Is Traffic Congestion Growing Three Times As Fast As Economy? 187
cartechboy writes "Math watch time: For many traffic analysts, INRIX is considered the gold-standard. This week the company says traffic congestion surged in 2013 and grew over three times as fast as the American economy. The bad news: If true, this reverses two consecutive years of traffic declines with a six percent increase in 2013. (GDP, by comparison, grew 1.9 percent last year.) The analysts then theorize links between economic growth and traffic congestion, which makes sense on the surface. (As the economy improves, more jobs are created, so more commuters on the roads) But INRIX's theory creates as many questions as it answers. For example, the U.S. GDP has been steadily growing since 2009. So why did congestion decline in 2011 and 2012?"
Re:Isn't government spending part of GDP? (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Work from home (Score:5, Funny)
companies are starting to get smart and letting their employees work from home.
Yes. Why should I hire someone to commute from across town, when I can reduce congestion and hire someone to work from their home in Bangalore.
Re:Isn't government spending part of GDP? (Score:5, Funny)
Or Google's buses are really snarling traffic
Where is Chris Christie? (Score:4, Funny)
I think that we need Christie to do a "traffic study" to sort this out once and for all.