Most people assume that traffic congestion results simply from insufficient road capacity, so the problem can easily be solved by expanding highways. However, no government can afford to build enough road capacity to meet all of the demand, and doing so is inefficient and unfair. Economists recognize that congestion reflects underpricing: Driving is so cheap that it becomes inevitable. You can have free roads or you can have free-flowing traffic, but it is not economically feasible to have both.
Todd Litman, founder and executive director of the Victoria Transport Policy Institute
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