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ExplainerThe QuayIssue 48, November 2026

Why the queue on the expressway got shorter

Every truck at Aquila needs an appointment. Here is what that changed for drivers, hauliers and the road outside.

Rows of cargo containers
The Quay. Every truck at Aquila needs an appointment. Here is what that changed for drivers, hauliers and the road outside.

The old way

At many ports, trucks queue first and ask questions later. A driver might wait two days on the approach road for a box that was not released.

Appointments

At Aquila, a truck can only come in its two hour window, and only for a box that is released and paid. The gate knows it is coming.

A truck that knows its window is a truck that is not on the expressway.
Amaka Eze, gate operations manager

What changed

Average time inside the gate fell to 18 minutes. The truck park outside is rarely more than a third full. Night windows, once empty, now carry a fifth of all trucks.

What still needs work

Hauliers who book and do not come cost slots for others. From January, three no-shows in a month will pause booking for a week.

Written for this demo. Vessels and people are invented.

02Key points

In four lines

For the busy reader.

  • The old way. At many ports, trucks queue first and ask questions later.
  • Appointments. At Aquila, a truck can only come in its two hour window, and only for a box that is released and paid.
  • What changed. Average time inside the gate fell to 18 minutes.
  • What still needs work. Hauliers who book and do not come cost slots for others.
03Readers asked

Questions

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The vessel board and the gate wait, updated all day.