Congestion pricing and CO2

Congestion pricing is in the news and no matter what your hostility may be toward this solution you need to know what the damages of uncontrolled driving really are. But we are Americans. We are supposed be able to do whatever we want when we want it. To imply that driving is actually a privilege, not a right, seems positively un-American. Nonetheless, this privilege is now costing all of us, whether we drive or not. As discussed in last month”™s column, “The Tragedy of Commons,” resources that are free tend to be abused regardless of the consequences. If there is a cost the resource tends to be used more sensibly.

 

A simple concept

Just what is congestion pricing? It is really quite a simple concept. CP charges drivers for using congested roads during peak periods in order to encourage them to use other transportation modes or to shift to off-peak periods. The revenue generated supports transit maintenance and development. Pricing variables are common in modern life. Con Edison adjusts its charges for electricity based on demand in a commercial account. Cinemas frequently offer lower prices during slow periods of the day and, of course, “Happy Hour” buys into the same concept.

These are the facts. This nation loses an estimated $200 billion per year ”“ 3.7 billion hours and 2.3 billions gallons of fuel, while vehicles idle in traffic. This is real money, folks, and we are losing it every day. The rest of the nation has discovered that pricing schemes are virtually the only path to mitigation of the national traffic congestion dilemma.

More than 10 years ago the New York State Thruway Authority initiated a congestion pricing study on the Tappan Zee Bridge in an attempt to mitigate gridlock on the Interstate 287 corridor. Time travel studies soon revealed that because of the high traffic volumes on the shoulder periods, (on either side of the peak period), there seemed to be no opportunity to make a congestion pricing scheme work without a transit alternative as an option. This study was the precursor to the current state study on the TZB/I-287 corridor, still trying to solve gridlock. This time a solution may actually emerge. Meanwhile, a congestion pricing system was devised for trucks coming over the Tappan Zee Bridge. This is in operation today at the Spring Valley truck toll booth, which explains why there are more trucks during daytime hours, and consequently fewer during peak hours. It has been a very successful strategy.

 

The English way

Early in 2003, under the guidance of a former left-wing radical, Mayor Ken Livingston, known as “Red Ken,” led the city of London into the age of congestion pricing. He was aided by a select group of strategists from New York City, including Richard Kiley, former head of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

 

Some have related the pricing strategy to a modern-day Robin Hood scheme, taking from one group to make life better for another group. Called “Carmaggedon” before the pricing strategy was instituted, the second day after it was put in place 60,000 fewer cars appeared in the cordon zone. Average speeds in downtown London doubled, from 12 mph. It has been touted as the greatest success in road policy to date. Four years after London began to charge drivers everything looks rosy. The mayor got re-elected handily, three-quarters of Londoners support the concept and the congestion zone is to be expanded westward to cover more of the boroughs of Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster.

Meanwhile, New York City planners have been studying congestion pricing for years. Finally, on Earth Day, Mayor Michael Bloomberg unveiled his congestion pricing plan as part of a comprehensive strategy for the future of the city. His timing was terrible, too late in the season for the ponderous state Legislature to get its arms around the concept, and he failed to get key players on board before the showdown came. All is not lost however. On July 26 the state Legislature passed legislation that will enable the study and implementation of congestion pricing in New York City with numerous hurdles to overcome but some real expectation that it actually will occur.

To comprehend the crucial importance of this plan just drive cross town on 42nd Street between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Your speed will be about 4.7 miles per hour. If you were approaching the Queens Midtown Tunnel the average speed would drop to 2.5 miles per hour.

 

Reality check

Anyone who claims the pricing scheme hurts the poor and the middle class is unacquainted with reality. Given the cost of owning a car it is unlikely that the poor would drive into Manhattan in the first place. However, for those who must drive in the city, such as tradesmen and delivery trucks, the price is high indeed. Not because of the pricing charge but the time lost sitting in traffic under the current system. Time is money in the lives of these people and $8 can be lost in a heartbeat if one cannot move about the city in the course of performing one”™s work. At present a person traveling cross town in New York City is a third of London”™s speed before congestion pricing was introduced.

In contrast to the difficulty of introducing congestion pricing on the Tappan Zee Bridge because of the lack of options, New York City has a lot of alternate ways of moving around the city, a comprehensive transit system and a perfect environment for walking and biking. There are very few reasons for one to drive in the heart of the city.

Since the London experiment began in 2003 the general public has finally awakened to the real dangers of air pollution produced by vehicles. An average-size car emits about 5,000 pounds of CO2 into the atmosphere. To realize the gravity of the damage to the atmosphere caused by vehicle emissions just multiply that CO2 number by the vehicles jamming midtown on any day! For an island city like Manhattan the most serious result of climate change caused by greenhouse gases is the prospect of sea level rise.

Stunningly harsh weather this summer in Europe and England is a clear manifestation and a hint of future weather aberrations in other parts of the world. Are there really intelligent people out there who find it possible to ignore these clear signals of climate change just over the horizon?

 

Surviving the Future explores a wide range of subjects to assist businesses in adapting to a new energy age. Maureen Morgan, a transit advocate, is on the board of Federated Conservationists of Westchester. Reach her at mmmorgan10@optonline.net.