alpert@cs.bu.edu (Richard Alpert) (10/02/90)
I recently read in a "Straits Times" overseas edition of a Singapare
government plan to improve traffic flow by taxing motorists on a
graduated scale, dependent upon the degree of traffic congestion. The
greater the traffic, the higher the tax.
While their aim is laudable, their means leaves me feeling rather
discomforted ("discomforted" in the archaic sense: uneasy, dismayed,
distressed). To calculate this tax, every vehicle will be fitted with a
transponder emitting a unique code. Sensors in the roadway will detect
which motor vehicle is where, and when. Statements will be mailed to
owners periodically.
The Hongkong government suggested such a scheme a few years ago. Early
in the planning stages, the prospect of such a system was discarded on
the grounds that it constituted an unreasonable invasion of privacy.
According to the "Straits Times" article, the only controversy seems to
be what sort of rating system will be used in determining the degree of
use of the roadways.
Does this plan upset anyone else? That the articles contain no mention
of the possible abuse of such a pernicious use of technology has left me
feeling quite apprehensive.
Richard Alpert