11/23/09
they ask us to conserve energy and now want to charge us for it while tracking us
Folks, this is on the way. We have posted on it in the past as to the inequities that will have us subsidizing gas guzzlers while being tracked at the same time. And this is what they refer to as Intelligent Transportation Design Systems.
From: http://rip.trb.org/browse/dproject.asp?n=24339
(In red will be our comments and concerns)
Aggregating VMT Within Predefined Geographic Zones Using a Cellular Network
Record Type: DOT
The current push for vehicles to become more fuel efficient, although good for the environment, poses a significant problem with the way we pay for our roads. Currently, most of the costs associated with roadway infrastructure are paid for by revenue collected from the motor fuel use tax.
Which, if one is going to have a tax, this is probably one of the more equitable systems in existence. In other words you are taxed by what you use. If you choose to drive a gas guzzler then you will pay more than somebody who chooses to drive a more efficient vehicle. The price you pay for fuel will in some part be impacted by your decision as to what sort of vehicle you choose to operate.
With new cars expected to use significantly less fuel, or none at all, a new method for assessing road user fees must be considered. One method that would address this issue would be to charge road users for the vehicle miles traveled (VMT). By using this approach, fees can be assessed based on how much each vehicle uses the roads, as opposed to basing fees on an approximation of road use determined by fuel consumption.
Fuel consumption in regards to road vehicles is not the only concern. One must keep in mind that generally vehicles that consume more fuel per mile also cause more wear and tear on the road than vehicles that consume less fuel per mile.
There are multiple systems that attempt to achieve this with varying success. This project focuses on the development and evaluation of a system in which vehicles' miles can be logged and aggregated by the geographic zone in which a vehicle travels. What is unique about the system is that it combines data from the vehicle's data bus accessed via the on board diagnostic port (OBD-II port) with travel zones from a table that relates identified cell base station codes with geographic zones or their boundaries.
Keep in mind that new vehicles will be, and many already are, equipped w/ black boxes. Ostensibly to aid in crash scene investigation. It is not a stretch that these devices can be used to monitor the movements of individuals. That is precisely what is being relied upon to move to a new pricing structure.
The same cellular device that wirelessly communicates data to the administrative office that handles VMT fee transactions is thus also used to determine the zone of travel. This system must provide sufficient resolution to fairly attribute revenue to those jurisdictions in which the vehicle is traveling, while at the same time registering the same VMT for identical trips. The device must be accurate enough to properly determine when the vehicle is in a given zone, and the user must be able to make informed decisions about when and where they choose to drive to minimize the VMT fees they are assessed. However, the system should not associate any user with an area so small that their privacy is breached.
"and the user must be able to make informed decisions about when and where they choose to drive to minimize the VMT fees they are assessed. "
The above statement is double speak straight out of 1984. Vehicles have odometers. Many people now use GPS systems. We also have maps and other mileage indicators. Just what other "DEVICE" is needed to assist the individual in determining hohw many miles they are traveling?. They can only be referring to a "government tracking device"!
"However, the system should not associate any user with an area so small that their privacy is breached."
Is this not an oxymoron? That fact that my mileage is being monitored dictates that my privacy is being breached.
Obviously the question now becomes, how can this be determined? How can they accurately pin point how many miles you are driving without knowing where it is that you are driving? Especially when they use words such as breaking it down to specific geographical locations?
The statement:
The question of course from the perspective of the driver is: At what locating resolution will users feel that their privacy is infringed?
From the perspective of this driver, any monitoring of my location is an unconstitutional breach of my privacy and a threat to my "Freedom" of movement.The system must find a balance between correctly allocating VMT to geographic zones (thus maintaining system accuracy and auditability) and maintaining privacy. There are multiple ways to determine the location of a vehicle, however many of these methods identify specific road segments or capture map coordinates, unnecessary for this application. The VMT recorded only needs to be linked to a geographic zone. Locating users in "larger" geographic zones should provide for a solution that is fair to both the jurisdictions collecting revenue as well as to the road users. The objective of this project is to develop and test the concepts described above. The scope is to focus on three types of zones: (1) a congested commercial business district (CBD) usually associated with a "downtown" and skyscraper canyons, (2) a large contiguous urban/suburban zone surrounding the CBD core, and (3) a rural zone that would only identify the state in which rural VMT is aggregated.
It sounds awfully vague and somewhat beyond the range of doable. I will Refer to Wendy Moons example used in a different scenario of the jar of different colored marbles.
When all the marbles are safely contained within the jar it is possible, taking into account a plus or minus factor, to estimate the number of marbles in the jar and possibly the numbers of different colored marbles in the jar. Especially if you have data from the marble manufacturer indicating how many marbles of various colors were sold and/or shipped to specific geographic locations.
Start date: 2009/8/1
End date: 2010/5/31
Status: Active
Secondary Number: CTS-2010053
Total Dollars: 31502
Source Organization: University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
Date Added: 11/23/2009
Index Terms: Cellular telephones, Vehicle miles of travel, Onboard diagnostics, Onboard navigational aids, Traffic congestion, Wireless communication systems, Fuel taxes, Traffic zones, Central business districts, Research projects,
This is coming, we listened to a congressional subcommittee discussing this problem awhile back and they admitted then that there would be a time frame during which the public would have to be "persuaded" re the idea. Certain proposal were declaring "congestion zones" along interstates iin heavily congested areas to encourage people to take alternative routes. Part of the solution would be to seek permission from congress to allow for the establishment of "toll zones" on Interstate Highways.
It would seem that much of the money printed to bail out banks could have been directed towards improving "infrastructure" thus creating jobs and eliminating the need for government monitoring of individual movement. But then. That would defeat the goal wouldn't it?
See:
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