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The problem with incentives is that it's hard to tell that someone who avoided the traffic jam would have (but for the incentive) driven during the traffic jam.
by jeffdavis 14y ago
The problem with incentives is that it's hard to tell that someone who avoided the traffic jam would have (but for the incentive) driven during the traffic jam.
In other words, let's say someone doesn't do the traditional 9-5, but works nights, or from home, or doesn't work at all, or lives 3 states away, or whatever. Do they get the incentive? If you bring them into the pool, then all of a sudden the budget would need to be a lot bigger.
There are some roundabout ways to try to measure this, but it seems much easier to just charge people for driving at peak hours. But that creates other problems, like installing tracking devices in peoples' cars.
- 3JPLW 14y agoIt could be incorporated into GPS turn-by-turn directions on mobile phones and dedicated GPSs. Think about it, you request a route to some place, and the GPS prompts you with several route options. Some routes could very easily be incentivized. Thinking about how Apple plans to update transit times and traffic estimates makes this almost seem to come as a natural extension. But by the same token, it enables the scary thought of your GPS charging you extra for taking some routes!
- acdha 14y ago> There are some roundabout ways to try to measure this, but it seems much easier to just charge people for driving at peak hours. Agreed: there's no reason why they shouldn't say that e.g. key bridges, interchanges, etc. are EZ-Pass only with a toll during rush hour. These days, we should have the infrastructure to simply have a camera record license plates and mail a monthly bill to you. Around here (Washington DC) it'd be a huge win if all of the suburban commuters stopped their commute at a subway / bus station rather than attempting to drive the last 3 miles into the very congested downtown (my walking speed is higher than the average traffic speed at 8am). Simply putting a toll point at the bridge would be a great way to encourage that last step not to be a single-occupant vehicle. The other, major win would be to stop subsidizing parking below market rates: city parking is usually cheaper than the commercial lots, which means a significant amount of congestion is caused by drivers slowing looking around for cheaper parking. Making that savings less dramatic would encourage people to simply park at the first available space.
- wjamesg 14y agoA new toll road in NC (USA) has successfully implemented an all bill-by-mail approach...I wonder if/when other existing tolls will catch on. An EZ-Pass-like device offers slightly lower rates for regular commuters. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangle_Expressway http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangle_Expressway