Congestion Tolling - Mass Transit Impact

[Gilbert B Norman]

This article, appearing today in The Times, has impact far beyond the NY region it addresses:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/01/nyre ... icing.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Fair Use:

Los Angeles traffic is so bad that buses crawl along at less than 12 miles an hour. In San Francisco, car speeds have fallen to 10 miles per hour. And Seattle’s streets are so choked the city needs to find ways to have fewer cars altogether.

Major cities across the United States are facing increasingly clogged roads and have had frustratingly little success in dealing with them. But now that New York has adopted congestion pricing in Manhattan, the rest of the country is far more likely to seriously consider embracing such a policy — even though it was once considered politically toxic, according to municipal officials and transportation analysts...

Anyone care to offer any thoughts regarding a Metropolitan area, with which they have familiarly, the possible impact, particularly on rail, such could have?

[ExCon90]

I think it's a good idea which ought to work if it can overcome local opposition, but the major problem would be finding an American city with a public transportation network capable of handling a sudden increase in demand. New York would be the obvious starting point, but the subway system--as well as PATH--is straining at the seams as it is. One pertinent point was made known to me as I fell into conversation with a fellow passenger atop a London bus (the front of the top deck gives a splendid view of just why the traffic isn't moving)--he had been living just outside the congestion-pricing zone and said that the local residents had indeed curbed their driving into the zone. Later, the zone was extended to include where he was living, which meant that he and his neighbors could then drive at will anywhere within the zone without penalty. It seems that great care must be taken in setting the boundary of those zones to note the number of residents who will be included in them. (Come to think of it, it might not be that much of a problem in New York--I wonder how many residents of Manhattan south of 59th St. even have cars, or if they do, do they use them every day?).