The Case For Congestion Pricing

Congestion Pricing is one of those common-sense things that from 2050, we'll look back on and just be blown away that anyone ever opposed it back in the early part of the 21st Century.

But for now, it's a political non-starter in the US to charge people to use crowded roads. I'm not sure why the laws of supply and demand should be suspended for roads, but then the average person probably doesn't give more than 3 seconds worth of thought to congestion pricing before dismissing it.

Anyway, per TCD Blog rules, here's a pretty infographic that shows the extreme traffic at certain intersections and certain times in NYC:



The full article on Charles Komanoff and his efforts to model the cost of traffic and the impact of various prices models is fascinating as well.

And here's the briefest rant of my life: If you think that people should NOT be charged to use busy roads, then you have no right to complain about traffic.