Advancing Congestion Pricing in the Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Four Case Studies

Road pricing often has come about separate from the traditional metropolitan planning process through pilot projects and demonstrations. As pricing demonstration projects have shown road pricing to be an effective tool, there is a growing need to incorporate road pricing into long-range plans. This study examined how road pricing was incorporated into long-range planning at four metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) to provide examples that could support other regions seeking to do the same. The study summarized the experience in the Dallas/Fort Worth region, the Puget Sound region, the Minneapolis/St. Paul region, and the San Francisco Bay area, and identified common themes and differences amongst the approaches used and the outcomes. 17. The U.S. Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trademarks or manufacturers' names may appear in this report only because they are considered essential to the objective of the document. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) provides high-quality information to serve Government, industry, and the public in a manner that promotes public understanding. Standards and policies are used to ensure and maximize the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of its information. FHWA periodically reviews quality issues and adjusts its programs and processes to ensure continuous quality improvement. Road pricing is being considered by more and more regions as a reaction to the dual challenges of declining revenues and increasing congestion. Road pricing is more than simply tolling a new highway with flat tolls, it involves charging a fee to use a lane, road, area, or regional network for purposes of generating revenue, managing traffic congestion, or both (see Figure 1.1). Note: Any of these can use " congestion pricing " or " variable pricing " to achieve policy objectives. Road pricing is called " congestion pricing " when prices are tailored to manage congestion by using a fixed time-of-day schedule or a dynamic algorithm based on congestion levels. In any case, some forms of road pricing can generate revenues in support of roads and/or auto alternatives, and can help achieve environmental objectives, such as reducing air pollution or greenhouse gas emissions. Road pricing in the United States is new and not well understood by the general public and elected officials. The most common form of road pricing in the United States has been high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes, where high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes are opened to use by vehicles with lower occupancy for a fee, or express toll lanes where new …