The Sunday Times reports in article "Road Congestion figures show fall" reports that while road congestion is increasing in many countries, it is falling in the UK. The figures provided by Trafficmaster show an average reduction in congestion levels falling by 3% between 2004 and 2005.
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It is interesting that the article speculates that higher fuel prices (which have increased 20% in the same period) are the cause rather that better technology. I would have thought that technology improvement such as the M25 variable speed limits that have eased traffic flows, and the London congestion charge would have warranted a mention. But as these were introduced pre-2004 perhaps these mechanisms in themselves have not affected the 2004 to 2005 metrics.
In fact, I am surprised that the article did not mention other technological methods for easing congestion, such as replacing road toll gates with number plate recognition charging systems, and GPS tracking of vehicles linked with traffic navigation systems to make optimum use of road space. I guess European wide integration of IT systems (e.g. sharing of vehicle registration plate database) would be required before such systems could work for non-UK cars.
I expect technology will play a greater role in congestion reduction in the future.
David
