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Experimenting with traffic

Ben Olken, Professor of Economics at MIT, describes the surprising results on traffic when the Jakartan government removed their high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) policy. The system required three or more people to be travelling in vehicles along designated roads during peak hours. After measuring the levels of traffic before and after the policy change the researchers found that not only did traffic increase on the previous HOV roads, but all around the city.

Picture: A general view shows traffic commuting on a congested road in Jakarta on June 2, 2016, 漏 Bay Ismoyo/AFP/Getty Images

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