Easy Traffic Solution
Here is the easy solution for Los Angeles area congestion (and maybe other congested regions): every car has to pay a toll based on how far they drive — a concept others have promoted.
You want to drive your car from Pasadena to UCLA every morning, leaving at 6:00 AM to arrive (usually just in the nick o’ time!) around 7:15 AM, then pay $14 for parking, go ahead! Or you could get up a little earlier, leave at 5:00 AM, and arrive at 7:00 AM, having completed a report while you sat in a comfortable light rail seat from Downtown LA to the Westwood Expo line station, grab a coffee, feeling comfortable and ready! So which do you choose?
A few people making the choice outlined above could make more people make that choice. And this choice is kind of like, as Peter Marx put it, choosing to eat broccoli. It’s kind of boring.
Maybe it’s more like spinach. You may not want to eat it initially, and when you do, you feel energized, well-nourished, and overall better.
If Los Angeles were to initiate a toll based on how far you travel and at what time of day you travel, we could help more people realize that there’s a better option and better choice — using public transportation. Increasing a demand in public transportation will spur further improvements to that public transport, and further investment.
And any toll will have to be priced at a level as to not completely deter the option of driving alone. Many people do it. Many people need to do it. I drive a car from time-to-time. The point here is that we want to promote short, focused, infrequent, and more than anything safe trips by car. Driving for long periods of time + driving long distances + driving under the duress of stop-and-go traffic + high-speed facilities = nothing good. If you really, really, really want to drive alone from Upland to Santa Monica every day, you can. If you want to have chicken fried steak with gravy for breakfast every day, you can. Neither of these are good long-term choices. Maybe with a little nudging, you could try to access other modes of transportation, and you could find you enjoy the benefits.
There are arguments against roadway pricing, and some economic/demographic factors that must be accounted for. From what I’ve seen and read, ultimately roadway pricing can benefit people across the demographic and socio-economic spectrum, by using market-based pricing to ensure that the infrastructure is operating at maximum efficiency providing the associated benefit directly to the people who want and need it most.
Here’s the trick, though: the money raised through roadway pricing must go right back into the transportation infrastructure and network being priced. None of this into the General Fund stuff; the money has to be reinvested in a visible way, so people can 1) see the direct benefit of the pricing, and 2) get the benefit of improved mobility options that make their lives better.
Maybe not as easy as a Sunday morning. Implementation would require a lot of work — discussions, compromises, political maneuvering, analysis — and the benefits would be huge. Look at London — not only does congestion pricing reduce traffic congestion and improve public transportation, it saves lives (and look! London is considering moving to a congestion pricing system based on how far drivers go and at what times!). Look at Singapore — with the help of congestion pricing, more than 60% of commuters use public transportation. We can do this. So why not?
