What Local Policy Makers Should Know about Urban Road Charging: Lessons from Worldwide Experience Looking at Administrative Innovation and Change Abroad

... American policy makers are increasingly considering the use of charges and fees on road users to reduce traffi c in heavily congested urban areas. Congestion costs are emerging as one of the most important challenges faced by metropolitan planners and transport authorities in developed economies. In the United States, these costs were as high as $78 billion in 2005 and are growing as a result of rapid increases in travel delays. In order to solve the current and severe levels of congestion, the U.S. Department of Transportation has recently started a program to initiate congestion pricing in fi ve metropolitan areas. In this context, it is important to identify factors that infl uence successful implementation, as well as the problems or diffi culties associated with charging projects. Th e authors review, synthesize, and analyze worldwide experience with urban road charging in order to extract lessons for policy makers who are considering the implementation of congestion pricing projects and for those who are interested in the introduction of traffi c management tools to regulate entrance to city centers.