Scientists present concept for the elimination of traffic jams

[rangerrebew]

Scientists present concept for the elimination of traffic jams
August 3, 2018, University of Cologne


A team of researchers from Cologne and New York has presented proposals for future traffic management. A dynamic, fair toll for road use could reduce congestion.

In the current issue of Nature, the economists Peter Cramton, Axel Ockenfels (both University of Cologne) and R. Richard Geddes (Cornell University) describe a concept in which drivers would have to pay a dynamic fee for the use of roads. This would contribute to avoiding traffic jams and protecting the environment, the researchers argue. Fees that respond to traffic volumes in real time and with site precision, taking into account factors such as vehicle type and exhaust emissions, can significantly improve traffic flow and contribute to reducing air pollution.

https://techxplore.com/news/2018-08-scientists-concept-traffic.html

[truth_seeker]

One of the worst traffic places is the "405" freeway, along the west side of Lost Angeles.

IOW LAX (airport) Santa Monica, San Fernando Valley beyond the Sepulveda Pass northward. Long Beach, Orange County southward.

aka the "San Diego freeway" For years it seems to be perpetually under construction.

[Suppressed]

The leftists would hate it without understanding it, just like paid toll lanes, which help everybody.

The first Computer-Aided Engineering I did was traffic engineering at Cornell, though I didn't know Dr. Geddes.  But they were on the cutting edge decades ago, and already had struggles between what was smartest and what politics wanted.

Peter Cramton et al, Set road charges in real time to ease traffic, Nature (2018). DOI: 10.1038/d41586-018-05836-0

[Cyber Liberty]

Fees that respond to traffic volumes in real time and with site precision, taking into account factors such as vehicle type and exhaust emissions, can significantly improve traffic flow and contribute to reducing air pollution.

Right.  All we have to do, then, is convince the businesses these people are commuting to, to change their business hours to match the fees.

Hey Author:  People are commuting at the times that they do for a reason.

[thackney]

Right.  All we have to do, then, is convince the businesses these people are commuting to, to change their business hours to match the fees.

Hey Author:  People are commuting at the times that they do for a reason.

Yep, I'm getting out of bed at 4:30 am to beat the heavier traffic.

[Joe Wooten]

Yep, I'm getting out of bed at 4:30 am to beat the heavier traffic.

I did just that for almost 15 years to avoid the heavy traffic times on I55......

Now I am damn glad Westinghouse laid me off a year ago last week, allowing me to take a new job with a consulting company that lets me work from home...

[Fishrrman]

"A team of researchers from Cologne and New York has presented proposals for future traffic management. A dynamic, fair toll for road use could reduce congestion."

Yup.
Impose tolls, then increase the rates until drivers won't use the toll road any more. Congestion... solved!

[Elderberry]

Not working in D.C.

https://qz.com/1155736/washington-d-c-s-new-expressway-tolls-charged-drivers-40-after-its-debut/

Congestion is so bad in Washington D.C., tolls hit $40 last week

The idea behind demand-based toll pricing is simple: When a road is overcrowded by vehicles, increase the price of tolls to dissuade more drivers. When traffic eases up, ease the prices too.

The Virginia Department of Transportation adopted such a system on Dec. 4 for the new express lanes heading to downtown Washington, DC, on Virginia’s I-66. On that day, the congestion was so bad the fee topped out at $34; the following day, the price climbed to $40. The second day’s exorbitant toll price, which is programmed to change every six minutes, lasted for only that long and scathed no more than 28 drivers, Virginia transportation secretary Aubrey Layne told NPR. On average, the tolls were around $10.70 in the morning of the first day and $3.80 in the afternoon and night.

[Suppressed]

Not working in D.C.

It worked very well. 

[Elderberry]

It didn't work for the commuters.

But I guess it worked for the toll road employees.  Less wear and tear on their roads and all.  Increased traffic, I imagine on alternate roads. And trains and buses.

[DB]

These idiot "researchers" don't seem to realize these people already pay a heavy toll in money and time for being in reoccurring traffic jams in the first place. This just adds insult to injury.

[Cyber Liberty]

It didn't work for the commuters.

But I guess it worked for the toll road employees.  Less wear and tear on their roads and all.  Increased traffic, I imagine on alternate roads. And trains and buses.

Commuters are not customers to be served, they are problems to be overcome.  Once you realize that's what motivates some government workers, it starts to make sense.  Go get license plates or a drivers license at the DMV and you'll know what I mean.  Or pick up a package marked "PERISHABLE!" all over it in bright red and black letters from the parcel locker in your community mailbox when it's 115 degrees out.

This is why I can no longer order things from my hometown bakery anymore.  USPS ruined 2 of the five orders I did.

(Sorry, I wandered off topic.  The thought of dealing with the DMV did it.)

[Elderberry]

Commuters are not customers to be served, they are problems to be overcome.  Once you realize that's what motivates some government workers, it starts to make sense.  Go get license plates or a drivers license at the DMV and you'll know what I mean.  Or pick up a package marked "PERISHABLE!" all over it in bright red and black letters from the parcel locker in your community mailbox when it's 115 degrees out.

This is why I can no longer order things from my hometown bakery anymore.  USPS ruined 2 of the five orders I did.

(Sorry, I wandered off topic.  The thought of dealing with the DMV did it.)

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

Working from home would eliminate a lot of traffic  issues.

[Cyber Liberty]

Working from home would eliminate a lot of traffic  issues.

That worked great for me, until a few years ago I got a Manager who loved "Management by Walking Around." Didn't walk into my lab once in the five years he was the manager,  but death be upon me if he were ever to walk into the lab I I was not present.

Not gonna miss that crap, come September 21.