Urban Transprotation Issues in the United States

Poor people and people of color are subsidizing our addiction to the automobile. They pay the highest social, economic and environmental costs and received the fewest benefits from an automobile-dominated transportation system.

Before cars, people traveled by carriages, horses, streetcars and bicycles. These methods of transportation were not as effective as the car, so transportation over long distances was not entirely facilitated. This is why the innovation of the automobile was so important to the creation of suburbs and other areas of living outside the city. Transportation was facilitated and citizens could finally afford to leave the dirty and crowded city and commute from their quiet country homes outside of the mess of people and disease. Since World War II, cars have entirely reshaped cities and their near suburbs dramatically (Chafe).

Residents of Los Angeles have reported that the bus service is inconsistent with the time tables provided which has led many to lose jobs due to late buses (Hayes). Allowing bus-only lanes will increase the service and will decrease the number of late buses (Elkind). Bus-only lanes will function similarly to the carpool lane and will serve as an incentive for private car owners to switch to public transit. Other methods to improve public transit in Los Angeles are costly and will take longer to be made available to the public. For example, creating new rails for the Metro will require a great deal of construction which will increase the amount of traffic.

Where once the idea of taking the bus or other means of public transit was looked down upon recently mass transit is becoming popular and even encouraged. Cities are now beginning to work on improving mass transit in forms of buses, buses and tramlines. This has also been spurred on by the soaring cost of oil in recent years. One can only imagine as oil becomes scarcer how much more it will cost to fill up a gas tank. For situations in which one may need a car ideas such as Uber and car sharing clubs provide the urban dweller the convenience without the cost and overhead of ownership.

Many people sharing one polluting vehicle is better than each driving their own. For many people this is becoming an important issue. If you use public transport you spend on your journey as and when you need to travel, whereas if you own a car you are paying for it all the time, even if you are not using it, as insurance, tax and MOTs need constantly maintaining. If you live in a town or a city where the public transport networks are regular and offer a multitude of routes it makes sense to use it. Especially in big cities like London where the tubes offer a great service, allowing you to travel all over the city without the stress of driving on the busy roads or having to pay the congestion charges.

AVs reduce the need for parking, which is bad for the government considering parking is one of the main sources of income for many cities. Public transportation could also take a major hit with AVs prevailing. One of the highlights of public transportation is the ability to engage in leisurely activities such as reading or using a smartphone; if AVs allow these activities, the use of public transportation could significantly go down. Many jobs could be lost by the reduction in the use of public transport. The commercial transportation sector employs many people, “it is likely that AV technology will eventually lead to the loss of commercial transportation sector jobs at considerable human costs,” (Anderson et al.

Past statistics tell the story of when fuel prices surge, smaller fuel efficient cars are more in demand. Higher fuel prices cause households to reallocate money from other areas to purchase fuels at higher prices because fuel is needed for transportation to and from work. When fuel p... ... middle of paper ... ...lopment far exceeds any other industry in the United States. (McAlinden et al., 2003) There is no doubt that the United States depends heavily on the automotive industry. The economy has always responded to the fluctuations of the automotive industry as well as the automotive industry responding to the economy.

Residents of Phoenix and its suburbs are stakeholders because public health is at risk due to the... ... middle of paper ... ... seen businesses go under during the construction of the light rail and the very community change as more and more developments are constructed. This is a problem that needs to be solved because it has effects in so many areas. People should care because if they live in Phoenix traffic congestion has a direct effect on their health, their economy, and their lives. No one wants to spend more time in a car then necessary, no one wants to breathe in more pollution then necessary, and no one wants to pay increasing gas prices. More questions remain as far as solutions to this problem.

b) Wikipedia defines traffic congestion as the condition on road networks that occur as the use as use increase is characterized by slower speed, longer trip times and increased vehicular queuing. Congestion occurs when the demand for transport is greater than the supply of transport in a particular part of the transport system. Congestion is deemed bad for the economy as it has a negative impact on the business activities that are common in towns like Windhoek. Traffic congestion is popular during the mornings when everybody is travelling to school, work it is also popular during the night when people have knocked off and are returning to their homes. Traffic congestion imposes costs to businesses beyond the mere vehicle and driver costs of delay, including potential effects on inventory costs, logistics costs, reliability costs, just-in-time processing costs and the reductions in market areas for workers, customers and incoming/ outgoing deliveries (NCHRP REPORT 463, 2010, p.10).

Traffic congestion has become a huge problem in the developing countries, such as China and India. Nowadays a lot of people prefer to buy their own cars rather than using public transportation because they think it is more convenient and time-saving. Even though owning a car has so many advantages; however, it has certain setbacks as well, which outweighs the benefits. The more cars we have on roads, the more congestion we will have to deal with on daily basis. In the urban cities of China, such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou traffic congestion is constantly increasing every year because people are buying more cars.