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The Network-Wide Effects of Congestion Pricing: Evidence from New York City

Author

Listed:
  • Cody Cook
  • Aboudy Kreidieh
  • Shoshana Vasserman
  • Hunt Allcott
  • Neha Arora
  • Andrew Tomkins
  • Eray Turkel
  • Freek van Sambeek

Abstract

Congestion pricing programs toll only a subset of roads and times, with theoretically ambiguous spillovers. We study New York City’s cordon-based congestion pricing using granular data from Google Maps and a generalized synthetic control design. The toll raised cordon-area speeds by 11%, with little effect on air quality, consumer spending, or foot traffic. Speeds also rose outside the cordon, especially on roads frequently traversed by cordon-bound drivers, making many unpriced trips faster. The magnitudes reflect steep congestion functions, where small volume reductions yield large speed gains. Because unpriced trips vastly outnumber priced ones, their small per-trip gains dominate aggregate driver welfare.

Suggested Citation

  • Cody Cook & Aboudy Kreidieh & Shoshana Vasserman & Hunt Allcott & Neha Arora & Andrew Tomkins & Eray Turkel & Freek van Sambeek, 2025. "The Network-Wide Effects of Congestion Pricing: Evidence from New York City," NBER Working Papers 33584, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33584
    Note: IO PE
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Aguilar-Gomez, Sandra, 2025. "Adaptation and mitigation of pollution: Evidence from air quality warnings," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    2. Devansh Jalota & Xuan Di & Adam N. Elmachtoub, 2026. "Simple vs. Optimal Congestion Pricing," Papers 2602.21495, arXiv.org, revised Feb 2026.
    3. Nehiba, Cody, 2025. "Within-day variation in the rebound effect from fuel efficiency standards and implications for road congestion," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    4. Mohammad Amin Ashena & Adam Weiss & Jason Hawkins & Lina Kattan, 2026. "Modeling Mode and Departure Time Responses to Congestion Pricing: A Spatial and Behavioral Analysis Using Cross-Nested Logit Model," Papers 2606.29756, arXiv.org.
    5. Xiyuan Ren & Zhenglei Ji & Joseph Y. J. Chow, 2025. "Distributional welfare impacts and compensatory transit strategies under NYC congestion pricing," Papers 2510.06416, arXiv.org, revised May 2026.
    6. Hensher, David A., 2026. "Road user charge reform and the political shift in interest in Australia: Some thoughts to contemplate," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    7. Hensher, David A. & Wei, Edward & Balbontin, Camila & Nelson, John D., 2026. "Identifying circumstances in which the introduction of distance-based, cordon-based, and congestion-free lane road user charge regimes garner support," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 207(C).

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • R4 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics
    • R41 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Transportation: Demand, Supply, and Congestion; Travel Time; Safety and Accidents; Transportation Noise
    • R48 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Government Pricing and Policy
    • R5 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Regional Government Analysis

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