Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Congestion Pricing

Congestion Pricing Was Unpopular in Stockholm — Until People Saw It in Action

Stockholm newspaper front pages, before and three weeks after congestion pricing took effect. Image: Jonas Eliasson

It's natural for politicians to feel squeamish about enacting a big policy change like congestion pricing. People who've grown used to free driving privileges defend them loudly, while the potential benefits feel diffuse and uncertain. That may explain why Mayor de Blasio hasn't warmed to congestion pricing despite its promise to deliver a fairer, safer, greener, and more efficient transportation system.

Stockholm transportation director Jonas Eliasson has some advice for New York officials worried about diving in: Just do it.

Eliasson steered the implementation of congestion pricing in Stockholm in 2006. From that vantage point, he watched a skeptical public quickly embrace the policy as soon as they saw it in action. Eliasson shared lessons from the city's experience in a talk at TransitCenter last night.

When Stockholm began charging drivers to access the city center, car trips across the cordon dropped 20 percent. Travel times improved immediately, and emissions fell. Contrary to doomsday predictions from Stockholm media and political opponents of congestion pricing, the policy was an overnight success.

Before implementation, public support for congestion pricing had fallen below 40 percent. After a six-month trial period in 2006, more than 52 percent of Stockholm residents voted to make it permanent. By 2011, public support for road pricing stood at nearly 70 percent, and above 50 percent even among people who pay the fees most often.

Support for congestion pricing among Stockholm residents increased dramatically after the policy was implemented. Image: Jonas Eliasson

“The closer you get to implementation, the more the drawbacks stand out," Eliasson said. "If you survive this valley of political death, and people actually see the benefits, and also realize that, in addition to the benefits, it’s actually not as bad as you thought — it’s not so hard adapting to this — then support starts going up again."

Pricing worked because the transportation planners who put it together prioritized systemic improvements for traffic and transit over the whims of elected officials and political parties. Getting the details of the pricing system right was too important to leave in the hands of politicians.

"Designing an efficient and effective congestion pricing scheme that actually delivers benefits is not easy," Eliasson said. Deciding the specifics of where tolls should be placed, the price at which they should be set, and when they should be in effect is "really the job for experts."

In Sweden, the effectiveness of road pricing helped raise public awareness of the drawbacks of other car subsidies. "It did something to the rationality of transport policy debate," Eliasson said. "We don't have debates anymore [about] 'parking pricing is just philosophically wrong' -- no one says that anymore."

If the policy passes in New York City, Eliasson thinks it could have a similar impact on transportation policy globally.

The specifics of the forthcoming congestion pricing plan from Governor Cuomo have yet to be revealed, but the governor reportedly intends to introduce a plan in the 2018 state legislative session.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Council Outrage Over NYPD Bike Criminalization Grows, But Speaker Adams Is In No Rush

Council members want Speaker Adrienne Adams to act, but she doesn't want to.

May 29, 2025

Op-Ed: NYS Needs the Economic and Environmental Stimulus of E-Bike Subsidies

A "Ride Clean Rebate" is what real climate and economic leadership looks like, argues this industry leader.

May 29, 2025

Thursday’s Headlines: The Loudest Voices Edition

Learn how to counteract the nattering nabobs of negativism. Plus other news.

May 29, 2025

Speed Governor: Leadfoot Cuomo Appears to Run Red Light After Midtown Confab

Cuomo, who already has two speeding tickets on his record, was caught on camera driving through a red light on Wednesday.

May 28, 2025

Defending Bike Crackdown, Adams Says Drivers Have Been Targeted ‘Far Too Long’

This guy once claimed he be a Vision Zero hero, but he's just the zero part.

May 28, 2025

Billionaire Mets Owner Gets His Casino Land — Will Flushing Get Its ‘Skypark’?

The state Senate is OK with the Citi Field parking lot becoming a casino, but Mets owner Steve Cohen is now on the hook to build a park to replace it.

May 28, 2025
See all posts