With efforts to impose congestion pricing in the United States
having failed thus far, most prominently in New York City,
Balaji Prabhakar, a professor of computer science at Stanford
University may have found an incentive-based program to
accomplish similar goals, reports John Markoff. Choosing the
carrot over the stick, Stanford deployed a new system designed
by Dr. Prabhakar's group this spring with the aim of reducing
traffic congestion at peak hours. "Called Capri, for Congestion
and Parking Relief Incentives, it allows people driving to the
notoriously traffic-clogged campus to enter a daily lottery,
with a chance to win up to an extra $50 in their paycheck, just
by shifting their commute to off-peak times." "Dr. Prabhakar is
a specialist in designing computer networks and has conducted a
variety of experiments in using incentives to get people to
change their behavior in driving, taking public transit, parking
and even adopting a more active lifestyle. Unlike congestion
pricing, which is mandatory for