‘Self-regulating problem’: Metro Vancouver traffic worse than pre-COVID on some routes
Posted June 3, 2022 4:06 pm.
Last Updated June 3, 2022 4:13 pm.
It’s back to the office for many people in Metro Vancouver — and back to traffic.
Traffic is worse than before the pandemic across some key routes in Metro Vancouver like the Port Mann and Golden Ears bridges, according to the province. This comes despite record-high gas prices and many people still working from home.
Robin Lindsey, a professor at the UBC Sauder School of Business who focuses on transportation and economics, tells CityNews traffic congestion is a “self-regulating problem.”
“If it’s really bad, then some people decide not to travel and that means congestion doesn’t go up as high as it otherwise would. That’s really just basic economics,” he said.
Related articles:
-
Metro Vancouver gas prices remain high, passing $2.30 heading into weekend
-
Vancouver gas prices: Analyst predicts cost of fuel to go up again
According to Lindsey, there is no threshold for when a society decides to change their commuting behavior because it depends on a persons’ unique situation.
“The worse the congestion is, the more adjustments there will be… People are very different, in terms of how much they travel, the value of their travel time, and how urgent it is to make a trip at a particular time.”
“People can consolidate their trips, so they can go grocery shopping … and you load up and you don’t have to shop as frequently … And you can shift from peak times when the congestion is worse to off-peak times,” Lindsey said.
He also suggests people “trip-chain.”
“If you want to go downtown for two reasons … if it’s going to be a hassle getting there, then you do two things at once. That also means less congestion with parking, which is in scarce supply.”
According to the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, in the first four months of 2022, there was a 10 per cent increase in the Monthly Average Daily Traffic on the Golden Ears Bridge, compared to pre-pandemic levels. It was up by seven per cent for the Port Mann Bridge.
