DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed in this blog are expressly my own and are not endorsed by my employer or my employer's partners and supporters.
For many years Metro Atlanta has had some of the most congested roads and highways in the country. In response, State officials want to provide optional toll lanes on area highways that are priced according to the amount of demand for those lanes. Their first attempt with the I-85 "Express" lanes in Gwinnett County has ignited a backlash, with motorists and their elected representatives demanding their removal.
By pursuing congestion-based pricing, the State is taking a reasonable approach. Officials have nonetheless failed to recognize the psychological trauma this exacts on Georgia motorists, habituated to a daily commute where their expenses are all but forgotten.
According to the Texas Transportation Institute’s 2010 Urban Mobility Report, Atlanta ranks 11th among the top-100 cities for traffic congestion. The average Atlanta-area driver spent about 43 hours struck in traffic, in addition to their “normal” commuting time. For many, that exceeds the amount of paid vacation time they receive from their employers.
This actually represents an improvement over previous years' rankings, but any relief this provides is probably temporary. State and regional planners realize that Atlanta's outsized unemployment rate means that fewer people are commuting, and that traffic congestion will probably increase in the coming years. During peak travel periods on the highways, even the high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes are clogged. This has them searching for answers.
One thing they do know is, we cannot continue to build our way out of this mess. Since the early 1960’s, transportation experts have warned against the commonly-held notion that we can solve traffic congestion by building new roads and widening others. Back then, transportation expert Anthony Downs stated it most succinctly:
…peak-hour traffic congestion rises to meet maximum capacity.
Now, publications such as this research paper published in October’s American Economic Review are revealing the complexities of traffic congestion and the underlying psychology of the motorist. They even have a term for it: induced demand. There is such an enormous latent demand for road space, some believe, that whenever a measure is taken that moves a commuter out of his or her automobile, another one quickly grabs the open lane.
Historian Lewis Mumford said it most memorably:
Historian Lewis Mumford said it most memorably:
Adding highway lanes to deal with traffic congestion is like loosening your belt to cure obesity.
If urban congestion cannot be addressed by increasing road capacity, then what should be done?
Georgia’s Express lane project is based on the success of similar projects in other U.S. cities and also congestion-based toll projects in London and Stockholm. Georgia’s Express lane project gives commuters on I-85 more choices.
They can choose to pay extra for a reliable commute time in a high-occupancy toll (HOT) lane, the cost depending on the current average speed in the lane. As the speed decreases due to congestion in the lane, the toll to additional drivers entering the lane rises.
For example, taking the entire 15 miles of Express Lane for your evening commute through Gwinnett County on November 11th would have saved you 12 minutes and cost a whopping $1.85.
Additionally, these same commuters have access to an expanded network of inter-county Xpress buses operated by GRTA, and three new park-and-ride lots.
Motorists, long-accustomed to taxpayer-funded highway projects aimed at accommodating more traffic, are chaffing at the notion of paying a fee for the privilege of getting an unimpeded trip down I-85, even when traffic is heaviest.
Their frustrations, while understandable, do not justify the elimination of the Express lanes. Like all projects of such large scale, complexity and scope, the I-85 Express lanes have their share of start-up problems, and most can be corrected.
More importantly, we struggle with the notion of paying-as-we-drive. Although the daily commute by automobile exacts real costs, costs that accrue while we drive, we are psychologically disconnected from them. We usually buy fuel only once or twice a week. Maintenance and repairs? Once or twice a year. The same applies for insurance.
The price of congestion falls into this list of automobile-related variable expenses. The Texas Transportation Institute estimates that for this wasted time and fuel, each commuter spent roughly $1,100. The same study estimates that traffic congestion cost Atlanta’s employers nearly $2.5 billion in lost productivity.
Conceptually, these costs could be charged to the driver while on the road, as if they were operating a taxi meter. If we were already accustomed to paying-as-we-drive, the Georgia Express lanes would not raise nearly the stink that it has. Drivers would more easily understand the cost of their commute and be better-informed to make the choices that serve them best.
If Atlanta-area motorists don't want to pay congestion-based tolls on the highways, then they shouldn't. But they will still pay for congestion.
Georgia’s Express lane project is based on the success of similar projects in other U.S. cities and also congestion-based toll projects in London and Stockholm. Georgia’s Express lane project gives commuters on I-85 more choices.
They can choose to pay extra for a reliable commute time in a high-occupancy toll (HOT) lane, the cost depending on the current average speed in the lane. As the speed decreases due to congestion in the lane, the toll to additional drivers entering the lane rises.
For example, taking the entire 15 miles of Express Lane for your evening commute through Gwinnett County on November 11th would have saved you 12 minutes and cost a whopping $1.85.
Additionally, these same commuters have access to an expanded network of inter-county Xpress buses operated by GRTA, and three new park-and-ride lots.
Motorists, long-accustomed to taxpayer-funded highway projects aimed at accommodating more traffic, are chaffing at the notion of paying a fee for the privilege of getting an unimpeded trip down I-85, even when traffic is heaviest.
Their frustrations, while understandable, do not justify the elimination of the Express lanes. Like all projects of such large scale, complexity and scope, the I-85 Express lanes have their share of start-up problems, and most can be corrected.
More importantly, we struggle with the notion of paying-as-we-drive. Although the daily commute by automobile exacts real costs, costs that accrue while we drive, we are psychologically disconnected from them. We usually buy fuel only once or twice a week. Maintenance and repairs? Once or twice a year. The same applies for insurance.
The price of congestion falls into this list of automobile-related variable expenses. The Texas Transportation Institute estimates that for this wasted time and fuel, each commuter spent roughly $1,100. The same study estimates that traffic congestion cost Atlanta’s employers nearly $2.5 billion in lost productivity.
Conceptually, these costs could be charged to the driver while on the road, as if they were operating a taxi meter. If we were already accustomed to paying-as-we-drive, the Georgia Express lanes would not raise nearly the stink that it has. Drivers would more easily understand the cost of their commute and be better-informed to make the choices that serve them best.
If Atlanta-area motorists don't want to pay congestion-based tolls on the highways, then they shouldn't. But they will still pay for congestion.
They already do.
