Smart traffic lights and many other road design features as pointed out by rpwi.
How about this, as this is one that sticks in my libertarian craw.
In China, not everyone can own a car, despite the fact that they are the largest producer with the largest number of consumers in the world. Taxis are ubiquitous and cheap. Hundreds of millions of bicycles are everywhere, but the real magic in China is the more than one hundred million incredibly high quality electric bikes. Scooters. One overnight charge of what is essentially a small car battery, and you can zip around all day (35-40 MPH max).
I used all forms of transportation when I lived in China. I took high speed trains, public buses and taxis. I owned a car, an electric scooter, and a bicycle. The bicycle was for exercise and enjoyment only. The car was for longer distances, heavier loads, bad weather, or when I needed to take on passengers. Taxis were for when I just didn't want to mess around with a vehicle (especially clubbing at night). The electric scooter was my WORKHORSE. For just personal transportation for daily tooling around in the city in China, NOTHING beats an electric scooter. Quick for city driving, cheaper than cheap, no emissions, no traffic congestion problems, easy parking, and it can carry an average "errand" load (did all my personal daily needs, including grocery shopping, with my scooter).
In short, the electric scooter is The Modern Horse. And for all intents and purposes, our brainiacs in power don't allow them.
City driving is the bane of autos where fuel consumption, inefficiency and pollution are concerned. Stops and starts, most energy wasted in the form of heat, and the MPG drops dramatically. And yet it's the only way MOST people in the US can get around.
OUR PROBLEM - OUR INSANITY
In the US our roads are designed for motorcycles, cars and above. Only. In the cities, bicycles share the roads -- after a fashion. On the highways and freeways, pedestrians, bicycles, scooters and anything that is not a high speed vehicle that is licensed for use on those roads are prohibited by law (safety, doncha know -- caring humanitarian souls that central planners are). But electric scooters are heavily restricted in most of the US. They are only allowed on the roads (in the states that even allow them), ONLY if certain criteria are met. For example, their max speed must be limited to 20 MPH, or they must have pedals on them, to prove that they are more like bicycles. That last reminds me of when automobiles first came onto the scene, and some places required that automobiles be capable of dismantling, in the event that horses were spooked, so that the pieces of the "strange machine" could be hidden in nearby bushes until the horses calmed down and passed.
The biggest problem comes down to LICENSING, lost revenues, and the fact that we just aren't "geared" for something Not Car/Not Motorcycle/Not Bicycle.
So while China has around 150 million superior electric scooters, and growing, the US has around 200,000 MOSTLY INFERIOR scooters. And the price difference is insane as well. In China there are more MAJOR electric bike manufacturers than can be counted. It's a booming and highly competitive industry, about on par with the computer industry in terms of competition, including quality requirements to remain competitive (their motors are even assembled in Class 1 cleanrooms). That meant that I could buy a TOP OF THE LINE LUXURY scooter in China for around $500 US. The AVERAGE (but incredibly well built) scooter runs around $300 there. In the US, scooters run $2K-$3K and up -- and good luck using one without being pulled over.
That's not minor to me. That's major. It's a natural market substitution that we WOULD but are not taking advantage of, and don't even know we're missing.
I may be moving back to Asia soon, possibly Vietnam. First order of business - invest in a good scooter, with a superior lock.
