Center of Excellence for Sustainable Urban Freight Systems

Online Shopping Was Supposed to Keep People Out of Traffic. It Only Made Things Worse

At the tail end of a three-hour drive from upstate New York to Boston, Professor José Holguín-Veras stared morosely through his windshield at the signs of a transportation apocalypse. “I’m surrounded by trucks and nothing is moving,” he grumped into his cellphone. “This is what the future looks like.”

Then he couldn’t help but chuckle at the irony of running late for his presentation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on the subject of — you guessed it — traffic jams.

Contact

For general inquiries: newsmedia@rpi.edu

About Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Founded in 1824, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is America’s first technological research university. Rensselaer encompasses five schools, over 30 research centers, more than 140 academic programs including 25 new programs, and a dynamic community made up of over 6,800 students and 104,000 living alumni. Rensselaer faculty and alumni include upwards of 155 National Academy members, six members of the National Inventors Hall of Fame, six National Medal of Technology winners, five National Medal of Science winners, and a Nobel Prize winner in Physics. With nearly 200 years of experience advancing scientific and technological knowledge, Rensselaer remains focused on addressing global challenges with a spirit of ingenuity and collaboration. To learn more, please visit www.rpi.edu.