One day me and my friend Kaitlin were going home from College for the weekend, and the traffic was awful! I asked her about it last week! She looked at me in frustration and just said "Ugh! It was such a waste of time!" I then asked her how long it took to get home vs. how long it should have taken us. "Well, it should have taken us 2 hours, but instead it took us 4! We were barley moving! It was awful!"
We proceeded to have a conversation about how there wasn't even anything super majorly wrong that day. No major accidents, no bad weather, etc. It was however rush hour, and a few other events were happening in Salt Lake. Making the traffic extremely worse than usual. While researching this topic, I found that an average American wastes about $2000 yearly by just waiting in traffic. I asked Kaitlin if she knew how much money she was loosing in traffic yearly. "I don't even want to know how much money i'm losing!" She exclaimed. It's a scary thought! As a college student, $2000 almost means a whole semester of college paid for!
I also talked to my uncle about this problem. He had commuted from Payson to Salt Lake City for about 8 years, and recently got a job in Provo. I asked him a few questions about his experience with commuting. To go to work it took him about 40-45 minuets, however, on the way home it always took about 60 minuets. And if that wasn't bad enough, it would take longer as the seasons changed to winter. People drive slower when the weather is worse, and it would be dark when he was on his way home. With no traffic, the commute to work would be only 40 minuets.
I can recall my driving experience in Germany. When we used our car, (which wasn't very often actually) we never once got stuck in traffic. We even drove in Berlin, the Capitol of Germany. In the city, it was busy, but no delays because of traffic. I was never frustrated with construction or traffic while driving to other cities.
This picture is a normal day in Berlin in just about the heart of the City at the Victory Collumn!
So why is it so different in Germany? Why is there little to no traffic, while here, we experience it almost every time we drive? I decided to ask my friend Lucy, who was born and raised in Germany, some questions about her family and what they have done for transportation. She explained that her family has only owned a car once, and that it was for a very short amount of time! The rest of her life she has taken buses and trains. She expressed that the trains are usually very punctual, only ever being about two minuets late. "You can get almost everywhere with trains. The only places you can't reach are the small villages but even those are reachable if you press a button in the train." I believe that this is why Germany has hardly any traffic! If you can get to anywhere you need to on a train tha is easily accessible and affordable, then why drive a car?
We greet you on the longest train platform in Germany!
Having experienced Germany's transportation system firsthand, it brought me to the question of.... Well why in the world doesn't the US have this kind of transportation system? Many people believe it to be money, or the geography of America. Through research however, I found that it may be for a different reason entirely! U.S. cities are not laid out in favor of public transportation systems! Staff writer for Vox, Joseph Stromberg, states "Most of our (USA) cities and suburbs were built out after the 1950's, when the car became the dominant mode of transportation. Consequently, we have sprawling, auto-centric metropolises that just can't be easily served by public transportation." He continues by explain how Highways, curvy roads, and cul-de-sacs would make it difficult to reach bus stops, metro stations,and other destinations on foot. However, think of cities built before 1950's! New York, San Francisco, and Chicago all have a grid system making it possible for public transportation.
So if public transportation isn't the answer for traffic, then what is? the most interesting, and most plausible solution that I came across was self driving cars! I know, sounds crazy! But check this video out!! It explains how self driving work, and how they will help out with traffic! One of my concerns while researching this topic was that every solution that I found would mean a major culture change for the United States, however, that's not the case with this solution! We would be able to go about our everyday lives, just as we would have before. Driving cars. As these cars become more popular, we should see a decrease in traffic. However, this solution will take a few years or decades to make an indent in traffic. As average citizen, we have the potential to help solve the problem in our own personal ways! For example, we can do simple things, such as use the public transportation accessible for us, we can also carpool to work and school! Even something as simple as paying attention to when the car ahead of you is accelerating can help with congestion!
If you ever get the chance to go to Germany, or other European countries, don't be afraid to take advantage of their pubic transportation systems and notice how cultures can vary even just because their cities were built at different times!
