Comments on: Price the Roads Already

By: Mike L

Mike L — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 22:59:25 +0000

Quote: “Simply put, the more congestion, the higher the toll, until the congestion goes away.”
Does it go away because of better alternatives, such as public transport?
Or because companies abandon the congested area and move to Montana?
Or because companies encourage employees to stay home and tele-commute?
Which would you advocate, Richard?

By: Buzzcut

Buzzcut — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 19:48:09 +0000

Interestinly, everybody’s favorite governor, Rod Blagojevich, is implementing a system like this on Illinois’ tollway. There will be one express lane that is congestion priced (as well as free for politicians’ favorite people, Prius drivers).

From my Chicago experience, the trouble is usually on the freeways. I don’t think that it would be very easy (or popular, or even legal) to convert freeways to tollways, which would be the first step towards congestion pricing.

By: ckstevenson

ckstevenson — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 19:40:50 +0000

Markets are already internalized with bad traffic. That’s ridiculous.

If I’m trying to get into DC on a workday morning, heading eastbound on I-66, my being there with the other 65% of people trying to get into DC has an impact on them and myself. My punishment is the massive amount of time it takes me to get there.

Had I gone in much earlier, or used Metro, I’d be punished less because I could have gotten there faster.

Paying for congestion is illogical because people have ALREADY decided that the lose of their time is worth it. They are in fact already paying.

Using my example, if people valued their sleep less, or the “ease” of commuting in their call less, then they’d get to work faster.