Just call it a tax, and stop the semantics game.
Back in the 90’s, DC was complaining about paying for roads that the “suburban white people” use to come into “our city” to make money. They raised taxes on prepared foods and tried to get a commuter tax but it never made it past Congress. It seems they don’t have enough people that reside in the city to pay for their stuff.
So, fast forward to today, they have about 200 cameras all aimed at drivers coming in to the district.. this is their commuter tax that yields them $65,000,000 per year but, it’s done in the name of “safety”.