject to change.

What are the “peak hours” during which the Traffic Mitigation Fee will be charged?
Monday through Friday, 3:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. PierPASS assesses the Traffic Mitigation Fee on all loaded containers entering or exiting marine terminal gates by road during these peak hours.

PierPASS Traffic Mitigation Fees during Peak Hours:

What fees are charged?
PierPASS assesses a “Traffic Mitigation Fee” on all loaded containers entering or exiting the marine terminal gates by road during peak hours. The fee is $50 per TEU (20-foot equivalent unit) or $100 for all containers larger than a 20-foot unit.

What about empty containers and chassis?
PierPASS does not assess a fee for empty containers and chassis, domestic containers, or transshipment to other ports.

What about full Intermodal containers?
PierPASS does not assess a fee for full intermodal containers departing or arriving via the Alameda Corridor for import or export and/or that pay the waterborne ACTA fee.

Why are the fees set at that level? Under what circumstances might they be changed?
The JWD Group, an independent industrial engineering firm, has identified the incremental costs associated with terminals opening off-peak operations. JWD determined that a fee of $50 per TEU would cover these costs. These costs and the resulting fee may vary based on the proportion of total cargo that continues to move during the day. For more information, see the document “TMF Adjustment Overview” available on the PierPASS website, www.pierpass.org.

Where do the Traffic Mitigation Fee payments go?
The Traffic Mitigation Fee payments collected, minus PierPASS overhead and minus refunds for cargo moving through the marine terminal gates during off peak hours, are allocated by PierPASS to the marine terminals to help offset their incremental costs to operate the extra gates. PierPASS is a not-for-profit company.

Who is responsible for paying the Traffic Mitigation Fee?
The beneficial cargo owners (shippers, consignees, or their agents) are responsible for payment of the fee. The trucking community and water carriers are not responsible for payment.

When is the fee paid — in advance, at the gate, or afterward?
For logistics reasons, imports and exports are handled differently. Imported containers are not allowed to pass through terminal gates during peak hours unless the TMF has been paid or billed in advance. Exporters can pay either in advance or afterward within five (5) business days of the delivery date. In no case will payments be accepted at the gate by the terminal operators. ALL payments of the TMF must be made to PierPASS.

Will the Traffic Mitigation Fee be charged for non-containerized cargo?
If the cargo is not in a container then it is not subject to the fee. If the cargo is placed in a container for convenience (or another reason) and it moves through the terminal gate as a container then it is subject to the Traffic Mitigation Fee.

Refunds:

Who can receive a refund?
Shippers who use OffPeak gates can choose not to pay in advance, eliminating the need for a refund. Shippers who are uncertain whether their containers will pass through peak or OffPeak gates can pay in advance, and the fee will be refunded or credited if OffPeak gates are used.

How is the refund paid?
Refunds are credited directly to your account. You may choose to use the available credit on future container fees or have the credit refunded to your account. Depending on your payment methods and other circumstances, the refund is paid by check or as a credit applied to your credit card.

Account Registration:

I am a trucking company that only hauls containers (import or export) to and from the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Do I need to open an account for PierPASS' OffPeak program?
Since you are not a BCO (Beneficial Cargo Owner) you are not required to register. However, you may want to open an account with PierPASS’ OffPeak program to access the TMF website (www.PierPASS-TMF.org) to determine if the TMF (Traffic Mitigation Fee) for the container(s) has been satisfied. As a hauler of containers to and from the Ports of Los Angles and Long Beach this is important if you are likely to pick up or deliver container(s) during peak hours when the TMF is enforced by the terminals.

Do I need to register an account with PierPASS?
Beneficial Cargo Owners (BCOs) companies are responsible for the payment of the Traffic Mitigation Fee (TMF) for import and/or export containers that move during peak hours. In order to pay the TMF your company must register as an Account on the PierPASS TMF Web Site (www.PierPASS-TMF.org). In establishing an account, you will be able to provide demographic data on your account, set up multiple users to access your account (logons), and designate individuals (or email accounts) inside and outside of your organization to receive email notifications on events that happen within your account. For example, if your company deals with a logistics or drayage company that performs the physical pick-up of your containers, you may want to add their email contact information to the Containers Released (TMF Paid) event so that they would be notified when containers have been paid and a TMF release has been sent to the Marine Terminal.

We have two or more affiliated companies. Do I register one or more accounts with PierPASS’ OffPeak program?
This depends on the operations of your companies and whether or not they need to segregate their payments of Traffic Mitigation Fees (TMF). If you need to segregate TMF payments between your companies then you will need to establish separate accounts with PierPASS. If your companies do not need to segregate TMF payments then you may open one account.

I need to enter an address outside of the United States.
PierPASS will not accept an address outside of the United States.

