This newspaper has been advocating the use of congestion pricing for several years now. (See, e.g., “This HOT Idea Cound Resolve the Congestion Conundrum,“ July 23, 2002, about the use of high-occupancy toll—HOT—lanes.)

It’s nice to see the rest of the country is catching up.

As the USA Today story notes:

The average driver in the Los Angeles area spends the equivalent of more than two workweeks each year stuck in traffic. But one place where cars and trucks hum along at full speed is in the left lanes of a 10-mile stretch of State Road 91, an east-west highway in Orange County.

That’s because those lanes use a toll system known as “congestion pricing.“ Tolls on SR 91 vary depending on time of day, from $1.15 to $9.25, and are priced to keep traffic moving.

Road space is finite, and always will be. There are only two ways to ration finite goods: lines and prices. Take your pick.

There are only two ways to ration finite goods: lines and prices. Take your pick.

Or you could just move out of the god-awful city and live in the wide open spaces like we North Dakotans do.

And yet the Times Disgrace has made fun of London’s Mayor Ken Livingstone in the past for his congestion pricing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_congestion_charge

Not sure how that works. When the people in the 9.25 time slot wise up and arange to go through during the 1.15 time slot, don’t they just change places? Doesn’t seem quite fair to the people who can’t control thier work hours. Most people would find an alternate route rather than pay a huge toll like that everyday. I would, even if I had to leave an hour early.

Post Your Comments: