Glenn writes about a new book on traffic congestion, and how it's a bigger problem than people realize.

I've often thought that it is a massive economic waste. I also think that there are things that could be done about it that would be relatively low cost, and don't involved construction of new highways or relaning the roads. As I've noted before, if I were king, I'd launch a massive public education campaign on lane discipline, and enforce it with tickets. I'd be harder on left lane hogs than on speeders.

If technology allows us to outsource IT, there's no good reason it can't allow us to decentralize internally. It would make a lot of sense for a lot of businesses to move out of downtown areas of major cities, and relocate outwards, just like the people did when it became less desirable to live in the city. Where I work (next to the airport in Tampa) is an awkward location for commuters; and we are right next to a commuter artery. Every weekday I watch the southbound morning commute and the northbound evening commute, and all those poor slobs stuck in that traffic; the company I work for could easily relocate a few miles away and obviate much of that commute for its employees. It'd cost less in rent too.

Telecommuting.

I don't think I've driven 5,000 miles this year.

Plus, I pay no state income tax, despite working for a company based in a state that has one.

Folks, this is the future for jobs that don't require hands-on interaction.

If you don't like rationing by queuing in transportation, wait until we get it in health care...

Faced with a choice between rationing and auctioning in health care.. well.. put me down for rationing.

I'm not, however, claiming that those are the sole alternatives.

There was an article in time magazine, I think that talked about ways of reducing traffic congestion back in like 98, maybe 99.

One of opinions was based on a modeling program that was created to circulation in a living creature, and suggested that more traffic was good. (which I think is stupid, because blood cells can collide with other blood cells, without killing either of the blood cells families, or volleyball teams)

One that I thought was interesting, said exactly the oposite of what Rick C. said. (it wasn't a suggestion, just a description of complexity)

Basicly, the idea was that if you move business into a kinda of near node thingy, then you end up with all local traffic going to a single place, and you basicaly remove the need for interstate/expressway infrastructure. But if everyone from one area, was going someplace else completely, then you actually reduce congestion with a broader batch of commutes.

I can't explain it well, but it was kinda a neat little concept. Instead of having everyone go to the same place, from the same area. Send everyone somwhere else, it removes the necessity of overlap that causes congestion on expressways.

Personaly, I think that those jobs that require physical presense (union jobs and such) could fix just about all of those problems with overlaping shifts of 4 or 2 hours. Instead of having 3 shifts in a 24 hour period, have 6 or 8 or 12.

though that is WAY micro-managing, and would require a lot of parking.

Traffic and merging lanes is the ultimate real world example of the prisoners dilemma.

Merge earlier and prevent the congestion if everyone does likewise or merge at the end and maximize the speed of your tripassuming that everyone will not cooperate.

Interesting comparison to the prisoner's dilemma. The parallel is the recent assumption that drivers cannot be educated, so they must be legislated. I learned to drive in Pennsylvania where they did give tickets for left lane driving. I guess they remember their German roots, where Autobahn traffic flows faster and safer. People also knew how to merge, because (hold on to your seat) it was taught in school and part of the driving test.

Now I am living in California where the driver's test has almost no references to expeditious flow or courtesy. Last week I was held up 1.5 hours in gridlock caused by a merge at a construction site (I-15 South in Cajon Pass). There were plenty of CHP there making sure nobody disobeyed the signs or endangered the workers, but not a single one assisting traffic flow. I don't blame the cops. I *do* blame the state policy makers.

We gotta get off this planet.

It would make a lot of sense for a lot of businesses to move out of downtown areas of major cities, and relocate outwards, just like the people did when it became less desirable to live in the city.

And some do. Unfortunately, many businesses are tied to existing physical infrastructure, and it is not cost-effective (yet) for them to move. And others (e.g. financial services) have to remain in downtowns simply because it is prestigious. Nobody will take seriously (yet) a financial comapny "out in the suburbs".

Luckily, the business I work for is neither.

I live in downtown Chicago, and I don't see the problem with working downtown. Everyone I know walks to work. I think you could better solve this problem by moving everyone into the city, rather than away from it!

The real problem is that having a family in the city is difficult - so address that, and people will stop moving to the suburbs... and causing traffic problems.

Put me in for the telecommuting options. Telecommuting keeps me off the roads and off the airlines. A massive swing to this option would hurt many businesses that are built around people traveling in cars, but other businesses will make up for this.

I'll have to keep this book in mind, and might go out and get it. With any luck, I'll get a letter next month letting me know that I'm going to study this kind of stuff for a few years starting next fall.

To me, this sort of "big picture" stuff (transportation planning) has become more interesting to me than the details of the engineering of the individual structures in that plan, but I still have an engineering mind.

What we need for telecommuting to take hold is a few good examples of successful companies where telecommuting accounts for more than 50% of labor time.

Most employers anticipate a loss of productivity from telecommuters, fearing that their employees would goof off more at home than they already do in the office (case in point: me posting here). Show companies that it's not a rational fear, and it might spread. There's also a fear of reduced comraderie in never seeing co-workers.

Employers also have to decide who pays for the necessary equipment (laptop/PC, high-speed internet connection, VPN tunnelling software, etc) for a telecommuter.

In the end, some jobs (like Lileks' job) can be done and done better by telecommuting (he often talks about how much easier it is to write a column on his own terms in his own environment, instead of in an office). But others, like at Rockwell-Collins, LockMart, or any other place with government contracts and highly sensitive work, can't be done from home.

The problem with left lane hogs needs to be addressed with improved road design in a lot of the US. The network on the 5 through Seattle and the 101 through the Bay Area (to name two I'm really familiar with) are nightmares for allowing sensible lane disciple.