Traffic congestion is a very solvable problem - Tyler Duvall

Tyler Duvall, until recently undersecretary for policy at US Department of Transportation says that of all the major problems of middle class America traffic congestion is the most readily solved.  The media focus on "crumbling infrastructure" but the bigger drain on middle class standards of living is highway congestion. Yet the root cause of congestion is the failure to price scarce roadspace flexibly.

"Prices aren't set to balance supply and demand. Imagine if consumers paid the government a weekly food tax that permitted them to take all the food they wanted from any grocery store. This policy would create massive food shortages.

"Yet, by and large, that’s how we pay for highways in America. As long as highway prices have little to do with highway costs, congestion will be inevitable."

Duvall says that with all-electronic toll technology and carefully implemented variable tolls there are now the tools to balance supply and demand.

He says projects completed to date reveal four critical points:

1) variable pricing immediately and sustainably reduces congestion;

2) the more road space you price, the cheaper the price;

3) most drivers love the experiments once they’re implemented; and

4) pricing can be installed on a road in a matter of months.

"With a growing body of research and real-world demonstrations, policymakers now have a firm foundation on which to build."

This from Duvall's contribution to a policy symposium in the current issue of National Review magazine.

Duvall is said to be joining with others in a new transport policy consulting firm based in Washington DC.

http://article.nationalreview.com/print/?q=ZWFkNGIyOWJkZGJjYjU4ODdiYjc2Y2NmMjg5YjZjYmE=

TOLLROADSnews 2009-02-04