Beyond Congestion: Pathways for Mobility
On Tuesday March 26, panelists discussed how current transportation networks within major cities do not operate efficiently and future technology will serve a key role in incentivizing change and eliminating congestion. The conversation was initially led by Matthew Raifman, Senior Manager at Ford Smart Mobility. Raifman described congestion as an “excess of vehicles on a portion of roadway at a particular time resulting in a reduction below total possible throughput.” Traffic congestion serves as a negative externality for residents by inducing vehicle costs, greenhouse gas emissions, additional travel time and potential health risks.
Raifman noted that while autonomous vehicles can help reduce congestion, it is not a silver bullet and is unlikely to help dramatically transform the transportation network and get rid of congestion. He emphasized the importance of changing our behavior toward single occupancy vehicles and while technology can help with this necessary shift, policy, regulation, and pricing are key in incentivizing change.