The average LA driver now loses over 100 Hours every year trapped in traffic, making LA one of the most highly congested cities in the world. Angelenos agree: it’s time to get serious about solving our record-breaking traffic problems. The 100 Hours Campaign was launched to bring together solutions from around the world and start a real conversation about what it will take to turn traffic hot spots into models of mobility.
SOLUTIONS
It’s time to have a real conversation about what it will take to get Los Angeles moving again. We’ve compiled solutions that have been proven to work in the greater Los Angeles region and around the world, and will soon add more ideas from thought leaders and transportation experts.
- Safer Walking and Biking Options
- More Transit, Better Transit
- First/Last Mile Solutions
- Ridesharing & On-Demand Shuttles
- Emerging Technologies
- Read More from Experts
- Decongestion Fee System
Look at the options, solutions, and the evidence in each of these areas:
- Safer Walking and Biking Options – Adding bike sharing options, creating protected bike lanes, upgrading crosswalks, and creating safer, more walkable streets are important components of any plan to alleviate traffic. These upgrades provide a sustainable, healthy way to get around during peak traffic hours by making it easier and safer for people to bike and walk. The result is a small but notable impact on the amount of congestion on arterial roads.
Read about efforts to make bicycling and walking safe and enjoyable in Los Angeles and elsewhere:
Aug 21, 2017 – Inside The Audacious Plan to Eliminate Traffic Deaths in L.A., Los Angeles Magazine
Aug 15, 2017 – Federal Study Concludes U.S. Must Change Policies to Curb Epidemic of Deaths Caused by Excessive Motorist Speed, National Association of City Transportation Officials
Aug 09, 2017 – What Would the Perfect Cycling City Look Like?, The Guardian
Jun 23, 2017 – Cities Revive an Old Idea to Become More Pedestrian-Friendly, Governing
Jun 21, 2017 – Beverly Hills Approves Bike Lanes for Santa Monica Blvd, StreetsBlog LA
Jun 19, 2017 – Just How Walkable is LA?, Curbed Los Angeles
Jun 19, 2017 – To be a World Class City LA Must be a Bikeable City, City Watch Los Angeles
Jun 12, 2017 – Vision Zero Aims to Improve Safety along Main, Broadway, Western, Hoover, and More in South L.A., StreetsBlog LA
Jun 05, 2017 – New Bike Lanes Coming to South L.A., Urbanize.LA
May 30, 2017 – Great Streets Upgrade Makes Mar Vista’s Venice Blvd Safer For Walking, Biking, StreetsBlog LA
May 30, 2017 – Metro Bike Share Announces Launch Dates in July in Pasadena and Port of Los Angeles, The Source
May 25, 2017 – City Test Out Low-Cost Fixes to Enhance Pedestrian Safety in South L.A., StreetsBlog LA
May 23, 2017 – Venice Boulevard’s Great Streets Makeover Scheduled for May Debut, Urbanize.LA
May 21, 2017 – Downtown Culver City Bike Lanes Would Connect to the City’s Metro Station, Curbed Los Angeles
May 19, 2017 – New Metro Bike Hub Opens at Red Line’s Hollywood/Vine Station, The Source
May 18, 2017, – City Council Votes to Dedicate $27M to Vision Zero, Its Plan to End Traffic Deaths, Curbed Los Angeles
May 17, 2017 – Are the Pedals of Change in Los Angeles County Gaining Momentum?, The Source
May 16, 2017 – 5 Ways Biking is Getting Easier in L.A., Los Angeles Magazine
May 10, 2017 – How Your Suburb Can Make You Thinner, Politico
May 05, 2017 – L.A. Metro Plans Activities in Support of Bike Month this May in Los Angeles County, Los Cerritos News
May 03, 2017 – Vision Zero Painted Curb Extension Come to Koreatown’s 3rd Street, Streetsblog LA
Apr 06, 2017 – New Metro Employer Bike-Share Discount Could Boost Ridership, KPCC
Mar 02, 2017 – Santa Monica’s Open Street Celebration Could Become Annual Affair, Santa Monica Next
Nov 14, 2016 – Santa Monica “Breeze” Bike Share Celebrates First Birthday, Santa Monica Lookout
Jul 07, 2016 – How Does Downtown L.A.’s Bike-Share System Work?, Los Angeles Times
Oct 2013 – Jeff Speck: 4 Ways to Make a City More Walkable, TED
Sep 2013 – Janette Sadik-Khan: New York’s Streets? Not So Mean Any More, TED
