Nicky Gavron, the Deputy Mayor of London, discussed her city’s experiences with congestion pricing at a forum sponsored by the Drum Major Institute in New York this morning.
Congestion pricing, known in the less framing-conscious UK as “congestion charging” is a high-tech toll system that automatically charges drivers a fee for taking their cars into the city.
In London, congestion pricing and complementary improvements to the transit system, have cut the number of cars entering the restricted areas by a third. The money from the tolls is earmarked by law for improvements in the public transportation system. CP brings in about $122 million extra dollars for transit each year.
Gavron noted that CP has the rare distinction of being more popular since people started having to pay than it was before it was implemented. The measure initially faced steep opposition.
Skeptics predicted that business in Central London would be devastated-but the general consensus is that CP has been economically neutral.
Continue the discussion of congestion pricing at DMI Blog.
