Anthony Downs concludes his book on peak-hour congestion by writing:

“Therefore, my advice to American drivers stuck in peak-hour traffic is not merely to get politically involved, but also to learn to enjoy congestion. Get a comfortable, air-conditioned car with a stereo radio, a tape player, a telephone, and perhaps a fax machine. . . Then regard the moments stuck in traffic simply [as] an addition to leisure time” (Downs 1992, p. 164).

Suppose people followed Downs’s advice. This would be expensive for them, of course, but it would reduce the per-minute cost of waiting time.

How would the length of the equilibrium queue change if people followed Downs’s advice? How would the total cost of the time spent waiting change? In the aggregate, would all of the investments be worthwhile? Suppose everyone but you had made these investments. Should you make them too?