- More Transit, Better Transit Improved transit choices like buses and light-rail are critical for mobility. In Los Angeles, we can alleviate traffic by creating more transit routes based on where people need to go, running buses and light-rail more frequently, building dedicated lanes so buses can move efficiently even in peak traffic periods, and offering real-time transit arrival information so you don’t waste time waiting for the bus. Great transit means you don’t have to drive.Read about efforts to improve transit systems in Los Angeles and elsewhere:
Aug 15, 2017 – Driverless Vehicles and the Future of Public Transit, Metro Magazine
Aug 10, 2017 – To Attract Riders, Call Transit ‘Congestion Free’, CityLab
Aug 08, 2017 – L.A. — the City of Traffic Jams — Finds a Way to Get People Out of Their Cars, The Washington Post
Jun 20, 2017 – Electric Buses are L.A.’s Transit Future, Los Angeles Times
Jun 14, 2017 – Metro’s Phil Washington: Update on LA’s 21st Century Transportation Build-Out, The Planning Report
Jun 01, 2017 – 17 Transit Agencies Team Up to Think About L.A. Bus System Overhaul, Next City
May 26, 2017 – Metro’s TAP Card System is Getting a Major Upgrade, Curbed Los Angeles
May 23, 2017 – Metro’s Purple Line May Finish Construction a Whole Decade Ahead of Schedule, LAist.com
May 19, 2017 – Expo Line Extension Marks First Anniversary, Los Angeles Wave
May 18, 2017 – Metro Plans to Reimagine and Restructure Its Vast Bus System, The Source
May 15, 2017 – The 3 Essential Ingredients for Cooking Up Transit That People Want to Ride, StreetsBlog USA
May 02, 2017 – Reno’s Road to the Future of Autonomous Buses, The Atlantic
Apr 28, 2017 – Metro Mulls Its Transit Options for the Sepulveda Pass, Curbed Los Angeles
Apr 28, 2017 – Transit Plan Takes Aim at LA’s Biggest Freeway Nightmare, Railway Age
Apr 18, 2017 – In the Smart City Race, We’re Betting on Transit, TechCrunch
Mar 27, 2017 – Primer for Newbies: the Purple Line Extension, The Source
Mar 10, 2017 – By Metro Estimates, the Expo Line Just Had Its Best Month Ever, Curbed Los Angeles
Sep 2013 – Enrique Penalosa: Why Buses Represent Democracy in Action, TED
- Decongestion Fee System – One of the most innovative and effective solutions for alleviating traffic is the option to pay for gridlock-free roadways within a designated area, at certain times of the day when congestion is at its worst. In some of the most congested cities in the world, including London, Stockholm, and Milan, adding a decongestion fee system during peak hours has dramatically increased mobility, as well as improved public health and reduced traffic collisions. Fees collected are reinvested in transit options and safer streets. Read about decongestion fee systems being proposed and implemented around the world:
Aug 13, 2017 – Cuomo Calls Manhattan Traffic Plan an Idea ‘Whose Time Has Come’, The New York Times
Aug 13, 2017 – As Inland Toll Lanes Boom, Why are New Freeway Lanes Rarely Free?, The Press-Enterprise
Aug 10, 2017 – The Not-So-Secret Trick to Cutting Solo Car Commutes: Charge for Parking by the Day, The Seattle Times
Aug 03, 2017 – How and Why Road-Pricing Will Happen, The Economist
Jul 2017 – Traffic Congestion Is Counter-Intuitive, and Fixable, ACCESS
Jun 20, 2017 – How Technology Can Eliminate Traffic Congestion, The Wall Street Journal
Jun 20, 2017 – London Mayor Considers Pay-Per-Mile Road Pricing and Ban on New Parking, The Guardian
Jun 15, 2017 – Driving Costs are Hidden. Revealing Them Could Help Reduce Traffic, Medium
Jun 15, 2017 – Pricing Roads for Autonomous Vehicles, City Observatory
Mar 08, 2017 – Self-Driving Cars Can’t Cure Traffic, but Economics Can, The New York Times
Mar 03, 2017 – There’s Only One Way to Fix L.A.’s Traffic, and It Isn’t Elon Musk’s Tunnels. We Need Tolls — Lots of Them, Los Angeles Times
Feb 16, 2017 – Don’t Demonize Driving, Just Stop Subsidizing It, The Atlantic
Feb 02, 2017 – Driving Fee Rolls Back Asthma Attacks in Stockholm, Inside Science
Jan 18, 2017 – Road Pricing Infographic: How Tolling Impacts Various Road Users, StreetsBlog LA
Jun 28, 2016 – Sick from Traffic? Congestion Pricing Could be the Answer and Delhi Could be the Model, Forbes
