Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In

traffic.jpg
Would they get out of their cars if they could surf the Web on the bus?

A recent article in USA Today looks at technological fixes for environmental problems -- including traffic -- caused by America's exploding consumption of resources.

The USA is growing more rapidly than any other developed nation and isprojected to gain another 100 million people by 2040. That will put newpressure on a public infrastructure that's already stretched thin....Attoday's consumption rates, the nation will need another 280,000 milesof highway, and 78 million more cars and trucks will jam roads by 2040,according to the Federal Highway Administration and the Center forEnvironment and Population, a non-profit research and policy group inNew Canaan, Conn.

Measures aimed at reducing traffic include some predictable technology designed to speed drivers. But some communities are actually trying to lure customers onto public transit with high-tech infrastructure:

The Utah Transit Authority, which manages public transportation in the Salt Lake City area, is testing electronic wireless credit and debit cards on 44 buses. Credit cards can be waved in front of a machine to pay fares. There's no fishing in your pocket for change, no need to swipe a card and wait for approval. Using the "contactless" cards can save up to one minute per passenger who would normally pay cash. About 135,000 residents in the six counties the Utah authority serves -- or about 3% of the area's population -- use public transit each day. The agency hopes to boost ridership 7% a year.

The American Public Transportation Association says a key to getting more people out of their cars and onto buses and trains is to expand bus and rail systems and make them quick and convenient to use. Buses and trains increasingly are being equipped with global positioning system devices. They help pinpoint underused and congested routes and enable agencies to map routes and draft more precise timetables for riders.

Meanwhile, more than a dozen transit systems from Pompano Beach, Fla., to Reno are offering Wi-Fi access on buses and trains to attract commuters who want to surf the Internet on their way to work.

Houston TranStar, a group of transportation agencies in the Houston area, this summer will try to speed up bus and rail fare payments by replacing more than 60 current ways to pay fares (monthly passes, visitor passes, student passes, senior passes, etc.) with three: cash, the smart "Q Card" and "Metro Money," a temporary smart card that can be purchased in stores. Smart cards are swiped at stations or on buses and the fare is automatically deducted from a rider's prepaid account.

Whether such innovations will get more people to ride trains and buses is unclear. "You're going to have to see gasoline go over $10 a gallon," Daniels says.

Photo: Stromo via flickr 

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Tuesday’s Headlines Show Elections Have Consequences

"Woke" transit agencies need not apply for federal grants now that father of nine Sean Duffy is in charge.

May 20, 2025

Should We Treat the Local Bus As a Basic Right?

There's a way of framing public transit that makes the bus a useful mobility tool for everyone: as a moving extension of the sidewalk network.

May 20, 2025

Op-Ed: Public Transportation is Key to Social Mobility

"As wealth inequality grows and social mobility becomes more difficult, people without access to mobility will be left behind."

May 19, 2025

Car Harms Monday: Machines Took Over Cities and Left Humans in the Dust

There isn't enough physical space for every single household to store its fleet of personal vehicles in front of the home, nor is there space for everyone to drive at the same time. So let's fix that.

May 19, 2025

What Are University Transportation Centers — And Why Did Secretary Duffy Decimate Their Budgets?

University Transportation Centers are "where innovation happens." Earlier this month, though, the Trump administration took a sledgehammer to their budgets.

May 19, 2025

Monday’s Big, Beautiful Headlines

Ride-hailing and delivery apps are backing the Republican reconciliation bill because it includes a tax exemption for drivers' tips.

May 19, 2025
See all posts