Can Congestion Pricing Help Fund Infrastructure?

For Construction Pros ^ | August 26, 2019 | Jessica Lombardo

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Gridlock on America’s roadways is increasing, according to the 2019 Urban Mobility Report published by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute – in part due to job growth that is “exacerbating” the nation’s traffic woes.

As a result, over that 26-year period from 1982 to 2018:

• The number of hours per commuter lost to traffic delay has nearly tripled, climbing to 54 hours a year.
• The annual cost of that delay per commuter has nearly doubled to $1,010.
• The nationwide cost of gridlock has grown more than tenfold to $166 billion a year.
• The amount of fuel wasted sitting in stalled traffic has more than tripled to 3.3 billion gallons a year.
• While trucks constitute only 7 percent of road traffic, they account for 12 percent of congestion cost.

Traffic has also increased in many cities due to widespread ride-hailing. Once Uber and others roll out autonomous vehicle fleets, calling a car will be cheaper, more competitive and a potential burden on our streets. Exploring congestion pricing may become more important as we move toward a future where both electric and self-driving vehicles are taking up space on city streets. A car is a car, whether self-driving or people driven — taking up a great deal more space than buses, streetcars or trains.

Due to changes in driving patterns, the costs of traffic congestion and maintenance backlogs are ever-growing and current funding models are not keeping pace with city needs. According to the National League of Cities, congestion pricing could help to solve the growing infrastructure crisis in American cities. By piloting new technologies like congestion collection systems, local leaders have the opportunity to find ways to sustainably improve conditions on and around America’s roads.

[RFEngineer]

“The reality of electrical generation capacity planning and construction means that a kWH generated at time of peak demand costs / is worth a lot more than an off-peak one. It’s basic economics, that’s why.”

Previously the technology to monitor everyones meter so they could charge demand rates was not available cost-effective for household customers. Now that it is, they do it because they are now able to do it.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

From what I’ve seen of Virginia and it’s PPP’s handling congestion pricing, I would be more amenable to something like Maryland’s Intercounty Connector has, with a modestly higher rate for rush hours than for the rest of the day, but certainly not soaring to the moon, like on I-66 inside the Beltway during morning tolling hours.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

When an existing highway lanes starts to be tolled, it is typically a lane that has HOV restrictions at least part of the time. There are exceptions, such as with Texas 45 SE, south of Austin, in which a general-purpose highway built with gas taxes was then basically tolled from the get.

[Thud]

The problem is that whole new communities need to be created, i.e., job locations (chiefly light industry) along with housing and services. Regulations, NIMBYism and general idiot greenishness prevent normal growth.

Certainly anti-housing legal environment and politics contribute to this. California is way under-built, i.e., has a desperate general housing shortage after @ 25 years of such behavior.

But creation of housing far away from where new jobs are being created is the real cause of transportation gridlock. Whole new communities with light industry are needed, and that just isn't happening.

[blueplum]

how about, congestion limiting, instead?

Wouldn’t congestion pricing increase congestion? Drawing those employers who can perk their employees’ fees while shutting out the little guys employees, with the side effect of even more government congestion. City govts that have enough employees to populate a medium town is never a good thing for the taxpayer. Put a cap on it. This is the size of our town/city and what our taxpayers can afford and tolerate; and you’ll have to locate your business/retail centers outside in the ‘burbs or the next town over. Just like any residential planned community.

[Wuli]

The problem is really (a) the real estate industry and (b) the corporate world and (c) the political class which jointly all prefer job development to keep pilling up more people where there are already more people, instead of where population density is lower.