Australian Response to Skymeter

Dear Judy,

What price freedom on the road? The problem has been over 80 years of so called worlds best practice that builds intersections that are designed to slow and stop traffic. If the road infrastructure cannot achieve free and uninterrupted vehicle flows no technology will help! The solution to traffic jams is not the size of the road but the ability of an intersection to work correctly.Traffic lights just stop traffic, roundabouts are for light traffic and freeway intersections are fundamentally flawed. They fail under heavy traffic as they also only work with light traffic.

At www.ubtsc.com.au we have models of intersections that work.They allow all vehicles entering an intersection to exit that intersection left, right or ahead without stopping all day every day without fail. We also have a number of other transportation solutions that are environmentally zero polluting. None of this is worth anything if government at all levels dismisses it as too expensive! Think outside the square for solutions and look for the positives of what this means.Imagine being able to cross town in peak hour traffic without stopping at a single intersection. Regards

Jozef Goj Director & CEO,

UBTSC Pty. Ltd. www.ubtsc.com.au

3418 Singleton Rd., Colo

Heights  NSW  2756

Comments

[Iain McDonald]

I really don't know where to begin with this article and business plan. As a self employed person I really do not want to see others fail but in this instance I really really hope it does. First let's take London, a leader in reducing congestion, really? The measurements of 'congestion' before toll charges were at best skewed and at worst false. Roadworks and building were acclerated in order to increase congestion. Staples corner roundabout was converted to a bus depot while measuring the baseline. Introduce tolls, lo and behold congestion drops, the fact that a lot of work has cleared and buses given priority is all beside the point; the tolls get all the credit. And by the way how was this 30% drop in congestion measured? Over 20 years or so from the 1960's Londons cross town traffic speed dropped from 11 mph to about 7mph, so now it may be back up to 11mph for those willing to pay $18/day for the increase. This is congestion free travel I don't think so.
As for pollution etc, on a trip to London last month I couldn't tell the difference and most Londoners I spoke to accept but are not enthusiastic about the charges. I didn't get to here from any businesses in the area so I have no idea on the business impact. But if I were there and had employees I would be looking to move. Let's see in 5 years of this experiment is still deemed successful.
And now we have Skymeter. According to Mr. Grush the system does not track you. OK how does it work then? In the article it calls the system the 'Skymeter location system'. It hints that it can replace parking meters, it states it can reduce insurance by pay as you go. So how can it not track you? By definition the system must track you. Please get him to explain.
How do I get one of these little boxes in my car? And if I am a London commmuter what if I choose to go boxless, aren't all those cameras and poles still necessary to catch me and send me the fifty pounds fee?
This whole plan is so full of holes I am seriously surprised an angels will consider it.
And just wait till hackers start on the system or the internet starts offering scrambling devices. Can't happen? No mention in your article about the supposed 10-20% of traffic that cheats its way into central London and how much has been spent on combating the problem.
You want people to consider the cost of their journeys? Go the UK route and increase fuel tax by 500%. Congestion ultimately is self limiting. I used to commute and get caught in traffic, I now work mainly from home, my choice. Others will do the same. If i worked in downtown Toronto I would use GO, if I work in say Mississauge I have no choice but to commute and congest.