Congestion Pricing: A Smart City View

Cities in the U.S. and around the globe are struggling with vehicular traffic and its consequences. And the problem is only getting worse. The 21st century megatrend of urbanization has pushed more individuals and businesses to cluster around increasingly attractive economic centers. As populations have increased in successful urban regions, so have the number of vehicles and volume of traffic.The resulting traffic congestion is costly and harmful.

For many major U.S cities including Los Angeles, Boston, and New York, and Chicago, traffic costs tens of billions of dollars a year in lost time, wasted fuel, and unhealthy air quality. Traffic congestion causes secondary effects as well, such as slowing down buses and emergency responses, disrupting the movement of goods, interfering with business, and ultimately, causing people to abandon the trip or even the region.