Will Congestion Pricing Ever Be Adopted?

Transportation planners and economists are urging us to adopt congestion pricing - to charge motorists more for driving on crowded roads during rush hours and less for traveling on uncrowded roads in off-peak hours. By putting a price on peak-hour travel, we would encourage motorists to switch to less crowded alternate routes or, better yet, take public transit, join a carpool, or travel at a time of day when the roads are less crowded. Such tolls might even induce some travelers to alter the origins or destinations of their trips or to cancel less important trips, thereby cutting their total amount of auto travel. In his recent article in ACCESS (Spring 1993), Kenneth Small suggested why the idea of congestion pricing is gaining much more attention today, even though it has been around for decades. In part it's because electronic toll collection now allows us to vary prices on roads by time of day and location without awkward and costly toll booths which themselves slow traffic. Congestion pricing has also become attractive because governments are strapped for funds, and road pricing is potentially a lucrative source of revenue.