News Blip:
Are You For or Against "Congestion Pricing" Tolls?
Editor's Note: This news item was retrieved and first published through Governing's website.
Do tolls take a chunk out of your spending money before you even get to a destination? It's no secret tolls have increased over the years and the routes we take sometimes depend on toll roads. Until December, the 10-mile stretch of Interstate 66 (I 66) in Northern Virginia that takes drivers from the Washington Beltway into the nation’s capital was off limits to nearly everyone driving alone during rush hour. Officials in the traffic-choked region reserved the popular route for electric cars and vehicles carrying multiple passengers. But late last year, Virginia added another option. The state started letting single-occupancy cars use the road, but at a price. The exact price would depend on how many people were driving on it at a given moment, bringing the concept of supply and demand to the daily commute. The greater the congestion or traffic on the tolled road, the higher the charge.
According to the article by Daniel C. Vock from Governing.com, "The state promised to use up to $10 million of the toll money to pay for more bus routes, bike-share stations and other options that would give commuters choices other than clogged highways." Managers at the Virginia Department of Transportation basked in the fact that some drivers, even if just a few, were willing to spend $40 for a quick trip in or out of Washington, D.C..It showed the VDOT the value of adding a tolled option.
The sky-high tolls drew national attention, but similar systems, sometimes known as “congestion pricing” or “demand pricing,” are being installed throughout the country. There are roughly 40 of them now in 15 metropolitan areas, the vast majority of which opened in the last decade. The concept of paying more when traffic is heaviest is expanding in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Seattle and Tampa. New toll charges are being debated in Maryland and in Portland, Ore. And New York City is considering a related idea: charging motorists a fee for driving into lower Manhattan at busy times.
For more information on what other states are doing in regards to congestion pricing, read the full article from Governing.com right here.