Background Information And Tariff Problem

For more than half a century, the problem of increasing traffic on freeways, especially during key commuter hours, continues to plague us. Although various solutions have been proposed, and even implemented - such as the addition of car pool lanes, the use of commuter trains, toll charges, and traffic restrictions during the peak rush hours - the efficient reduction of freeway traffic continues to elude us. In Europe, some countries have levied heavy toll charges for driving during rush hour. All of these solutions inconvenience commuters since most people insist upon having their vehicles readily available to them rather than sharing public transportation. Because of this, none of the previously listed measures has permanently solved the problem of gridlock on overburdened freeways.

During the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, traffic planners dreaded complete congestion on the main freeways due to an additional 6 million visitors there for the event. Instead, they observed an unexpected "miracle" in freeway traffic by simply applying a few voluntary changes in traffic flow management, which reduced the traffic congestion by nearly 60%. Since then, traffic specialists have made numerous attempts to duplicate the effect but have been unsuccessful. Every year, traffic jams have only worsened, making freeways look like parking lots during the peak commute hours. In the United States alone, people lose 3.7 billion hours per year sitting in stop and go traffic, burning 2.3 billion gallons of fuel in the process.
http://www.ibm.com/smarterplanet/us/en/transportation_systems/overview/index.html

Without a doubt, solving this vexing problem requires a new approach. When asked what people hate most about commuting, the answers typically involve having to put up with slow and go or stopped traffic. This freeway congestion ultimately leads to fatigue, wastes fuel, causes accidents (sometimes fatal) and takes away valuable time at home. If you were to ask what the ideal solution would look like, the answer would be a commute system that would let us keep our vehicles so that they are available to us whenever we want, while at the same time unclogging freeways, reducing accidents and smog, and allowing us to reach our jobs feeling refreshed. Could a system like this actually exist? My answer is yes!

Here’s the problem today:

The main problem with traffic congestion on freeways is that people insist on driving their cars to work for the convenience during and after working hours. Unfortunately, this car dependency causes horrendous traffic jams with severe side effects, such as vehicular accidents and fatalities, reduced productivity due to fatigue, higher costs of fuel, wear and tear on vehicles and environmental pollution that causes long-term health problems. My system promises a solution that will see a significant reduction in all of these problems while creating friendly commutes that will keep our environment clean, save lives, save money and time, and extend the lives of our vehicles. My system would use present day technology that can easily be implemented in a short time, and it would not cost as much as the other systems. My proposal, once operational, will reduce traffic on freeways by 40% to 50% or more without the additional building of freeways. This new concept is environmentally friendly, reducing our reliance on foreign oil, and it ensures a very pleasant commute. Unfortunately, two present-day solutions are not particularly as effective in permanently solving the freeway traffic congestion problem:

1) Car pool lanes have been added at an enormous cost, but that idea, while helpful, has not been very successful in permanently reducing traffic jams on freeways in any appreciable way. Commuters prefer to use their own vehicles on a daily basis.

2) Metro trains have been used to carry passengers along major freeways, but they require people to leave their cars and solely depend on public transportation that most commuters resist. The result is that metro trains and rail lines are underutilized and therefore not very effective in permanently reducing traffic.

My solution overcomes the issues that keep these two solutions from being effective in reducing traffic congestion.

I have applied for three U.S. patents, for this innovative way to solve traffic problem on freeways that, when fully implemented, will have all the attributes of the ideal solutions commuters crave, while at the same time could cost less than other solutions and can be enabled worldwide using present day technology. I call this system "The Rapid Commute System."

My proposal would :

1. Eliminate traffic jams on most heavily-traveled freeways by reducing traffic 50% or more, when fully implemented.
2. Allow targeting of problem freeways that have chronic traffic congestion problems.
3. Save untold lives by eliminating rush-hour traffic accidents.
4. Eliminate the need to widen freeways.
5. Reduce smog on a major scale.
6. Save enormous amounts of gasoline per year, thus reducing our reliance on foreign oil.
7. Be environmentally friendly.
8. Be cost effective.
9. Be implementable in a relatively short time.
10. Be adaptable worldwide.
11. Be readily accepted and enthusiastically utilized by the general public.
12. Eliminate the need to change carpool lanes into toll lanes, as recently proposed.
13. Allow change of present carpool lanes to regular traffic lanes, thus further reducing traffic on freeways.
14. Help increase productivity by reducing stress and fatigue among commuters.
15. Allow commuters their cars on both ends of the commute.
16. Cut valuable travel time by half and provide a pleasant commute.
17. Eliminate the problem of slow drivers in fast lanes. This causes horrendous traffic jams during rush hours.
18. Remove the biggest obstacle to living in the suburbs as length of commute would become irrelevant.
19. Save wear and tear on the vehicles.
20. Eliminate the depreciation of the value of the commuter's car due to higher mileage.

My solution would be implemented in two phases, one of which will immediately reduce traffic congestion. Phase I could be ready within one or two years, causing noticeable reductions in traffic on specific routes. Phase II could take up to five years. This five-year period is not significant when compared to the 5 to 10 years it takes to complete a new freeway, from the time the project is identified to the time the road is built. http://www.gov.ns.ca/tran/highways/faq.asp

Unfortunately, while freeways are being widened, the number of cars each year continues to increase, nullifying any gains. The net result is that freeway congestion remains the same and in some areas even worsens. My proposed system would make the gains in traffic reduction on freeways permanent. The proposed Phase I and II are not mutually exclusive. One municipality may decide to forego Phase I, and move directly into Phase II while another decides to use Phase I and never advance to Phase II. Larger municipalities might have both phases operating in different locations, using different routes. Either way, the observation of substantial traffic reduction on routes where the plan(s) are operational is ensured.