Sep 2012 – Jonas Eliasson: How to Solve Traffic Jams, TED
- First/Last Mile Solutions – For Angelenos who live more than an easy walk away from a transit stop, public transportation is just out of reach. Los Angeles could provide first/last mile solutions that help people get to and from stations and bus stops. By providing shuttle buses, expanding bike and pedestrian access, and promoting expanded use of ridesharing apps for people trying to get to transit, we can make transit work for more people and take more cars off the road. Read about first/last mile solutions being implemented in Los Angeles and elsewhere:Aug 10, 2017 – Cities Fund Student Transit Passes — Why Not Bike-Share Passes Too?, Streetsblog USA
Aug 02, 2017 – Lyft Partners with Amtrak for First- and Last-Mile Trip Tie-Ins, TechCrunch
Jun 23, 2017 – Culver City Envisions a Transit Oriented Future, Urbanize.LA
Jun 22, 2017 – Walk? Bus? Bike? WeHo Pitches Those Options, WEHOville.com
Jun 09, 2017 – Electric Carsharing Program for Low-Income Communities Kicks Off in Westlake, Curbed Los Angeles
Jun 02, 2017 – Want to Support the Paris Agreement? Stop Driving So Much, LA, Curbed Los Angeles
May 28, 2017 – The Future of European Transit: Driverless and Utilitarian, The New York Times
May 23, 2017 – Transit Hubs: A Growing Lure for Developers, The New York Times
Apr 05, 2017 – Transit is Made for Walking, Transit Center
Jan 22, 2017 – Mass Transit Gets Boost from Ridesharing, USA Today
Jan 19, 2017 – MTC Partners with BART and Scoop to Guarantee Parking Spots for Carpoolers, Metropolitan Transportation Commission
Aug 09, 2016 – A Denver Suburb Bets Big on Free Lyft Rides to Light Rail, The Atlantic
Jun 11, 2016 – Big Blue Bus Launching Cab Service at Expo Line Station, Santa Monica Daily Press
- Ridesharing & On-Demand Shuttles – The future of mobility is upon us, and a smart plan to alleviate traffic embraces ridesharing options that were unthinkable even five years ago. Solutions include creating incentives to share a ride through services like Lyft Line, Waze Carpool and Uber Pool, and providing dynamically-routed shuttles that arrive when called for trips that public transportation doesn’t serve well. These options fill in the transportation gaps for people who want to get around without a car.
Aug 01, 2017 – Lessons from the Fast Lane: Does this Study Prove Car-Pooling Works?, The Guardian
Jun 27, 2017 – Now You Can Book Uber Rides for People Without Accounts or Smartphones—Making It Easier for Seniors, Los Angeles Times
Jun 20, 2017 – A Better Way to Manage How We Get Around, Governing
Jun 20, 2017 – Public Transit Agencies Take a Lesson From Uber, The Wall Street Journal
Jun 08, 2017 – Chariot Expands in S.F. and Eyes Seattle, London, Toronto, SFGate.com
Jun 06, 2017 – How Tech Will Transform Our Public Transport System: Are Uber Buses Driving Our Way?, Huffington Post UK
May 31, 2017 – Waze Will Roll Out Its Carpool App Across California, Los Angeles Times
May 26, 2017 – Can an App Increase Carpooling? Contra Costa Agency’s Partnership with Scoop Aims To Find Out, Government Technology
May 11, 2017 – Citymapper’s Next Stop? Launching a London Bus, WIRED
May 02, 2017 – New York, Pave the Way for Uberized Bus Companies like Chariot, New York Daily News
Apr 07, 2017 – AC Transit Launches ‘Flex’ Program Following Test Period, Passenger Transport
Mar 06, 2017 – How a Failed Experiment Could Still Be the Future of Public Transit, WIRED
Jan 09, 2017 – Ford’s Chariot Ride-Sharing Service Will Expand to 8 Cities in 2017, TechCrunch
Feb 2016 – Travis Kalanick: Uber’s Plan to Get More People into Fewer Cars, TED
Apr 27, 2015 – How the Microtransit Movement Is Changing Urban Mobility, The Atlantic
Mar 13, 2015 – Transportation’s Missing Middle, Strong Towns
Emerging Technologies – Technological innovations have the potential to dramatically change the way Angelenos travel. While the pace of change is uncertain, new technologies—like driverless vehicles, new mobile applications, and connected vehicles—can provide opportunities for meeting travel needs and reducing the social and environmental costs of our transportation system.
