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In today’s age, the most common means of transportation is driving a car. Based on statistics from December 2024, 72% of American workers commute to work using a personal vehicle or car.
This pattern is also typical in urban areas. The large number of vehicles in dense cities has led to traffic congestion, causing driving to be less efficient.
There have been different efforts over the years to try to lighten the use of cars in these urban settings, such as investment into public transportation like bike paths, subway systems, and the use of buses. Another strategy that has been implemented around the world more recently is the use of congestion pricing.
Congestion pricing is the act of charging user fees to drivers who are driving on certain streets within a city area. For example, in New York City, cars entering Lower Manhattan will be charged a $9.00 fee or a $2.25 fee if the vehicle stays overnight. This practice is a reasonably new attempt at reducing congestion, as NYC is the first American city to implement congestion pricing, with the Manhattan tolls starting in December 2024.
While new in the USA, practices have been happening for several decades. Singapore has been using congestion pricing in dense city areas since 1975. The Singapore application saw reduced congestion by 20% within the first few months of its use. While the payment originated as a toll fee, nowadays, it is automated for any car entering the city’s restricted area. Other applications can be found in London, England, and Stockholm, Sweden. These programs were in operation from 2003 to 2007. While faced with criticism in the early stages, both cities have seen positive reviews once congestion has been reduced.
Even though congestion pricing has seen success worldwide, it is still not fully understood as a common practice. Recently, the NYC application has seen pushback at the federal level. In 2025, the new U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary, Sean Duffy, has set to shut down the use of congestion pricing in Manhattan. The initial date to shut down the program was Friday, 3/21/25, but a 30-day extension was implemented while discussions continued.
Governor Kathy Hochul is still optimistic about using congestion pricing, stating that traffic in the central business district has dropped by 11% since the implementation of the toll. Retail sales within the area are also projected to be $900 million higher than last year. Both sides feel strongly about where they stand, and discussions will continue throughout the year.
In conclusion, congestion pricing has been shown to reduce traffic congestion in multiple worldwide applications. While reducing the congestion of car traffic has also been shown to have economic benefits for businesses in the tolled zones. Applications in Singapore and Stockholm have had time to adjust to the tolled areas, and citizen criticism has turned into a fondness for the restrictions.
Similar to those programs, the recent introduction of tolling in Manhattan, New York, has led to pushback on the federal level. Whether this is the method of the future or not, traffic congestion within cities will continue to be a topic of discussion, and it will be interesting to see what new approaches for reducing congestion will be implemented.
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