Opinion: Stuck in Traffic? Here's a Way Out

(Sept. 7) -- If clogged roads are any indication, summer is definitely over. But for those sitting in traffic checking news reports on their mobile phones, you'll be glad to hear that your daily commute isn't so bad.

What's that? You disagree? You say your drive to and from the job is actually a miserable, soul-crushing nightmare without any relief in sight?

Well, everything's relative.

A new study indicates that commuting is actually four times more painful in Mexico City or Beijing than it is in Los Angeles, often regarded as America's heavyweight champion of traffic congestion. Tie-ups in Johannesburg, Moscow and New Delhi also make driving in major U.S. cities seem easy by comparison. Commuters in these foreign cities report truly epic jams as well as skyrocketing stress and anger.

And, perhaps because of this, they're leading the way to innovative solutions.

Fixes can't come soon enough here at home. Traffic congestion isn't just an inconvenience, but a pernicious drag on the economy that exacts a terrible price from everyone. Consider:

• Traffic congestion costs the U.S. economy $87 billion annually in lost productivity and wasted fuel.
• It robs the average traveler of one week each year in wasted time.
• It pumps pollutants into our air and creates untold stress -- both of which have serious health ramifications.

It's not as though we haven't tried for years to tame this monster. But the traditional remedies for road congestion -- adding a lane or widening a highway -- haven't made the daily commute any easier. They've offered temporary relief at best, as new drivers keep coming and coming until the expanded roadway once again resembles a parking lot.

The good news is that a number of cities outside the U.S. are leading the way in embracing new strategies in the war on traffic.

In Singapore, transport officials collect traffic data from GPS devices in taxis and from tiny sensors embedded in the roadway. They can analyze the information with sophisticated algorithms to predict traffic jams before they happen.

City planners in Kyoto, Japan, simulate large-scale traffic situations involving millions of vehicles to analyze urban impact. The system can optimize traffic lights to reduce jams and predict the effect that a new shopping mall or traffic regulation will have on a community's roads.

These cities have arrived at a crucial insight -- making optimum use of the existing infrastructure is often the best way to keep vehicles moving. They understand that advances in technology have opened up new -- and cost-effective -- ways of tackling the problem.

Meanwhile in China, officials are addressing roadway traffic in a number of ways, including with high-speed rail, an enormously attractive alternative to the automobile. Rail is two to five times more energy efficient than road or air transportation. And passenger travel by rail produces as little as one-tenth the carbon dioxide of cars or airplanes.

China is reportedly investing $300 billion in a national high-speed rail network connecting Beijing and other major cities. Slated to be completed in 2020, the system will provide China with a big competitive advantage. A good analogy is the construction of the Interstate Highway System in the United States in the 1950s and '60s. The interstates were essential in promoting commerce and driving innovation across a broad swath of industries.

The $8 billion that the U.S. federal government is investing in high-speed rail is a good start -- but only a start. Far more needs to be done -- and not just in rail. We need a holistic approach that addresses the entire transportation system, including highways and urban streets.

President Obama's new $50 billion transportation proposal -- announced Monday -- incorporating rail, roads and runways, is an important step in the right direction. For maximum impact, a portion of the funds should be allocated to projects that use technology to speed traffic flow on existing thoroughfares -- such as predictive systems that enable officials to reroute traffic to avoid tie-ups.

The U.S. needs to recapture the initiative in creating transportation systems that work. The stakes are too high for an unimaginative or lackluster approach. Today, leaders outside of the U.S. have seized the advantage in embracing new transportation solutions.

We could use some of those innovative ideas right here at home.

Kerrie Holley is an IBM Fellow and chief technology officer of IBM's Global Business Services.