An Exploration of Motor Vehicle Congestion Pricing in New York

Introduction: Why Now?

Traffic congestion in the tri-state New York-New Jersey-Connecticut metropolitan Region continues to mount, placing a heavy economic and quality of life burden on the City and the Region. This level of congestion results in significant loss of productivity and added delivery times and costs for businesses, as well as stress and frustration for residents. At this point, it is neither possible nor desired to expand road capacity, requiring consideration of other means to reduce traffic congestion or manage demand for motor vehicle use.

The concept of charging for the use of the road network as a means to reduce traffic volumes and speed travel is fast gaining adherents and is worth considering in New York. Other major cities have either installed charges for entering the cores of their regions or are actively studying how to do so. Early in 2003, London, which is very similar to New York in size and traffic congestion, successfully implemented a program of motor vehicle charges to enter its CBD during daytime hours.

The charge, paid for in advance through a variety of cashless media, is 5 pounds (about $8 US). The charge is enforced through cameras at the 174 entry points, with the photographs of license plates matched against the pre-paid records. There are heavy fines for non-payment.

As a result, traffic volumes are down by 16 percent and motor vehicle travel times have been substantially reduced. Other cities, both in the United States and around the world, have successfully instituted charges for road use, either on clogged roads or to enter core areas, by charging either a flat rate or using variable pricing to relieve peak period traffic. These areas have made use of technological advances to allow for cash-free, non-stop fee collection systems. Places as diverse as Singapore, Melbourne, Trondheim (Norway), Toronto, Orange County (California), and San Diego have established these programs. In the New York Region, three of the area’s four largest toll agencies have put in place some form of variable pricing – the Port Authority at its three Hudson River crossings, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority throughout its entire system, and the New York State Thruway Authority at the Tappan Zee Bridge (for trucks only).

Collecting money has never been easier. All of these New York-New Jersey programs have been made possible by the electronic toll collection system known as E-ZPass. Its use is widespread, allowing the majority of vehicles to be charged with little imposition to drivers or toll collectors. At 10 locations, high-speed, barrier-less toll collection has been implemented as a complement to E-ZPass, allowing cashless collection without stopping. This allows for the collection of tolls at a fast pace, adding capacity while not slowing traffic. Similar techniques to collect charges on streets have been proven to work elsewhere, most notably in London.

These developments raise the issue of how a congestion charging system in New York might work. Consequently, RPA, at the request of the Eno Transportation Foundation, has examined the issue in detail in the accompanying report, An Exploration of Motor Vehicle Congestion Pricing in New York.