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Tuesday, August 29, 2006
The traffic market
Source: Technology Review
What if Massachusetts gave each of us a fixed monthly toll "credit" and then only charged us out of pocket when we exceed our monthly allotment? It's like Fast Lane gone large. New research shows that making drivers pay higher tolls at peak times and tracking their location with RFID or GPS technology can eliminate traffic jams. Drivers would pay mileage-based and location-based tolls on a sliding scale paying more if driving through bottleneck stretches at the busiest times. Computer models of Dallas-Fort Worth show that this could result in a 25 mph increase in average vehicle speed on certain stretches of road at rush hour. Nothing shapes behavior like money.
