I have been preaching the benefits of Ultra Narrow Vehicles (UNVs) for about 5 years now. These vehicles, which are typically no wider than motorcycle handle bars, would instantly help increase our road capacity, ease traffic, increase parking capacity, reduce right-of-way encroachment/expansion, and extend the life of our roads. Another big draw is that people's personal freedoms would still be there. You can come and go as you please, put the A/C on whatever level you like, even have a smoke – things you can't do with public transit.

Think of it this way, on a typical 5 lane freeway one of the lanes (20% of capacity) is for carpooling and the other four lanes (80% of capacity) are for single occupant travelers for the most part. This means that nearly 80% of all traffic is made up of vehicles that have just one person. If some of these people were to travel in a single-person commuter car, it would be like adding another 4 travel lanes without any road widening. To start, CalTrans would simply paint a dashed strip down the middle of existing travel lanes…that’s all. This would save taxpayers countless dollars associated with engineering design, administrative, and construction costs.[img_assist|nid=3905|title=|desc=|link=node|align=left|width=466|height=359]

Here’s some info from the website (www.commutercars.com):

Meet the Tango
Introducing the world’s fastest urban car

The revolutionary commuter vehicle that combines the speed and agility of a motorcycle with the security and comfort of a high-performance sports car.
Beat Traffic:

The Tango’s ability to maneuver through traffic is second to none. Like a motorcycle, it can change lanes to gain advantage in traffic better than any car in history. Unlike a motorcycle, it is safe, dry, climate controlled, and can securely carry a reasonable amount of cargo. Where lane splitting is permitted (i.e., driving between lanes of stopped or slow-moving traffic), such as California, Europe, and Asia, the advantage can be staggering. In extremely heavy traffic, a Tango or motorcycle can travel in 20 seconds the distance that cars travel in 20 minutes.
Help forge a congestion-free future:

The Tango can fit in a 6-foot half-lane with more clearance than a truck has in a full 12-foot freeway lane. This virtual doubling of lane capacity can make the traffic jam a fading memory.
Parking:

A Tango can park perpendicular to the curb, in left-over spaces between cars or driveways, next to buildings, or in unused corners of parking lots–in thousands of heretofore-unusable parking spaces.
Safety:

The Tango’s racecar-style roll cage design, its 4-point harnesses, its low center of gravity, and a weight comparable to a midsize sedan combine to make the Tango extremely safe.
Stability:

With 2,000 lbs. (mostly batteries) under the floor, the Tango’s static rollover threshold is equivalent to a 5-star NHTSA rating, placing it in company with the lowest slung sports cars.
Acceleration and top speed:

With over 1,000 ft-lbs. of torque, the Tango can accelerate from zero to over 130 mph in one gear. Without needing an energy-robbing transmission or differential, it accelerates from zero to 60 mph in about 4 seconds and finishes the standing 1/4 mile in about 12 seconds at over 100 mph.

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