All posts tagged: Congestion

Self-Driving Cars Slated to Clog Roads With Horrendous Congestion

Self-Driving Cars Slated to Clog Roads With Horrendous Congestion

Published by José Betancourt

Sign up to see the future, today Can’t-miss innovations from the bleeding edge of science and tech Self-driving cars might seem like the future, but they still share the same asphalt as your grandma’s ’98 Corolla. That means that their rise may not be a good thing for road congestion. First reported by Bloomberg, new research suggests that as autonomous vehicle companies are on the verge of flooding urban streets with their vehicles, the shift could results in an uptick in car trips overall. In other words, instead of ushering in a peaceful new era of transportation, it’s possible that self-driving cars will instead clog up our communities worse than ever. The new research paper, published in the journal Travel Behaviour and Society, found that automated vehicles in US cities result in a 6 percent increase in vehicle miles traveled (VMT) — the amount of travel for for all vehicles in a certain place over a period of time, a kind of “mileage odometer” for an entire city or region. Autonomous vehicles increase the total …

New York’s Congestion Toll Into Manhattan Upheld by a Federal Judge Over Trump’s Objections

New York’s Congestion Toll Into Manhattan Upheld by a Federal Judge Over Trump’s Objections

Published by Sam Flores

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge has blocked President Donald Trump’s administration’s efforts to halt New York’s first-in-the-nation congestion fee meant to reduce traffic and pump revenue into the region’s aging transit system. U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman on Tuesday ruled that the U.S. Department of Transportation lacked the authority to unilaterally rescind approval of the $9 toll, which former Democratic President Joe Biden initially green-lit. Instead, he sided with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which had argued that the department’s reversal was “unlawful” because the agency had not adequately explained its reasoning. “The Secretary’s actions were arbitrary and capricious, an abuse of discretion, and not in accordance with law,” Liman wrote in his 149-page ruling, referring to Trump’s Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. The judge noted that New York’s legislature passed the toll, which its governor signed into law and received the necessary federal approvals before launching. “The democratic process worked,” Liman wrote, even as he left the door open for future attempts by Trump and other opponents to kill the program, which took effect …

The Hard Numbers Show That the Results of NYC Congestion Pricing Have Been Absolutely Incredible

The Hard Numbers Show That the Results of NYC Congestion Pricing Have Been Absolutely Incredible

Published by José Betancourt

Surprise! A public policy initiative panned by drivers and pro-car pundits turned out to instead be a roaring success that improved traffic congestion, road safety, and even reduced pollution — a godsend not just for those living in Manhattan, but for transit riders, drivers, and outer-borough residents. Congestion pricing is a policy which charges drivers a toll of up to $9 for using surface-roads below Manhattan’s 60th street, an area known as the Congestion Relief Zone (CRZ), which is enforced by over 1,400 license-plate cameras. Critics, including president Donald Trump, assailed the program during the runup period, but after a full year of congestion pricing, the New York Times reports massive wins for people living in Manhattan and beyond. Since the CRZ went into effect on January 5, 2025, the NYT reports an 11 percent decrease in daily vehicle traffic throughout the borough’s central business district. In real terms, that comes out to about 73,000 fewer vehicles per day, or 27 million fewer trips than expected in the program’s first year alone. As a result, …