Steep streets: congestion pricing in the U.K.

• Author: Staley, Samuel R.
• Position: Citings - Brief article

ALMOST AS soon as he dreamed up a pricing scheme to manage the congestion on his city's streets, London Mayor Ken Livingstone began urging others to follow his lead. Charging for access to central London on weekdays has slashed congestion by a third, has quickened travel times, and hasn't stopped Livingstone from winning re-election. Inspired perhaps by that last point, U.S. mayors such as San Francisco's Gavin Newsom have expressed interest in the idea--but the British solution is unlikely to translate well across the pond.

Londoners must pay a whopping $14 a day to enter the "congestion zone," eight square miles in central London during weekdays between 7 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. That's a pretty blunt traffic management tool: It ignores the fact that congestion ebbs and flows during the day, forcing motorists to pay the same amount whether they enter the zone...