As cities around the world continue to see increased traffic delays, some are utilizing congestion pricing programs to ease gridlock. Congestion pricing acts as a market-based mechanism: increasing the cost to drive in certain areas may encourage drivers to take alternate means of transport or travel at different times. Toll revenues can go to improving roadways and public transit or reducing other vehicle-related taxes.

Congestion fees have been shown to reduce traffic and air pollution, but they are often controversial. Londoners initially opposed the city’s congestion pricing plan when it went into effect in 2003. Lawsuits and the Trump administration threaten New York’s program.

At least five cities are utilizing congestion pricing programs, and others are considering them.

Singapore launched a congestion pricing program in 1975, charging drivers a flat rate to enter the city’s central area. It was immediately successful, reducing traffic by 20% in just a few months. Authorities upgraded to a fully automatic system in 1998, with toll rates dynamically adjusted by location, time of day, vehicle type and real-time traffic speed. In 2024, Singapore drivers lost 20 hours to traffic delays, while New York City drivers — prior to congestion pricing — spent 102 hours stuck in traffic, according to Inrix.

London first established a congestion charge in 2003, when travel times in the city were slower than before the arrival of automobiles. Before the tolls went into effect, 43% of Londoners responding to a survey opposed the plan. Within a few months, opposition dropped below 31%, and more than half of respondents said they supported the program. London traffic declined 30%, while bus speeds in the zone increased by 6%. Even so, London remains one of the top five global cities for traffic delays, per Inrix.

Stockholm implemented its tolling program for the city’s central business district in 2006. Less than 40% of Stockholm residents supported the plan at the time, but one year later, voters passed a referendum to make the program permanent. Stockholm also invested in its public transit system, buying 197 new buses, adding 16 new bus lines and expanding service on existing routes. The Swedish Transport Agency charges variable fees during certain hours of the day. Another Swedish city, Gothenburg, has a similar program.

Read the full article about cities utilizing congestion pricing by Dan Zukowski at Smart Cities Dive.