Congestion Insurance

America's urban centers are plagued with traffic congestion that lowers economic productivity, leaves families stuck in traffic, and threatens our quality of life. In this testimony to the Joint Economic Committee, Reason Director of Transportation Bob Poole demonstrates how a free-flowing and seamless network of High-occupancy Toll (HOT) Lanes can provide a reliable "congestion insurance" policy to millions of American families. "The focus of my comments today is a potential breakthrough idea for addressing the transportation needs of America’s large urban areas. These areas are plagued by traffic congestion. The latest report from the Texas Transportation Institute estimated that the cost of congestion in the largest 75 urban areas is $68 billion per year in lost time and wasted fuel. That number has grown larger every year for the past two decades. That suggests to me that what we’ve been doing to address congestion is inadequate."

Thanks to George Passantino