New York approves plan to implement congestion tolling: Beginning of a new trend?

As part of its recently passed $175 billion budget, the state of New York is allowing for congestion tolling to be implemented in New York City. Lawmakers believe congestion tolling will not only reduce city vehicle traffic levels but also provide a new source of revenue to fund and maintain New York City’s aging subway system. More importantly, however, New York’s plan may serve as a tipping point for other cities in the United States to finally move forward with their own congestion tolling systems.

Tolling strategies may mitigate the impact of AVs on VMT and congestion

The anticipated shift to autonomous vehicles raises several concerns, among them are whether AVs will increase total vehicle miles traveled, exacerbate congestion, or replace the use of transit and active modes. A new study focused on Austin, TX, models the effects that two adoption scenarios may have, comparing the results to current conditions. The experiment shows a jump in VMT, increased congestion, and a shift away from public transportation. The authors then mitigate the scenarios by applying four tolling schemes, and examine the results.

Tolling strategies may mitigate the impact of AVs on VMT and congestion

The anticipated shift to autonomous vehicles raises several concerns, among them are whether AVs will increase total vehicle miles traveled, exacerbate congestion, or replace the use of transit and active modes. A new study focused on Austin, TX, models the effects that two adoption scenarios may have, comparing the results to current conditions. The experiment shows a jump in VMT, increased congestion, and a shift away from public transportation. The authors then mitigate the scenarios by applying four tolling schemes, and examine the results.

Dynamic tolling benefits highway users in congested areas

Congestion pricing is gaining a foothold in the management of highway vehicular travel, and with good reason. Congestion pricing, sometimes called demand-based pricing or dynamic tolling, is in the early stages of adoption by state DOTs as a congestion-management practice. But evidence from Virginia, Washington, and Utah’s dynamically-tolled lanes show that DOTs need to be careful how they set their toll rates to manage traffic flow.

Unintended consequences: learning from managing traffic volumes on express toll lanes

Despite the prevalence of anti-tolling sentiment reported in the press, cities like Atlanta and Los Angeles that operate variably priced toll lanes have seen early skepticism give way to heavy use of these lanes by commuters. These successes and the approaches taken by the two agencies to manage increasing demand suggest a need to manage these facilities in the context of the entire transportation system. The two approaches taken by Atlanta and Los Angeles could be used by other agencies struggling with similar issues.

Access for the unbanked—equity with electronic tolling and contactless transit payment

State DOTs are increasingly moving to all electronic tolling (AET) for roads and bridges. Transit agencies nationwide are also updating fare collection systems, and the trend is towards contactless, cashless fare payment. However, a significant percentage of the U.S. population does not have a bank account, and this poses significant accessibility challenges to the transportation system.

States push for tolls to fund transportation; public opinion mixed

As states struggle to fill budget gaps left by declining fuel tax revenues, many are turning increasingly to tolls. As reported recently by Stateline, lower rates of driving and weak revenues from new toll-managed highways have pushed many states to consider new tolls on existing facilities, along with other strategies such as mileage-based fees. A recent report from the Metropolitan Planning Council in Chicago confirms that many new toll roads around the country have struggled or failed entirely. That leaves tolling existing facilities as an increasingly viable option for transportation funding and also an appealing traffic management strategy on already congested routes.

Finding the middle – balancing public and private interests with P3s

Many agencies have been slow to adopt a public private partnership model for transportation financing, which offers both funding opportunities and shortened timelines. One problem is that municipalities and states may not have the capacity to match the right private partner to the appropriate project and assess taxpayer impacts. Is it time to consider dedicated offices to handle P3s?