[Op-Ed] How to Ease Traffic and Fix America's Roads—Charge for Them

[cpzilliacus]

National Journal: How to Ease Traffic and Fix America's Roads–Charge for Them

The federal government has failed miserably at keeping a steady stream of reliable funding headed to the states for roads. It's time for Washington to get out of the game. In the past year, lawmakers couldn't even put together a whole highway bill, barely cobbling together enough money to cover two years when past measures have spanned five to six years. (The last full highway bill passed in 2005.)

Meanwhile, traffic is getting steadily worse. The most recent analysis from the Texas A&M Transportation Institute found that, nationwide, the average commuter endured 34 hours of delay in a single year, up from 14 hours in 1982. What's more, those delays cost $100 billion in lost productivity, the researchers say.

[agentsteel53]

34 hours of delay in a single year

if I tried working 9 to 5, my normally 20 minute commute would be 65 minutes in, and 110 minutes home.  that's an excess of 135 minutes per day, multiplied by 200 work days a year, for a total of 450 hours.

I have 34 hours of delay in a single year even if I work a shifted schedule (6 to 2, generally).

[cpzilliacus]

34 hours of delay in a single year

if I tried working 9 to 5, my normally 20 minute commute would be 65 minutes in, and 110 minutes home.  that's an excess of 135 minutes per day, multiplied by 200 work days a year, for a total of 450 hours.

I have 34 hours of delay in a single year even if I work a shifted schedule (6 to 2, generally).

I can think of a fair number of roads in Metropolitan Washington, D.C. that waste that much time in a year, starting with the Capital Beltway (I-495) through Montgomery County, Maryland.

A trip on that segment of highway that would take 20 or 25 minutes can take well over an hour instead. 

[J N Winkler]

34 hours/year multiplied by a commuting population of 200 million and the current federal minimum wage rate of $7.25/hour amounts to a $49.3 billion annual surplus which is theoretically available from eliminating all congestion (not that this is realistically possible).

[1995hoo]

34 hours of delay in a single year

if I tried working 9 to 5, my normally 20 minute commute would be 65 minutes in, and 110 minutes home.  that's an excess of 135 minutes per day, multiplied by 200 work days a year, for a total of 450 hours.

I have 34 hours of delay in a single year even if I work a shifted schedule (6 to 2, generally).

I can think of a fair number of roads in Metropolitan Washington, D.C. that waste that much time in a year, starting with the Capital Beltway (I-495) through Montgomery County, Maryland.

A trip on that segment of highway that would take 20 or 25 minutes can take well over an hour instead. 

I'm sure I'm not the only person who, when planning to go somewhere that requires a 15-mile drive, will often allot 45 minutes to make the trip.

[agentsteel53]

34 hours/year multiplied by a commuting population of 200 million and the current federal minimum wage rate of $7.25/hour amounts to a $49.3 billion annual surplus which is theoretically available from eliminating all congestion (not that this is realistically possible).

I'll bet the 49.3 billion is double that, given that most people make over federal minimum wage (one reason being that their state minimum wage is higher).

[kphoger]

34 hours of delay in a single year

if I tried working 9 to 5, my normally 20 minute commute would be 65 minutes in, and 110 minutes home.  that's an excess of 135 minutes per day, multiplied by 200 work days a year, for a total of 450 hours.

I have 34 hours of delay in a single year even if I work a shifted schedule (6 to 2, generally).

At 245 workdays per year, 34 hours per year comes to an average of just over four minutes' delay one-way.  This is supposed to translate to lost productivity?  Is it unreasonable to assume commuters will simply leave the house four minutes earlier and get home four minutes later?

[wphiii]

34 hours of delay in a single year

if I tried working 9 to 5, my normally 20 minute commute would be 65 minutes in, and 110 minutes home.  that's an excess of 135 minutes per day, multiplied by 200 work days a year, for a total of 450 hours.

I have 34 hours of delay in a single year even if I work a shifted schedule (6 to 2, generally).

I can think of a fair number of roads in Metropolitan Washington, D.C. that waste that much time in a year, starting with the Capital Beltway (I-495) through Montgomery County, Maryland.

A trip on that segment of highway that would take 20 or 25 minutes can take well over an hour instead. 

I'm sure I'm not the only person who, when planning to go somewhere that requires a 15-mile drive, will often allot 45 minutes to make the trip.

I refuse to even touch the Beltway in the morning until after 10, and then again between 3 and 7 in the evening. I'll gladly use MD 410 or 193 as an alternate if I really need to make an east-west trip during those rush hours.

[J N Winkler]

I'll bet the 49.3 billion is double that, given that most people make over federal minimum wage (one reason being that their state minimum wage is higher).

This is a valid point (though Washington state, which at present seems to have the highest state minimum wage in the US, does not mandate more than $9.04/hour).  Looking more closely, I think the TTI's estimate of $100 billion in lost productivity due to congestion is actually based on the US average hourly wage ($23.63/hour in November 2012, per a quick Google search) with adjustments to reflect the facts that (1) not all drivers affected by congestion are commuters, and (2) leisure time is typically valued differently from working time.  Without these adjustments, the "congestion cost" computes out to about $160.7 billion.

[cpzilliacus]

34 hours of delay in a single year

if I tried working 9 to 5, my normally 20 minute commute would be 65 minutes in, and 110 minutes home.  that's an excess of 135 minutes per day, multiplied by 200 work days a year, for a total of 450 hours.

I have 34 hours of delay in a single year even if I work a shifted schedule (6 to 2, generally).

I can think of a fair number of roads in Metropolitan Washington, D.C. that waste that much time in a year, starting with the Capital Beltway (I-495) through Montgomery County, Maryland.

A trip on that segment of highway that would take 20 or 25 minutes can take well over an hour instead. 

I'm sure I'm not the only person who, when planning to go somewhere that requires a 15-mile drive, will often allot 45 minutes to make the trip.

I refuse to even touch the Beltway in the morning until after 10, and then again between 3 and 7 in the evening. I'll gladly use MD 410 or 193 as an alternate if I really need to make an east-west trip during those rush hours.

For some Capital Beltway trips, Md. 200 is a good alternative for me.