The Crackdown on Traffic

In a recent CNN Money Article, some of the world’s worst rush hour traffic cities were ranked including: Istanbul, Moscow, Mexico City, Chongqing, Rio de Janeiro, Shenzhen, and the infamous Los Angeles. An EscapeHere article cited a few different cities, noting: Milan, Detroit, London, Brussels, San Francisco, and Dallas. And if you’re from New York, you’ve probably struggled a time or two through traffic as well. Considering how different the lists are, it’s safe to say that traffic is a problem worldwide. With the rapid increase of car ownership, more people are electing to drive than there is road space. At least in major cities, public transportation is more accessible.

San Francisco recently announced the Leap bus, a startup company aiming to provide luxury bus service for a slightly higher fee to city commuters. For now, the bus route only covers a direct 25 minute line from the Financial District to the Marina. The bus runs during morning and evening hours equipped with juice service, bar stools, Wi-Fi, USB ports, and tabletops. The back of the bus has a collaborative area while the front remains more reserved for solitary work. Watch the video below for more information.

Even with innovations in public transportation, city traffic remains a problem. No only is it bad for commuters, it’s also bad for the environment, contributing to elevated levels of smog and carbon dioxide emissions. As an alternative, some cities are aiming to band driving personal vehicles all together!

Milan, one of the worlds smoggiest cities, is offering free public transit vouchers as an incentive to leave personal cars at home. Each day someone leaves their car at home, they receive a voucher for the appropriate train or bus ticket in the mail. Madrid has entire “car-free” zones, completely banning vehicles from many streets. In months to come, this zone will expand even further. Paris saw a drastic increase in pollution levels in 2014 after which they banned all vehicles with even number license plates from driving on the streets. They saw a 30% decrease pollution levels, prompting the government to move forward with increased car restrictions.

It is impressive to see cities moving forward on solid initiatives to reduce traffic and carbon emissions. It would be interesting to see an initiative like this passed in the United States. Would a large city like New York accept a ban on motor vehicle road access? Would Los Angeles? The gut instinct is “absolutely not!” But who can tell what the future holds.

from Mark Cohen http://ift.tt/1PH5YNf