Traffic jams and commute chains
Hi everybody!
Everyday on my way home, I see long lines of cars with a single person in them. They move at very slow speed, 10-20 km/h at most and are constantly starting and stopping. This is what makes the commute the worst part of the day for so many people. And I know you have been exposed to this as well.
While those drivers slowly crawl toward their homes, buses, trams and other means of public transportation drive by them in special lanes. The public transit is warmer, noisier and crowded, but also faster in this situation. But for some reason people still choose to commute by car.
Of course, I look at it from a North European point of view. Gothenburg have a good public transit system with special lanes for buses and for bicycles. Real time updates on when the bus/tram will arrive is a natural thing. It is easy to promote non car alternatives in those circumstances. But even in places with less developed transit systems it is often possible to switch to a bus commute.
Do you remember when I discussed commute chains?. Lets repeat the concept. If you calculate the time and cost of driving from point A to B, and then calculate the time and cost of taking the bus to the train station, hopping on to a train and so on, and compare those to to taking the bike to the train/bus station, you might be surprised to find that little time is lost, but time for work and/or relaxation and exercise is added. Sounds complicated? It only takes two minutes with Commute Greener!
One of the benefits of doing this kind of calculation is that it shows how much time is spent idly sitting in the car while waiting for the line to start moving. That is after all a huge source of stress, especially in cities with long commutes and vast amount of traffic. Perhaps it is possible to cycle to the bus station, and take a bus from there?
The bottom line is that something have to be done to reduce traffic jams during rush hour. Public transportation is one area with large potential for improvement, if only the politicians and city planers understand that more roads for more cars is like pouring gasoline on the fire. If more people used mass transit, and commute chains became a more common subject, we might even raise awareness about environmental, health and wealth benefits of a public commute.
Well, that’s all for today. Have a nice day, follow us on twitter and facebook, watch us on youtube and use the new facebookapp.
By the way, vacation time have started here in Sweden, so there will not be as many updates for a while. Have a nice summer everyone!
I’m off
Fredrik





Jan Arvidsson a windy day at Orust