I cannot remember my UserID.
Please contact the PierPASS Customer Service Center at 1-877-863-3310 for assistance.

I cannot remember my Password.
Please visit the web (www.PierPASS-TMF.org) and click on the link “Login Help (lost password)”.

Methods of Payment:

What payment options are available for PierPASS’ OffPeak program?
PierPASS offers the following payment options for Traffic Mitigation Fees (TMF) under the OffPeak program. Direct Pay accounts can use Credit Card (Visa, MasterCard, and American Express), Debit Card (Visa and MasterCard), or electronic check payment to pay the TMF. Credit accounts shall pay their invoice by ACH (Automated Clearing House). ACH payments are initiated by the accountholder, not by PierPASS.

What is a Direct Pay account?
This is a PierPASS OffPeak account that is not invoiced by PierPASS for the Traffic Mitigation Fees (TMF). Instead, Direct Pay accounts can use Credit Card (Visa, MasterCard, and American Express), Debit Card (Visa and MasterCard), or electronic check payment to pay the TMF.

What is a Credit Account?
This is a PierPASS OffPeak account that is invoiced by PierPASS for the Traffic Mitigation Fees (TMF). More information about credit accounts is available under the “Credit Application and Credit Accounts” section of the FAQs.

What is electronic check payment?
Electronic check payment is simply an electronic version of your paper check. If you choose to pay by electronic check you will be presented onscreen with an image of a check (similar to a paper check) asking you to complete a number of data fields — including bank account number, check number and bank routing codes. The funds are then drawn from your bank account, just like a paper check.

What is ACH (Automated Clearing House)?
For information about ACH visit www.nacha.org.

Credit Application and Credit Accounts:

Do I have to apply for credit with PierPASS?
No, not if you plan to use credit/debit cards or electronic check payment to make payments of the Traffic Mitigation Fees (TMF).

Will PierPASS offer credit to business accounts?
PierPASS is currently offering credit to organizations with large monthly container volumes. During the registration process, enrollees with an annual volume of 500 or more containers will be offered the credit application.

I do not see the Credit Application menu after logging into my account.
At this time, the information that you have entered into the PierPASS system has determined that you are not eligible to complete a credit application with PierPASS for the OffPeak program. This is not a reflection of your organization’s credit rating but rather a business decision by PierPASS.

What criteria does PierPASS use to determine if my account is eligible to complete a credit application?
PierPASS is currently restricting credit applications to organizations with large monthly container volumes.

What will PierPASS do with the credit application information?
Once the credit application is completed by the responsible account user online the information will be used by PierPASS to obtain information from Dun & Bradstreet to perform an evaluation of your company’s credit worthiness. The email address submitted with your credit application will receive an email notification as to whether or not your account has been approved for credit by PierPASS. The email notification will include PierPASS’ Banking information required to make ACH payments.

When will I be informed if my credit application has been approved?
PierPASS will notify all credit applicants within 30-days from the application submission date whether you have been approved for credit terms with PierPASS. This notification will be sent by email to the email address submitted with your credit application. During the waiting period you can pay the TMF by Credit Card (Visa, MasterCard, and American Express), Debit Card (Visa and MasterCard), or electronic check payment.

PierPASS Invoices:

How often will PierPASS invoice the credit account?
PierPASS invoices credit accounts on a weekly basis with the invoice period spanning from Saturday through Friday for all peak hour container moves that are subject to the Traffic Mitigation Fee (TMF) during this period and that have posted to account.

What are the payment terms for credit accounts?
PierPASS’ payment terms for credit accounts are Net 10 days, no exceptions. The payment due date will be visible on your invoice.

What happens if I do not pay my invoice by the due date?
Credit accounts that do not adhere to the credit terms stipulated by PierPASS and agreed to by your company upon submission of the credit application will become subject to the remedies as provided for within the credit terms agreement.

How do I pay my invoice?
Credit accounts must pay their invoice by ACH (Automated Clearing House). ACH payments are initiated by the accountholder, not by PierPASS. Banking information necessary for ACH payments is included in your credit approval email and on your invoice.

How is the invoice delivered and to whom?
PierPASS invoices are issued weekly by email to the email address submitted with the credit application. The invoice is an attached document to the email. The format of the invoice attachment is an Adobe Acrobat (PDF) file.

What information does the invoice contain?
The PierPASS invoice is a summary format grouping containers moved during peak hours. The detailed transactions are viewed by logging into your account. At this time the ability to download detailed transaction activity to a file is not available.

Additional Information:

Where can I get more information?
Please go to www.PierPASS.org or www.PierPASS-TMF.org.

Where can I register for OffPeak?
Users of the ports (such as cargo owners, brokers, truckers, and logistics companies) can register for OffPeak through a link on www.PierPASS.org or by going directly to the registration site at www.PierPASS-TMF.org.