If I told you that there was an easy way to solve or at least greatly reduce climate change, you would think it a a scam, as it must be impossible. But there is actually a way to put a massive dent in our CO2 emissions and slow climate change, and there’s more!

In saving our cities and our planet, we have a lot of Problems to Solve:

• Reducing Traffic & Congestion

• Getting People to Choose Zero Emission Vehicles

• Generating Sufficient Funds for Transit and Roads

• Making Micromobility Safer

How could *one thing* solve all of these problems? It might sound too good to be true, but I assure you it is not.

• We need people to choose zero emission vehicles. 

• We need people to take transit when available. 

• We need people to cycle/walk/scoot when possible and to feel safe doing so. 

• We need all of the roads, bridges, tunnels, pathways, streets, rails that we ride on to be smooth and sturdy. 

• We need to spend our time living life, not creating traffic.

• We do NOT want to limit people’s ability to be where they wish to be. Getting there safely, efficiently, comfortably is the key.

The Travelometer

The Solution is the Travelometer — A vehicle system that measures the utilization of the vehicle. Utilization variables tracked would map to key policy-oriented criteria, fees can then be calculated and a connection made for remittance. So Local/Regional/State/Federal policies can be implemented to affect the change they wish to see for their area and charges assessed and collected accordingly.

Potential variables include:

• VMT (Vehicle Miles Traveled)

• vehicle capacity

• vehicle occupancy

• source of fuel

• location

• day/date/time

• local status/congestion

• area population density

Fees could be:

• Fixed — much like a toll today for say the Golden Gate Bridge or the Pennsylvania turnpike

• Dynamic — e.g., crossing mid-town Manhattan is $1 at 2am, but it is $20 during rush hour

• Temporary — e.g., Hwy 447 in NV over Labor Day, Route 86 in SoCal in April

• Variable — e.g., 50% of fee if your vehicle is fully occupied and ZEV, 200% of fee if it’s a single driver in an empty diesel truck

• Situational — e.g., curb management vs. parking — too long in a pickup/dropoff area results in an additional fee.

• Creditable — e.g., merchants or employers could pay into someone’s account for their travel as an incentive.

• Or NONE AT ALL — I’m looking at you Texas & New Hampshire. You do not have to use the Travelometer data if it is in a vehicle, but if you want a way to change things for transportation in your state, region, town, this would enable you to do so.

Revenue generated would go directly to infrastructure — roads, pathways, transit, building a charging network. And this is all without constructing another toll plaza, operating any parking meters, live policing in anyway. So if San Francisco wants congestion pricing it can do it without buying any systems or sensors or maintaining a camera network. What’s even better is that Shreveport, Salisbury, Salinas, Stockton, Salem, and anywhere else would also be able to do this. Communities can affect the change they wish to see by ensuring the technology is required in vehicles and then using it.

This technology is available in nearly every new vehicle manufactured TODAY— it is simply aggregating data that is already generated. Component cost estimates are less than $20 if included as original equipment and no more than $50 if it is an aftermarket device.

What’s the catch? Only that legislators would have to require it in all motor vehicles that pass through their area. But if you had the power to solve Climate Change, Traffic, Congestion, Transit and Road funding, and make it safer for people to travel by bike and other lighter modes, why wouldn’t you exercise it?

In an effort to make this a quicker read, I glossed over the “how easy this really is” and “why these things can/will happen”. I would love to hear from you if you have questions or ideas about this concept.

originally published on Medium 10/25/18