Technology for Choice?

The impact of any new powerful technologies depends on how they’re used.  Smart cruise control on vehicles could potentially squeeze more traffic capacity out of existing highway lanes.  But this technology could also spur more long-distance commuting, sprawl, smart super-roads for affluent communities, and new safety and equity challenges.  On the other hand, other technologies can enable communities to reduce automobile dependency in favor of better traffic management and information-based transit strategies that support existing communities, provide travel choices, and ensure equitable access.  Help your community make the smart choice.  Below are some examples of ITS applications.

Electronic Tolls for Better Transportation Choices.  
High-speed electronic toll systems are becoming favored ways to cut congestion and pollution.  Road operators like the Port Authority of NY-NJ are raising peak period cash tolls while offering savings for off-peak electronic toll users.  Trans-Hudson River tolls are a vital revenue source for the PATH rail system that links Manhattan and New Jersey.  The automated Electronic Toll Road 407 outside Toronto offers time-of-day tolls without burdening travelers with toll booths.  Most drivers pay electronically as they pass detectors on entry and exit ramps.  Vehicles lacking transponders are detected by cameras which capture license plate information as you enter and exit; computers match them to figure the toll, then mail the bill with a $1 surcharge.

On San Diego’s I-15’s High-Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes, carpools and buses travel for free.  Excess express lane capacity is offered to solo drivers for a fee, which changes based on traffic demand.  Toll revenues are being used to improve transit service.  HOT lane revenue in San Diego pays for new bus service.

Recent studies of Southern California’s SR-91 HOT lanes by Ed Sullivan of Cal Poly University show that the key determinant of whether someone pays to use a HOT lane is time-pressure.  While high-income people use HOT lanes more often, there is substantial use by those of low to moderate incomes.  Studies by Metro in Portland, Oregon, and Environmental Defense in California show that appropriately designed time-of-day road pricing can boost social equity by giving low-income travelers greater access and mobility.

Use-Based Car Insurance.  
With most policies, drivers save little on their car insurance if they cut their annual mileage even ten percent.  But Progressive Insurance is saving 1,200 Texas households an average of 25 percent with an insurance policy that rewards those who drive less.  Rates are based on when, where, and how much you drive, with less emphasis on traditional factors like neighborhood of residence, gender, and marital status.  Using Global Positioning System (GPS) monitors in each car, Progressive generates monthly bills with the same privacy protection as a phone or credit card.  Many new cars already offer GPS systems for navigation and emergency services.  Incentives could make such equipment standard on motor vehicles, speeding adoption of new traffic-management tools.

Smart Transit and Travel Information Systems.  
Transit ridership has grown faster than car use for the last four years.  To sustain that trend, riders need better information, time savings, and reliability.  Transit agencies in San Francisco, Delaware, Montgomery County (MD), and the Washington, DC area are implementing systems similar to those in Europe and Japan that give riders real-time information on when the next bus or train will come.  Smart systems can help dispatchers route and manage bus and vans, and give priority to buses at traffic signals, delivering more and better service for the same number of buses and drivers.  Smart card fare collection is speeding transit boarding and reducing need for cash handling on transit systems in metropolitan Washington and New York.  Employer-provided tax-free transit benefits can be transferred automatically to smart cards for hassle-free employee benefit administration.  Systems that track cell phone movements on roads are transforming real-time traffic information in dozens of U.S. cities such as Metro New York and Los Angeles.  These travel information systems are also linking to door-to-door flex routes, transit schedules, and taxi services.

Smart Traffic Calming?  
As smart technologies permeate the system, new options will likely appear.  Insurance companies may one day offer cost savings for motorists who keep within 5 mph of speed limits and observe traffic lights, adapting from initiatives already underway in Scandinavia.  Pressures for a more customer-responsive transportation system and for reduced greenhouse gas emissions may encourage restructuring of surface transportation management.  A growing role for private capital in roads and transit will make the future system look more like a public utility and less like a monopoly.  Perhaps in 20 years, rather than buying a car, we will contract with “mobility providers” for a bundle of services, including a transit pass and a low-pollution car for everyday use, and access to SUVs and sports cars.  Price incentives will allow us to save money if we make choices that are environmentally friendly and allow the private sector to profit from incentives that reduce solo driving and SUV use.  Smart cards and electronic toll devices may support barrier-free non-attended parking payment systems and allow travelers to earn redeemable ‘FAIR lane’ credits that are good for occasional use on HOT lanes or for free transit.