Aug 2017 – How Driverless Cars Could Be a Big Problem for Cities, Governing
Jul 31, 2017 – How an Automated Car Platoon Works, U.S. Department of Transportation Volpe Center
Jul 02, 2017 – ‘Netflix of Transportation’ is a Trillion-Dollar Market by 2030 – and this Toyota-Backed Finnish Startup is in Pole Position to Seize It, Business Insider
Jun 20, 2017 – What Will L.A.’s Autonomous Vehicle Future Look Like?, StreetsBlog LA
Jun 19, 2017 – Elon Musk Winning Over LA Politicians for Underground Hyperloop Tunnel Network, Los Angeles Daily News
Jun 18, 2017 – How Driverless Cars, Drones and Other Tech Will Change the Urban Landscape of Southern California, Los Angeles Daily News
Jun 07, 2017 – If Elon Musk Can’t Solve Our Traffic Woes, These Technologies Just Might, NBC News
Jun 07, 2017 – Can Algorithms Design Safer Intersections?, StreetsBlog USA
Jun 04, 2017 – Self-Driving Cars Could Be Terrible for Traffic—Here’s Why, Business Insider
May 26, 2017 – Revolutionising Passenger Experience With Mobility-As-A-Service, Europtransport
May 24, 2017 – Riding Public Transportation Becomes an Easier Choice When Cities Provide Better Data, Curbed Los Angeles
May 23, 2017 – 4 New Technologies Making Traffic Management Smoother & Safer, Tech Guru Daily
May 19, 2017 – Driverless Cars Are as Much an Infrastructure Challenge as a Tech One, American Enterprise Institute
May 17, 2017 – SPUR Talk: Public-Private Partnership and the Future of Mobility, StreetsBlog SF
May 16, 2017 – AI Traffic Lights to End Rush Hour Jams in Milton Keynes, The Telegraph
May 15, 2017 – Savari Works to Bring 5G to Connected Cars, TechCrunch.com
May 12, 2017 – 8 Bright Ideas for Driverless Cities, Citylab
May 10, 2017 – A Single Autonomous Car Has a Huge Impact on Alleviating Traffic, MIT Technology Review
May 02, 2017 – You Say You Want a Transportation Revolution? How About Three of Them?, University of California, Davis
May 01, 2017 – Innovative New Tech Connects Traffic Signals and Cars in Frisco, Texas, GovTech.com
Apr 13, 2017 – The Future or Transportation is Already Here, TED
Mar 22, 2017 – Mobility-As-A-Service: How Driverless Cars Are Going to Redefine Travel, ITProPortal
Mar 20, 2017 – With Mobile App Rewards for Cycling and Walking, Would You Continue to Drive?, The City Fix
Feb 22, 2017 – San Diego to Deploy World’s Largest City-Based ‘Internet of Things’ Platform Using Smart Streetlights, City of San Diego
Oct 11, 2016 – This Seamless, Simple Transit App Wants to Plan and Pay for All Your Trips, Curbed
Sep 08, 2016 – The Third Transportation Revolution, Lyft Co-Founder, John Zimmer
Sep 2016 – Wanis Kabbaj: What a Driverless World Could Look Like, TED
Aug 31, 2016 – Google, Uber, and the Evolution of Transportation-as-a-Service, Stratechery.com
Mar 07, 2016 – In Preparation for Driverless Cars, States Start Upgrading Roads, Governing
Mar 2011 – Bill Ford: A Future Beyond Traffic Gridlock, TED
Mar 2011 – Sebastian Thrun: Google’s Driverless Car, TED
Jan 2011 – Lisa Gansky: The Future of Business is the “Mesh”, TED
Mar 2007 – Robin Chase: The Idea Behind Zipcar (and What Comes Next), TED
The average LA driver now spends over 100 hours every year stuck in traffic. That number is climbing quickly and stands as some of the worst traffic in the entire world. The time we waste costs us each over $2,400 in lost productivity and fuel, to say nothing of the personal sacrifices and complicated life decisions we make every day just to avoid traffic.
For example, see Olympic Blvd above. As this video model demonstrates, current traffic conditions during rush hour are a nightmare, leaving commuters trapped while trying to get on the 405 or just passing through the Westside.
