The Impacts of Congestion Pricing on Transit and Carpool Demand and Supply

This paper provides a conceptual discussion of the way in which areawide congestion pricing is expected to affect transit and carpool supply and demand, along with illustrative examples. This is followed by a review of available data on the extent of congestion in metropolitan areas and by the use of these data to identify 15 large and heavily congested metropolitan areas that are plausible candidates for congestion pricing. The extent and nature of the transit systems serving these 15 areas are examined and the various ways in which congestion pricing would be expected to affect the quantity and quality of transit services provided is discussed. The final section of the paper presents a plea for caution in embracing the argument that revenues from congestion pricing should be used to increase transit subsidies. Instead, it is suggested that congestion revenues (net of administrative costs) be used to reduce other taxes.