Over the past few years, we have seen significant shifts in the way people behave. Transportation is one of the areas that saw significant shifts. Some of this is due to population changes across the nation, which impact transportation. No matter what is happening in each city, whether it is population growth or population migrating out of the city, it can have devastating impacts on the roads. As a result of these changes in transportation, technology has become a critical piece to keeping transportation moving. This has occurred in cities across the country, including Rochester.
Less Driving
In Rochester specifically, there has been a decline in time spent driving and increased mass transit usage. Many people are spending more time riding bikes instead of driving cars. The roadways are not the only places that saw a decrease in traffic. In the first half of 2020, there was a 9.5% decrease in trade volume across the seas. There was a 16% decrease in global trade from the same period before.
Increased Mass Transit
People are becoming increasingly more interested in biking and public transportation. When these options are available, people are going to use them. In Rochester, local transportation planners emphasize transportation projects to make mass transportation options easier to access. In prior years, there were about 70,000 trucks and buses inspected during Roadcheck. About two-thirds of those inspections were conducted in North America and consisted of Level I Inspections.
Rochester saw the largest shift in riders on mass transit. That was an increase of over 30% in just about five years. The Regional Transportation Authority states they adjust their mass transit system to make people and their behaviors. As people change their behaviors, the mass transit changes with them.
Impact Of Mass Transit
With the uptick in people using mass transit, there has been more congestion on the road. Even if it is not individual cars on the road, there are more buses, bikes, and other mass transportation options. In addition to more congestion on the road, other hazards are being caused by all vehicles on the road. Some of these problems include idling which adds to the pollution in the air and fuel costs.
One pound of carbon is released when a car idles for 10 minutes or longer. It only takes about 10 seconds of idling to produce more emissions and uses more fuel than turning off your engine and restarting it. One of the best ways to protect the environment is to turn off your car at every red light, which does not make sense.
There are numerous adverse health effects to idling. The fumes resulting from idling can lead to significant health conditions and problems like asthma, cancer, and cardiac disease.
Alternative Mobility Options
As the price of gas rises and the concern for the environment grows, people are looking for alternative options to driving traditional cars. Cycling and electric cars are great alternatives. Cities like Rochester must make cycling convenient and safe to make cycling more attractive. Some ways to do this include giving priority to cyclists at traffic lights. Another way to make cycling more attractive is to repurpose car lanes into bike lanes. If fewer cars are on the road, there should be a lane available to take over for cyclists.
There are also high occupancy vehicle lanes where electric vehicles can ride even with only one person in the car. By the fourth quarter of 2020, there was a 0.9% increase over the previous year, which is about 234,700 auto maintenance and repair centers. These centers can specialize in electric vehicles.
When cities like Rochester are facing a large shift in transportation, they have to make smart decisions to ease the burden. But, no matter what shifts are happening in the city, fewer cars on the road or more vehicles on the road will cause many long-term or long-range implications.
