LA Drivers Get Help with Improved Traffic Flow

By: Ken Philmus, senior vice president and managing director, ACS Transportation Solutions

There used to be a car commercial that ended with the tag line that they “keep America moving”. The idea of always moving forward whether it’s toward something as big as a personal goal or as small as getting home from work – the idea of progress makes everyone feel good.

But as our urban areas grow, traffic congestion grows, meaning drivers are not getting to their destination as fast as they would like. For example, Chicago-area drivers lead the nation, by wasting an average of 70 hours a year stuck in traffic according to the 2010 Annual Urban Mobility Report published by the Texas Transportation Institute at Texas A&M University. And it’s no better on the west coast – drivers in the Los Angeles-area wasted an average of 63 hours according to the same report.

But help is on the way for drivers in the LA area. The Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority is getting ready to improve traffic flow and provide enhanced travel options for two of their busiest highways. With the help of ACS, they are going to allow single passenger vehicles to drive in the “car pool lanes” for a toll. The price will change in real time based upon how fast traffic is moving in the Express Lanes. The goal is to keep traffic moving at 45 mph.

As a worldwide leader in electronic toll collection, ACS already collects half of all tolls in the United States and will operate this part of the system – collecting tolls at highway speeds thanks to transponders in vehicles and video technology along the Express Lanes.

Once the existing roadways are reconfigured to allow the “high occupancy toll” lanes, ACS will truly be helping give drivers in the LA-area a little more time back in their day.

Editor’s Note:

Check out our interview with Ken, on the right column of this blog or at Xerox Real Business Radio on BlogTalk Radio

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  1. […] Miami and Dallas to the south. Farther west, ACS is using the same electronic tolling technology to help drivers in LA […]

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