Congestion Pricing

Economist Charles Komanoff points Streetsblog to a news brief from London where Mayor Ken Livingstone insists that the U.S. Embassy owes a whopping $1.6 million in unpaid congestion charging fees:

You get more of what you subsidize and less of what you tax. --Ancient Economic Adage

Transponder on the dashboard of a car zipping through the traffic-free streets of Stockholm on January 3, 2006, the first day of that city's congestion pricing experiment. (Photo: Papa Razzi1)

A correspondent reports:

Thursday, July 20, 2006 at 2:30 pm New York City Council250 Broadway, 14th Floor Hearing Room (across from City Hall).

Here is a little something to think about as the fine particulate matter settles deep into your lungs on this lovely Ozone Alert Day. While New York City politely suggests via electronic highway billboard and half-assed p.r. campaigns, that motorists switch to mass transit on days like today, the BBC reports that the Mayor of London wants to reprogram the city's three-year-old congestion charging system to hit the owners of the most heavily polluting personal vehicles with a whopping £25 fee to drive into the city center (that's $45!).

The IMPACTS conference web site turns out to be a treasure trove of the latest information on how congestion pricing is working in the European cities that are trying it.

"The tragic loss of two bicyclists this week has shocked all of us and our thoughts and prayers are with the victims' families and friends. Unfortunately, New York City's crowded streets often cause conflict between cars and bicyclists as they attempt to share limited space." -- NYC DOT statement, June 29, 2006.

Manhattan-bound on the Brooklyn Bridge this morning, on the way to Transportation Alternatives' City Hall rally. The traffic jam on the right, the smog-cloaked city in the background, the sparsely populated bike path -- this is what a broken transportation system looks like.