Compact and Transit-Oriented

Development – Does it Make People

Drive Less?
Supply and Demand
What are the potential solutions to traffic congestion?
• Add road capacity (supply)
• Add capacity elsewhere (demand)
• Better manage existing transportation systems (demand)
• Make better use of technology
• Change land use patterns (demand)
• Reform 9-5 Routine/Greater WFH (demand)
• Road pricing (demand)
What is road pricing?

A market-based solution to traffic congestion

The basic idea: charge drivers a fee to use roads,

hence reduce the demand for road space
• There are two forms of road pricing:

• Area/zone/cordon pricing: charging road users to enter

a particular part of a city

• Roadway facility pricing: charging variable tolls for

specific roads during peak hours
Area or Zone Pricing
• Tries to reduce congestion in specific areas of cities

• The toll does not usually vary by the time of day

• Area pricing works best in high density parts of

cities that are well served by public transit (where
there’s the alternative of transit)
Roadway Facility Pricing
• Variably priced lanes
• Increase price during peak hours

• Set the tolls so the number of drivers willing to pay

the toll would be small enough to permit continuous
high speed travel on roads

• As a result, more cars would be able to use the road

during rush hour than they would on free congested
roads
Road Pricing is an old idea
• In the 1920s Frank Knight advocated charging
higher prices during peak periods to prevent
shortages or waiting lines

• But we have been reluctant to introduce road

pricing widely

Why?
Politics and Equity Considerations

• Roads are owned by the public, like parks, libraries, and

schools

• Pricing would unduly burden low-income households by

pushing them off of the roads so that the rich can travel
at high speeds
London’s Congestion Charge
The congestion charging zone is a
small area of London

It is a 21km2 charging zone

It was implemented in 2003
Revenue was to be invested in public transit
Automatic number plate recognition
technology monitors cars that enter the zone
• Upon implementation, 300 extra buses were added
to the Central London bus network to give people
an alternative to driving

• Additional bus lanes were added

The effect was immediate
• In the first year of congestion charging, London
saw:
• a 30% reduction in traffic congestion
• a 30% increase in average speeds
• bus passenger numbers increased by 38%
Former London Mayor, Ken Livingstone:

"The only real problem we had were the buses were

all running so ahead of schedule they had to wait at
the bus stop for a couple minutes."
How the congestion zone fared after 20 years
• By 2019 trips by private car were 14.7% below the
2000 level

• 65% of all trips in the city are made by walking,

cycling or public transit
Financial success?
• The initial costs of setting up the system were
£161.7 million
• 2014-2015, revenues from the congestion charge were
£257.4m over the financial year
• This represented around 8.5% of total revenues (TFL)
• Nearly one-third of this was spent on the cost of
running the toll system
• Annual operating net income of £172.5m
• By law, all surpluses raised must be reinvested into
London's transport infrastructure
• In 2017, £1.7bn in net revenue had been generated
and re-invested in the Capital’s transport
infrastructure

• Some £1.3bn of this has been spent on

improvements to the bus network
HOT (High Occupancy Toll) Lanes

How do they work?

• Create dedicated lanes for paying drivers/HOV
• Convert high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes or build
new lanes

• Dynamic pricing
• To maintain free-flow conditions, tolls vary during the
day with traffic volumes
What is the justification for express lanes?
• Adjacent general-purpose lanes will remain toll-free
• They add capacity and alternatives
• The toll revenue itself can finance the transit system
• Save time for bus rides
• LA’s Metro ExpressLanes on the I-110 and I-10
freeways start at $0.35 per mile and can range up to
$2.60 per mile under high-traffic situations

• Solo drivers can use the ExpressLanes if they pay

the full toll, two-person carpools pay less, and
vehicles with three or more persons pay nothing
Proof of Concept?
• As of 2022, Metro ExpressLanes have
accommodated more than 340 million trips…

• issued more than 1.37 million transponders…

• provided more than $103.6 million in transit

subsidies and net toll revenue grants along the
corridor.
• Some drivers are willing to pay to avoid congestion

• These drivers create capacity on free lanes, but…

• Unless all roads are priced, express lanes have the
same effect as other forms of increased road
capacity
• Road capacity is filled by induced demand

• Express lanes, as implemented, are too limited to

reduce congestion, or raise substantial income
What are the arguments against congestion pricing?
• Roads Should Stay Free

• Few Alternatives to Driving

• Pricing burdens the poor

Roads Should Stay Free
• Most drivers don’t want to pay for roads that are
currently free

• Is it free to drive on roads?

• Congestion slows traffic down for much of the day,

and drivers pay for this congestion in wasted time and
gas

• As well as other social costs

No Alternatives to Driving
• Most people have no choice but to drive during rush
hour so pricing will do little to reduce traffic

• Many drivers do respond to prices by shifting the

mode, time, and/or route of their travel

• Since traffic is non-linear, only a few people have to

change their behavior to get traffic flowing again
Equity
• Pricing would unduly burden low-income households
by pushing them off of the roads

• Road pricing creates “Lexus lanes”

• Few equity agendas in other areas of social policy

suggest that all goods be free

• We can put in place programs that help lower-income

households
• There is no free way to handle traffic congestion

• You will always be charging people something –

might be money, might be time, might be health

• Ultimately, we choose to pay with time and health

 Compact and Transit-Oriented
Development – Does it Make People
Drive Less?
What is new urbanism?
• A planning movement that seeks to limit/reverse
urban sprawl

• Emerged in the 1980s in response to decades of

auto-oriented, suburban development

• It’s based on principles of walkability, density, non-

auto transportation…
What is transit-oriented development (TOD)?
Commercial and housing development that occurs
close to transit stations
• Of course, this is not a new idea

• Recall that street car systems were originally

privately operated and funded by developers

• By definition, this was transit-oriented development

How should we absorb population growth?
Like This?
Or, we can create greater density within a region
(infill development)
Hollywood
DTLA
Has new urbanism has been a success?
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