Preliminary Results of the London Congestion Charging Scheme

On February 17, 2003, the London Congestion Charging Scheme came into effect. Preliminary results show a significant response to the £5 (U.S. $8) charge. Congestion over the first year decreased by 30%. Overall traffic levels within the charging zone fell by 16%. Speeds for car travel increased by more than 20%, and bus travel became more reliable. Elasticities of demand for trips by car with respect to generalized costs are estimated to be between –1.32 and –2.10. The average marginal congestion cost within the central zone is estimated at £1.65/vehicle-km (approximatelyU.S. $2.58/vehicle-km). The net economic benefits of the Scheme for the first year were £50 million (U.S. $78 million) and the net revenues, £68 million (U.S. $106 million). Net revenues are mainly being used to improve public transport.

[1]  Mva Consultancy,et al.  The London congestion charging research programme : final report , 1995 .

[2]  A. Walters.  The Theory and Measurement of Private and Social Cost of Highway Congestion , 1961 .

[3]  D. Graham,et al.  The Demand for Automobile Fuel A Survey of Elasticities , 2002 .

[4]  Simon Shepherd,et al.  The impact of cordon design on the performance of road pricing schemes , 2002 .

[5]  David M Newbery,et al.  Pricing and Congestion: Economic Principles Relevant to Pricing Roads , 1990 .

[6]  P. Goodwin.  A REVIEW OF NEW DEMAND ELASTICITIES WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO SHORT AND LONG RUN EFFECTS OF PRICE CHANGES , 1992 .

[7]  Chris Nash.  TRANSPORT EXTERNALITIES: DOES MONETARY VALUATION MAKE SENSE?. , 1997 .

[8]  Agachai Sumalee,et al.  A Genetic Algorithm Based Approach to Optimal Toll Level and Location Problems , 2004 .

[9]  A. C. Pigou.  Economics of welfare , 1920 .

[10]  C. Nash,et al.  Pricing European Transport Systems Recent Developments and Evidence from Case Studies , 2001 .

[11]  G. Hardin,et al.  The Tragedy of the Commons , 1968, Green Planet Blues.

[12]  Erik T. Verhoef,et al.  SECOND-BEST CONGESTION PRICING IN GENERAL NETWORKS. HEURISTIC ALGORITHMS FOR FINDING SECOND-BEST OPTIMAL TOLL LEVELS AND TOLL POINTS , 2002 .

[13]  P. Goodwin.  The economic cost of congestion when road capacity is constrained: lessons from congestion charging in London , 2005 .

[14]  Richard Ruggles,et al.  System of national accounts, 1993 , 1995 .

[15]  Xiaoning Zhang,et al.  The optimal cordon-based network congestion pricing problem , 2004 .