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Charles Komanoff

Charles Komanoff is a national expert on congestion pricing and traffic modeling, and is the former head of Transportation Alternatives. He is a longtime Streetsblog contributor. Reach him at komanoff@gmail.com.

Komanoff: William (Vickrey), It Was Really Nothing

Former City Council Member Kathryn Freed once said "traffic is killing us in Lower Manhattan." Now, she sues to stop Nobel-Prize-winning economist William Vickrey's congestion pricing idea.

May 20, 2024

Komanoff: A ‘Noise Tax’ Can Ground NYC Helicopters

A proposed $400 “noise tax” on “nonessential” flights is a start — and it will work.

April 18, 2024

Komanoff: Here’s Why the MTA Board Should Proudly Approve Congestion Pricing

The board will likely be slammed by the stragglers who will never accept the hard truths about the cost of their driving, but congestion pricing will do even better than the MTA realizes.

March 26, 2024

KOMANOFF: Mayor Adams Touts a Clean-Air Win that Hasn’t Happened

Here's what the TLC ― and the mayor ― overlooked when they decided to let thousands more Ubers and Lyfts onto our teeming, weary streets.

March 7, 2024

Komanoff: What Was Left Unsaid to Congestion Pricing Opponents

Politicians can be diplomatic, but subject matter experts have a responsibility to say the quiet part out loud. Charles Komanoff learned that last Thursday at the latest congestion pricing gripefest.

February 20, 2024

Komanoff: Get the Facts About ‘Car Bloat’ and Pollution

To deal effectively with climate we need to be clear about what’s destroying it. 

February 1, 2024

…Or Should We Soak ‘Super-Drivers’ Instead of Subsidizing Them?

Piling subsidies on subsidies, even if well-meaning, fails to rein in the full cost of driving.

January 30, 2024

Komanoff: MTA’s Three-Day Blitz on Toll Scofflaws is Not Nearly Enough

It’s awesome that a three-day sting nabbed 44 autos that had racked up $922,500 in unpaid bridge tolls and fines, but the agency needs to do more.

December 19, 2023

Komanoff: IMHO, TMRB is A-OK

Here’s what’s to like about the Traffic Mobility Review Board's central business district toll recommendations. It's a lot!

December 1, 2023

Komanoff: The Congestion Toll Solution That Could Have Been

Rest in Peace, 15-9-3. Let’s hope whatever toll rabbit the panel pulls out of the hat this month breeds contentment, not contempt.

November 16, 2023