Around the world, cities are charging—or proposing—congestion fees to drivers in an attempt to deter traffic in busy downtown zones—a cost that will certainly be added to meeting transportation prices.
Already in place in some cities in Europe and Asia, New York is poised become the first major U.S. city with a congestion fee later this year.
In Paris, the Crit’Air certificate is a compulsory program for all vehicles, from private cars to buses and coaches. There are 6 categories of certificates (stickers that need to be affixed to the vehicle), each with a different color, to encourage the least polluting vehicles. Since January, all Crit’Air 5 vehicles or vehicles without a sticker have been subject to traffic restrictions in Low Emission Zones.
One successful example is London, which instituted an entry tax back in 2003. By some estimates, the program has halved the traffic into the city center almost in half. It has also raised billions for transit and road reconfigurations.
Later this year, New York City drivers could face a traffic congestion charge of up to $23 a day. The city is proposing a daily variable toll for vehicles entering or remaining within the central business district, defined as between 60th Street in midtown Manhattan and Battery Park on Manhattan’s southern tip.
The plan cleared a major hurdle on the national level last month, when the Biden administration approved the release of the final environmental assessment for public comment, an important step before final approval.
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