New York City’s new congestion tolling system for vehicles traveling south of Manhattan’s 60th Street will be a test of a long-heralded conservative approach to traffic jams, but only if it’s allowed to play out.
Ironically, many conservatives hate it. Chief among its detractors is President-elect Donald Trump, who has said he would find a way to end it once in office. But polls show the public doesn’t like the idea of tolls, period.
If allowed to take hold and evolve, however, it might even find its way to the Wasatch Front, where a form of it already exists.
Congestion pricing, or variable tolls, is a market-style approach to crowded roads. Granted, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s version of it isn’t perfect. It may indeed result in traffic jams elsewhere in Manhattan. But, as usual in politics, no one is offering a plan B for traffic that already costs people and businesses far too much.
How variable tolls work
First, a brief explanation: Congestion pricing puts a flexible toll on roadways, the price of which fluctuates with traffic levels and air quality conditions. In this case, anyone using certain popular roads south of Central Park has to pay a toll of up to $9 for a private car during peak traffic times, but much less during off-peak hours.
Taxis and ride-share drivers pay lesser amounts. Small trucks pay a maximum of $14.40, and large trucks and buses max out at $21.60.
If you think this is radical, you haven’t been paying attention along Wasatch Front interstates. The cost to drive by yourself in an HOV lane changes with the traffic, in prices clearly marked by electronic signs. You can drive for free in this lane if you have at least one other person with you. This is congestion pricing combined with a nudge to get people to drive less by sharing rides.
Coincidentally, it reduces air pollution as people carpool or drive less during congested times.
It also would work much better if it applied to all lanes.
Today, tolls are no longer collected at toll booths. Users purchase transponders that transmit radio waves. In some cities, those who drive without one have their license plates photographed and are billed.
Oh, and some places exempt people whose incomes fall below a certain level, along with other vulnerable groups.
A conservative idea
How is this a conservative idea? Variable tolls let people choose how much they want to pay for roads. They can travel during cheaper times or take non-tolled surface roads. Other than sales taxes, not many other levies give you that choice.
As UCLA’s Institute of Transportation Studies puts it, “Roads get congested because they are free to use.”
Or, as Gabriel Roth wrote years ago for the Independent Institute: “If we recognize ‘road space’ as a scarce resource, charge market prices for this resource and use the revenues to stimulate investment in new capacity — such as additional lanes or new technologies to speed traffic past bottlenecks — congestion could be reduced.”
And make no mistake, congestion is growing, and it is costing us.
The cost of traffic jams
The rollout of New York’s congestion pricing this week coincided with the latest report by TomTom, which found that traffic is getting worse in the United States. Salt Lake City is nowhere near the worst for this. Still, however, residents are losing 21 hours per year stuck in traffic. It takes 10 minutes and 33 seconds, on average, to drive six miles.
Salt Lake City ranks 53rd most congested city in North America, and the 467th in the world, the report said. By contrast, New York City ranks second in North America and 25th in the world. Drivers there lose 94 hours a year in traffic.
You might think this argues against the Wasatch Front implementing variable tolls beyond what currently exists, and you may be right. Except for one consideration, that is.
Electric cars and gas taxes
With more people purchasing electric or hybrid vehicles, gas taxes are becoming less efficient in collecting money for highway construction and repairs. Utah already has a “road user charge” program for these owners to pay fees for miles driven.
But would it be more fair to instead adopt extensive variable tolls that let you pay less for driving smarter?
What if, in exchange, the Legislature did away with all existing gas taxes?
I’m quite aware of how you feel about tolls. A 2019 poll by Utah Policy and Y2 Analytics found 68% opposed to the idea.
That’s probably similar to sentiment in New York City at the moment.
However, it doesn’t answer the most important question. If not through variable tolls, how do we loosen the grip of rush-hour traffic, and how do we fairly and efficiently fund road repairs in an evolving transportation world?