Even restaurants do it with ''early bird specials'' to give you a break if you avoid the peak dinner hours. Towns and villages throughout the county have learned how to calm their local vehicle traffic, with innovative devices to slow traffic and to minimize the volume of vehicles running through neighborhoods. In doing so, they have made their towns more hospitable to walking and biking. It is now safe to use the ''muscle modes'' to reach school, shops in your town, the local transit stop, and even to the workplace. Speaking of employers, they have realized there is much to be gained by giving employees more transit and ride-sharing alternatives to driving alone to work.
Less congestion means employees are more punctual, less stressed out, and more productive.
In return, employers save the cost of building and maintaining excessive parking lots. They guarantee emergency rides home for those who car-pool or use transit to work, taking away the worry of being stranded late at the office or in a family emergency. They even provide showers for those who bike to work. Trucks are still needed, however, although they are quieter and cleaner. Curing congestion has lowered the truckers' costs and the price of the goods we purchase.