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Rebecca SE Tan
4 August 2022
Introduction
Traffic congestion is an environmental, social, and economic issue – and it has only become worse (Fig. 1). While a 20-minute off-peak trip would have taken 22 minutes in the average peak period in 1982, the same trip would take about 25 minutes in 2019.[1] By analysing this issue of congestion in the United States (US) context, I hope to emphasise how it is not merely an inconvenience but a direct fall from the three dimensions of sustainability.
Total Time Delays
Figure 1. Total time delay from traffic congestion has increased over time.[2]
Effects of traffic congestion
So, what is so terrible about traffic congestion? This section outlines the various problems that traffic congestion poses to elucidate the urgency of a solution. While I delineate three distinct categories for environmental, social, and economic impacts, it is crucial to note that all of these factors are linked. For example, environmental impacts can cause social unhappiness, while social health impacts definitely incur economic costs.
Environmental
Due to the stop-and-go driving pattern associated with traffic congestion, a lot more vehicular emissions are being released.[3] These emissions cause air pollution - gases such as particulate matter, nitrous dioxide, volatile organic compounds, and carbon monoxide can cause complex chemical reactions that result in harmful ozone formation.[4]
Excessive carbon dioxide emissions can also exacerbate climate change. In a study on large urban centres in the US, excess carbon dioxide emission from congestion amounted to 19.5 billion kilogrammes in 2011.[5] Given that the transportation sector accounts for one-third of the US’s carbon emissions, targeting traffic congestion is highly effective in combating global warming. One study suggests that reducing congestion to increase average traffic speeds can lower carbon dioxide emissions by 7% to 12%.[6][7]
Social
The greater emissions from vehicular idling also cause adverse health impacts. Vehicles contribute one-third of the fine particulate matter found in urban areas of the US, which has been associated with premature mortality.[8] Near motorways or busy urban roads, the risk of death from cardiovascular diseases and respiratory disorders is doubled.[9]
Traffic congestion also decreases the overall liveability of an area. Infrastructure and private property become damaged or dirtied from the dust or acid rain produced by traffic.[10] On a more individual level, traffic congestion also increases odour and noise pollution.[11]
Economic
Traffic congestion is also economically inefficient as it wastes time and fuel. In the largest urban centres in the US, congestion is responsible for the wastage of 3.5 billion gallons of fuel in 2019.[12] Traffic congestion also leads to direct time wasted in traffic, as well as indirect time wasted through unnecessary time buffers.[13][14] The average American wastes 34 hours annually in traffic, with those in Los Angeles losing an average of 72 hours.[15][16] The economic opportunity cost of this wasted time stands at $124 billion per year and could increase to $186 billion by 2030.[17]
Beyond the direct costs of time and fuel, traffic congestion also decreases employment growth and economic activity.[18] Time delays raise the shipping costs of businesses and reduce the likelihood of workers accepting job offers.[19] Congestion also decreases international trade, such as that between the US and Mexico, which negatively impacts the national economy.[20]
Discussion
Given that traffic congestion has only been getting worse, it seems that the negative externalities in road usage are still not sufficiently taken into consideration. Hence, I believe that a possible way forward would be country-wide congestion pricing in the US to reduce their toll on environmental, social, and economic aspects of urban life. This solution will be introduced and later analysed in subsequent posts. What do you think about this solution? Are there other effects I’ve missed out? Let me know in the comments below!
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Footnotes
[1] Schrank, D., Albert, L., Eisele, B., & Lomax, T. (2021). 2021 Urban Mobility Report. In Texas A&M Transportation Institute. https://static.tti.tamu.edu/tti.tamu.edu/documents/mobility-report-2021.pdf [2] Schrank, D., Eisele, B., Lomax, T., & Bak, J. (2015). 2015 Urban Mobility Scorecard. Trid.trb.org. https://trid.trb.org/view/1367337 [3] Barth, M., & Boriboonsomsin, K. (2008). Real-World Carbon Dioxide Impacts of Traffic Congestion. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2058(1), 163–171. https://doi.org/10.3141/2058-20 [4] Wee, B. V. (2007). Environmental Effects of Urban Traffic. Threats from Car Traffic to the Quality of Urban Life, 9–32. https://doi.org/10.1108/9780080481449-002 [5] Chang, Y. S., Lee, Y. J., & Choi, S. S. B. (2017). Is there more traffic congestion in larger cities? Scaling analysis of the 101 largest U.S. urban centers. Transport Policy, 59, 54–63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2017.07.002 [6] Greene, D. L., & Schafer, A. (2003, May 3). Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from U.S. Transportation. Center for Climate and Energy Solutions. https://www.c2es.org/document/reducing-greenhouse-gas-emissions-from-u-s-transportation/ [7] Barth, M., & Boriboonsomsin, K. (2008). Real-World Carbon Dioxide Impacts of Traffic Congestion. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2058(1), 163–171. https://doi.org/10.3141/2058-20 [8] Levy, J. I., Buonocore, J. J., & von Stackelberg, K. (2010). Evaluation of the public health impacts of traffic congestion: a health risk assessment. Environmental Health, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/1476-069x-9-65 [9] Hoek, G., Brunekreef, B., Goldbohm, S., Fischer, P., & van den Brandt, P. A. (2002). Association between mortality and indicators of traffic-related air pollution in the Netherlands: a cohort study. The Lancet, 360(9341), 1203–1209. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(02)11280-3 [10] Rose, J. (2019). Acid Rain. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429346378 [11] Williams, I. D., & McCrae, I. S. (1995). Road traffic nuisance in residential and commercial areas. Science of the Total Environment, 169(1-3), 75–82. https://doi.org/10.1016/0048-9697(95)04635-e [12] Schrank, D., Albert, L., Eisele, B., & Lomax, T. (2021). 2021 Urban Mobility Report. In Texas A&M Transportation Institute. https://static.tti.tamu.edu/tti.tamu.edu/documents/mobility-report-2021.pdf [13] People who incorporate time buffers into their travelling time may find their time ‘wasted’ if they arrive at destinations early, as the time could have been otherwise spent. [14] Cambridge Systematics. (2005). Traffic Congestion and Reliability: Trends and Advanced Strategies for Congestion Mitigation. Bts.gov; Federal Highway Administration. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/20656 [15] Chang, Y. S., Lee, Y. J., & Choi, S. S. B. (2017). Is there more traffic congestion in larger cities? Scaling analysis of the 101 largest U.S. urban centers. Transport Policy, 59, 54–63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2017.07.002 [16] Parry, I. W. H. (2009). Pricing Urban Congestion. Annual Review of Resource Economics, 1(1), 461–484. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.resource.050708.144226 [17] Viechnicki, P., Khuperkar, A., Fishman, T. D., & Eggers, W. D. (2015). Smart Mobility Report. https://dabiagk9ykpqc.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/1303/2015/07/Deloitte_Smart-Mobility_2015-1.pdf [18] Hymel, K. (2009). Does traffic congestion reduce employment growth? Journal of Urban Economics, 65(2), 127–135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jue.2008.11.002 [19] Krol, R. (2018). Tolling the Freeway: Congestion Pricing and the Economics of Managing Traffic. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3211645 [20] Cambridge Systematics. (2005). Traffic Congestion and Reliability: Trends and Advanced Strategies for Congestion Mitigation. Bts.gov; Federal Highway Administration. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/20656
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