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IBM Patents Pricing Motorists Off Highways
theodp writes "Self-professed patent reformer IBM snagged a patent Tuesday for the Variable Rate Toll System, which covers the rather anti-egalitarian scheme of pricing motorists off of the roads by raising tolls as congestion increases. 'Congestion pricing of traffic is emerging as a completely new services market for IBM,' boasted Jamie Houghton, IBM's Global Leader for Road Charging."
As congestion increases, tolls increase, so more people, instead of traveling on toll roads designed to take the kind of abuse that volume and congestions provide, begin taking surface streets which are not designed for these kinds of volume.
So the toll makes out even, or slightly ahead at best. While the tax payers have to pick up the tab to repair the surface streets that are now getting heavier traffic because of increased pricing on toll roads.
So people with money get to work faster, and people with out will get taxed more. Sounds like a great idea.
-Rick
"Most people in the U.S. wouldn't know they live in a tyrannical state if it walked up and grabbed their junk." - MyFirs
I like this idea. No, really.
If you live in the sticks, I imagine this won't be too much of a problem for you. I don't live there and don't intend to find out for sure. Me, I live in Philadelphia (home of the useless muni wifi). I used to work in the far suburbs. I had two options for getting there: 1) Drive on the Schuykyll "Expressway," or 2) take the train. Of course, I had to wait for the train, but then again I didn't have to wait in traffic - evens out. But I could read a book on the way to work, and overall I saved gas money. And in so doing, I'm pretty sure I helped the environment to boot.
If I want to go downtown to the Gallery mall, I can drive, or I can take the trolley that runs one block from my apartment. The trolley goes underground at 40th Street, so it can zip through what would normally be some nice urban gridlock to 13th Street, the end of the line. The Gallery is two blocks on foot from there. Total time saved - usually 10 minutes or so, plus, again, I can read a book and not use gas.
Hey, where'd you get your car? I'd like a free one too. Cost, maintenance, and possibly storage would drive your 55 cents up a bit.
How about encouraging businesses to allow employees to stagger their work schedules (were possible), instead of the entire workforce driving in at 8am and leaving at 5pm?
In Florida I once saw a business on a busy corner offer a $0.25 "toll" route through their parking lot, to bypass the light. Many people paid the quarter to skip the 2-3 minute wait for the light to cycle twice. I am surprised this is not more common, there are many places where I live now (Nashville) that this would work.
I do actually think that roads are a perfectly legitimate thing for governments to spend money on
Really? I think they should organize the building of roads, but not pay for them. Not one dime. Just like water, sewer, or electricity.
Sure, roads are valuable and necessary. And without eminent domain, making them would be ridiculous. But beyond that, I think they should get paid for from user fees. Subsidizing them has led to all sorts of inefficiencies, and created a lot of unnecessary dependence on them.
Fifty years ago, the only way we could do that is with toll roads, which are expensive to run and annoying to use. But with modern tech, we can easily do usage metering and congestion pricing. If I can pay by the trip for my car, there's no reason I shouldn't pay for the road the same way.
Yes they will, and they will still be charged for using the HOV lanes. At least that is the way it works in part of CA where I live. Sure they get charged less for the moment but as more and more people begin to carpool these rates will climb to ensure the same amount of revenue for the powers that be. In CA they raised the gas taxes to punish the SUV drivers and make a buck. When everyone bought a hybrid suddenly the budget no longer balanced so they, yeup you guessed it, raised the gas taxes to make up the shortfall.
The real crime here is tax dollars are used to build these highways then they are leased to private companies who spend a tiny fraction of the cost to add some cones and toll booths. The companies get rich, hand the lanes back 10 years later at the end of the lease and more tax dollars are needed to repair them.
People already DO carpool. I used to live in southern New Jersey, and a bunch of people who all worked in downtown Philly all got together and bought a bus and took turns driving it in. It was a long commute made bearable by carpooling. More people would carpool if the money was right, even if one of those people isn't you.
People don't use the carpool lanes now, but there is no financial incentive to do so.
W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
I live in Tucson, I have no car, and it's OK. It is possible for ME at least to have a reasonable quality of life without a car. I walk or ride my bike to work. I take the bus when I need to. The hardest thing is transporting groceries by bike, but it's not too hard either. I'm doing this on purpose of course; I got rid of my car ten years ago and I don't regret it. But it goes against the grain of our culture to be middle aged with no car. I'm not saying it is easy.
I think your list of cities that support car-free life is too short. I would add at least Washington DC. Probably most of the major cities (Chicago, Seattle, Miami...) would be tolerable for the car-eschewing citizen. LA feels like an exception, but I haven't really lived there.
The only way decent public transport is going to be built is if there is a DEMAND for it, and the supply is going to come along later.