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A Marketer's Dream
Corporations to profit from hi-tech traffic control system
Chief among them is the Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITSA), whose strategic goals include not just the creation of the system, but control over the information it collects on American drivers.
Transportation leaders within the United States Department of Transportation have also made it clear -- in official documents and public comments -- that they too intend for corporations to have access to the information INTI collects on drivers' travels once the system is built.
Because the on-board units the federal government wants to install in our cars could do far more than warn drivers of impending collisions, the profit potential is enormous. These devices could also be used, for example, to automatically pay for tolls, parking, gas and fast food though stored credit information accessible to the system. Used in combination with existing GPS technology, vehicle diagnostics and some repairs could be done remotely. The same technology could also enhance security systems through identification of authorized or unauthorized vehicles.
But the most tantalizing prospects for corporations are the marketing opportunities such a system would create. The ability to reach drivers in their cars could mean a new captive audience for advertising, one that could allow advertisers not just to reach drivers who need a new muffler, but to actually know which drivers need a new muffler.
For governments, the profit potential is equally enticing. In the future as envisioned by USDOT, our national road system would function like a never-ending toll road on steroids. It would provide virtually endless revenues by giving governments more control over traffic via pricing systems that would penalize drivers for driving at undesirable times or in congested places. In this future system, driving your car will be the most expensive option, while transit will cost less. Folks would have to pay more to drive in rush hour traffic or on high-use roads.
"So here I am on in the streets of Washington, DC, creating some amount of congestion, some amount of wear and tear on the road system, some amount of air pollution and I am making no contribution to DC's road system," said ITSA CEO Neil Schuster. "That's inherently unfair. We don't consider transportation a commodity. We feel we have an inherent right to drive and it should be free. But if transportation was priced, we would become more rational consumers."
That's not quite how leaders from companies like TransCore, which holds a seat on ITSA's board of directors, describe the situation, though. For them, the revenue the system would raise seems to be more important than making "rational consumers" out of drivers.
In presentations, Richard Schnacke, vice president of industry relations for TransCore, often describes future plans to use wireless technology to "toll every vehicle movement," as "the dream of every revenue raiser."
It's an idea that's already capturing the imagination of government revenue raisers. New York City is already using "congestion pricing" on select toll roads, charging drivers more for driving at peak times. In Oregon, the state DOT is working on technology that will allow the state to disseminate such a system statewide. When drivers pull in to buy gas, readers will read their mileage and charge them accordingly. Hi-tech visionaries believe that fees charged to drivers could eventually help pay for the system.
To Eric Skrum, Communications Director for the National Motorists Association, the plan sounds like a double-taxation scheme with serious privacy issues, since charging drivers for their driving habits would mean tracking their driving habits.
"We already are paying for the roads through the gas tax," said Skrum. "It would become a double taxation."
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