What would happen if we took the best solutions from above and combined them together to form a “Go Zone,” with the goal of reducing traffic congestion in some of LA’s worst traffic hot spots?
100 Hours is a public engagement effort by the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) to explore and discuss real solutions for our worst traffic hot spots in the Los Angeles area so that Angelenos can spend more time on what really matters.
WHY NOW?
The average resident of Los Angeles loses over 100 hours in traffic every year, making the LA commute one of the worst in the world. Without action, this average amount of time spent in traffic is expected to get even worse. The financial and personal costs that Angelenos pay for congestion are staggering: we each spend an average of over $2,400 on lost productivity and fuel alone, to say nothing of the personal sacrifices and complicated life decisions we make every day to avoid traffic. It’s time to have a meaningful conversation about what it would take to not only alleviate traffic congestion in Los Angeles, but make the city No. 1 in transportation innovation.
WHY LOS ANGELES?
As Angelenos cross the 100-hour threshold for amount of time lost to congestion, the region continues to re-imagine its transportation future. Los Angeles County leads the nation in public transportation investments with services such as ridesharing, which provides unprecedented access to mobility without the need to own a car, and significant Vision Zero investments, which aim to make walking and biking safer and more enjoyable. Angelenos have demonstrated that we are ready for a conversation about transportation solutions that get the city moving.
WHAT IS THE ULTIMATE GOAL OF THE CAMPAIGN?
The primary goal of the 100 Hours campaign is to explore and discuss real transportation solutions in light of the record-breaking traffic that our region faces. What lessons can we learn from other regions and how can we implement solutions in a way that works for LA? The first step is to engage Angelenos in a conversation and hear directly from those affected daily by LA traffic.
- How would you like to get around?
- What sacrifices are you currently making because of congestion?
- What alternatives would allow you to live, work and play in Los Angeles more efficiently?
We then plan to gather community ideas and analyze best practices from around the world so we can better understand how Los Angeles can decongest local traffic hot spots and complement regional efforts to improve mass transit.
WHAT’S A GO ZONE?
A “Go Zone” is a concept for addressing specific traffic hot spots with a range of tools and incubating what can work to relieve local traffic problems. The question posed by 100 Hours is, how do we structure Go Zones that make sense for LA?
Elements could include:
- decongestion fees
- new ridesharing models
- “last mile” solutions that bridge the gap from home or work to transit stops.
Our region’s transportation problems can seem daunting, but we hope that focusing on a comprehensive set of solutions for local problems can reignite our imagination.
WHAT’S A “DECONGESTION FEE”?
A decongestion fee is a mobility management tool that aims to combat the negative impacts of traffic and provide congestion relief. Drivers would have the option to pay for less congested arterial roadways during peak times when congestion is at its worst. By charging a fee to enter and use the streets within a highly-congested area at peak periods, drivers would be incentivized to make more informed travel choices and explore mobility alternatives. A decongestion fee system has been proven to reduce traffic enough to make a significant difference. In other cities with high levels of congestion, adding a decongestion fee system during peak hours has eliminated gridlock. For example, Stockholm saw an 18%-22% reduction in traffic with a decongestion fee of approximately $1.50 to $3.00 (in U.S. dollars). A smart system can be customized to the context and geography of Los Angeles with discounts on the fee for low income households, zone residents and higher occupancy vehicles. Although the primary purpose of a decongestion fee is to reduce traffic congestion, it also generates revenue that could be used to fund transit, biking and safer streets that create mobility options into and within a Go Zone.
HOW WOULD THE SOLUTIONS WE DISCUSS IMPACT EQUITY?
Low-income households and communities often pay the highest price for congestion, traveling long distances to work with less flexibility, making the need for solutions especially critical for those concerned with equity. These households would benefit dramatically from improved traffic flow and complementary transit upgrades. Low-income drivers could be provided with an exemption on all or most of a decongestion fee similar to the discounts provided by the Metro Express Lanes Low-Income Assistance Plan. This would maximize the positive impact a Go Zone could have on low-income communities.
CAN WE REALLY REDUCE TRAFFIC IN LA?
Transportation may seem like a daunting issue in LA, but there are proven solutions around the world that have worked to improve traffic flow. We are Los Angeles, a city that has taken on and overcome great challenges. Let’s talk about how we can implement real solutions and make them our own.
HOW CAN I LEARN MORE AND GET INVOLVED? Visit 100HoursLA.com to learn more about the campaign, share your ideas, and find events near you. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
