Ontario’s Long Combination Vehicle Program
About Ontario’s LCV Program
Ontario LCVs consist of specially equipped tractors pulling two full-sized semi-trailers – often referred to as ‘turnpike doubles.’ They may operate on and close to specified 400-series highways and the QEW, as well as between Quebec and Ontario. LCVs were introduced in Ontario in 2009 as a public-private partnership between the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) and the Ontario Trucking Association (OTA), with support from the Private Motor Truck Council of Canada (PMTC).
The Ontario government requires careful control of the program to optimize highway safety, to ensure an orderly and fair introduction of these vehicles into the trucking marketplace and to ensure sufficient infrastructure is in place to support LCV operations. OTA’s Carrier Committee, which includes representatives from across Canada, played a significant role in the development of the LCV program conditions. All aspects of the program are fully supported by the committee and are a true representation of the collaborative efforts between industry and government.
To learn more about the Ministry of Transportation’s LCV program conditions, you can visit their website.
OTA’s Role in the LCV Program
For its part, the OTA hired engineering consultants to examine the entire 400-series and QEW freeway network, including inter-connecting ramps, for suitability of LCV operations. This work also identified and assessed all available service centres and private truck stops along these routes as potential LCV rest/emergency stop locations. The primary LCV route network, available to all LCV participants, is based on this work. As an ongoing process, OTA continues to identify and engage engineers to undertake assessments of network route expansion opportunities, additional rest/emergency stop locations and key freeway interchanges at which LCVs may ‘turn around’.
OTA also took on the responsibility of developing the required LCV driver and instructor training programs, as well as designing a web-based registration and certification database for use by all participants. More recently, due to the transfer of the collection of carrier trip reporting responsibilities from MTO, OTA has developed a second online database for this purpose.
The OTA is a non-profit organization primarily financed through membership fees. Costs specific to LCV Program operations are recovered through an annual carrier participation fee as well as fees for issuance of LCV Driver and Instructor certificates and associated training. LCV fees are significantly discounted for OTA members.
For more information about OTA’s LCV Program, please contact us at: lcvinfo@ontruck.org.