Raise gas taxes to help road congestion. Gasoline taxes are added onto the per-gallon cost of gasoline at the pump. The extra funds help roadway construction and safety projects. A July 2010 USAtoday.com article stated that, "Americans spent just 46 cents on gas taxes for every $100 of income in the first quarter of 2010." While raising gas taxes is a controversial issue, USAtoday.com states that the American Trucking Associations and AAA motor club favor the taxes because they reduce road congestion. Implementing a higher gas tax would help road congestion because drivers would consider other travel options, like carpooling. A higher gasoline tax would also urge drivers to avoid idling on the road in stop and go traffic, which uses more gas. Drivers would seek to avoid rush hour and travel more during non-peak hours.
Enforce tolls to reduce congestion. The Federal Highway Administration introduced the concept of value pricing. This concept creates tolls or priced lanes during peak hours of road congestion. Electronic tolls help to eliminate delays for drivers. The cost of driving in special lanes with tolls will be appealing to some drivers because these lanes are not congested. The normal free driving lanes will benefit because less people will want to travel on them.
Provide public transportation to reduce the number of vehicles on roadways. The American Public Transportation Association states that public transportation is the solution to traffic congestion. Public transportation, like buses, light rail, commuter rail and heavy rail, are considered high capacity because they carry large numbers of people at one time. This vastly reduces the number of people driving individual cars on the road. Congested cities can shift a portion of their transportation budget into creating a public transportation system.
Increase road capacity to reduce congestion. Narrow and incomplete roads are major creators of road congestion. The National Complete Streets Coalition states that streets made only for cars cause congestion. This organization suggests that cities create larger roads with capacity for walking, bicycling and public transportation. An estimated 44 percent of vehicle trips are for shopping, running errands or going to the gym. Roadways that accommodated drivers other than those traveling to work would help reduce rush hour congestion.
Start an environmental campaign to reduce the number of drivers. Environmental campaigns help people to try other forms of transportation like walking, bike riding or carpooling. Each of these modes of transportation helps reduce the amount of cars on the road and helps decrease carbon emissions into the environment. The campaign will also encourage some professionals to work from home one or more days a week to help the environment and reduce road congestion.
