Stop Complaining About Traffic: Use Technology to Fix it
Every yr, Inrix releases its Global Traffic Scorecard, which ranks congestion on roads in 1,064 cities in 38 countries. And every twelvemonth the report tells urban commuters what they already know—traffic sucks and is getting worse.
But at to the lowest degree Inrix's Global Traffic Scorecard uses data—500TB from 300 million sources covering over 5 million miles of route—to permit us know exactly how much information technology sucks. And the study gives drivers in certain traffic-plagued cities perverse bragging rights as the most congested regions in the earth.
Los Angeles was No. one amid the planet's most gridlocked cities, with drivers spending an average of 104 hours sitting in traffic during tiptop hours last twelvemonth. LA was followed past Moscow (91 hours), New York (89 hours), San Francisco (83 hours), and Bogota (80 hours), while New York's Cross Bronx Expressway won the dubious distinction equally the "worst corridor," with the boilerplate driver spending 86 hours per year stuck in traffic there.
For the first time this yr, the Inrix Traffic Scorecard included the direct price (those attributed to drivers straight through wasted fourth dimension and fuel) and indirect costs (those borne by businesses that are passed on to consumers through higher prices) of congestion. This amounted to a whopping $300 billion in 2022, for an average of $1,400 per US driver.
Part of the arraign is an improving economy. "A stable US economic system and factors such as employment growth and depression gas prices have all contributed to increased traffic in 2022," according to Inrix senior economist Bob Pishue. "Traffic truly is a double-edged sword."
Pishue pointed out that LA has enjoyed the sixth-largest driblet in unemployment rates in the country amongst metro areas—but that ways more than cars on the road. "We're seeing a definite impact of an improving economic system on an already strained road organization," he added.
Technology Rides to the Rescue
Expect things to get worse. "The demand for driving is expected to proceed to ascent, while the supply of roadway will remain flat," Pishue said. But technology could ride to the rescue.
"Up to 30 per centum of urban traffic congestion in a downtown [central concern commune] is related to the search for parking," Pishue noted. "And so there'south a directly benefit in reducing that."
Inrix has made big bets on parking information and solutions, and then of class the company touts these solutions. Simply Pishue added that there are other ways tech tin can cut traffic.
"Intelligent traffic signals are also relatively low cost, certainly less than calculation a new lane of traffic, for a large benefit," he said. Several car makers have already started linking their cars to transportation infrastructure, and vehicle-to-vehicle communication promises to assist ease congestion and reduce the number of accidents.
One of President Trump's biggest pushes—and probably the just initiative getting bipartisan support—is a trillion-dollar transportation overhaul that could transform how highways and infrastructure are built. Self-driving cars besides hope to reduce traffic, although whether they'll add more cars to the route and more congestion has been a source of debate; only time will tell.
So while traffic may get worse in the brusk term, technology could aid cut congestion over the long haul. "Using big data and engineering to better operations of existing roadways offers a more immediate touch on on traffic flows and mobility, while transportation officials explore strategic capital investments," Pishue said. And then it's either trust in technology or look to sit down in traffic longer.
(Lead image credit: By Robert Jack Will)
Nearly Doug Newcomb
Source: https://sea.pcmag.com/science-space/14189/stop-complaining-about-traffic-use-technology-to-fix-it
Posted by: lujanthicents.blogspot.com
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