The typical American commuter wastes about 42 hours in traffic each year and spends approximately $1,400 in gas expenses. In major cities, it’s even worse. Luckily, thanks to some innovative new technological breakthrough and a changing culture, it looks like the average commute is going to be a lot less stressful in the near future.
According to CNN Money, there are a few new trends and technologies impacting the way workers are getting to and from work.
Some of the largest and most influential U.S. companies like Google, Facebook, and Apple have begun implementing new ways for their employees to get to work. Whether it’s larger stretch limousines, which can carry between 16 and 20 passengers, charter bus shuttles, and even bike or scooter sharing programs, these forms of transportation are drastically cutting down on traffic issues and essentially reducing a the amount of money spent on gas commuting to and from work to $0.
“It’s the dawn of private transportation systems operating under the radar,” said Ryan Croft, co-founder of TransitScreen, a startup offering real-time transit planning information. “A train isn’t going to move their station, and buses very rarely move their stops. There’s a little bit more incentive for companies to provide a good service.”
Millions of smaller organizations are attempting to emulate what the Googles and the Facebooks of the world are doing, so they are offering or at least thinking about offering new forms of transport to cutdown on commuter stress.
Even if companies don’t have the capital to offer bike or scooter-sharing services, city governments are partnering up with startups that do offer these forms of alternative commuting.
“This is an increasingly important part of cities and campuses as traffic gets worse and cities grow more dense,” added Sanjay Dastoor, CEO of Waybots, a scooter and bike-sharing service in Washington, D.C.
As these innovative services continue to grow, however, cities will have to implement regulations for scooters and bicycles. Dallas, Texas and San Francisco, California have already started planning for how these vehicles should be handled and parked.
Additionally, employees in just about every American city can get out their smart phones and call an Uber or a Lyft in oder to avoid spending their own gas money sitting in traffic, but once self-driving cars become commonplace on American streets, people won’t even have to worry about ride-sharing fees at all.
Sadly, about 1.25 million people die each year on the roads — the majority of which can be attributed to driver error — self-driving machines can drastically cutdown on roadway accidents in addition to improving a worker’s commute.
Tech Zone 360 states that in addition to limiting driver error, self-driving vehicle technology can allow employees to actually be productive on their way to work, instead of just sitting behind the wheel stressing out about traffic and high gas costs.
“The most exciting technology is the combination of connected (vehicles) and autonomous (driving),” said Carlos Ghosn, President of Nissan Motors. “Now the car becomes a mobile space, connected, where you can have a video conference, see a movie, talk to your kids, or consult your doctor.”