Thursday, August 17, 2023

Singapore, London and Stockholm have had congestion pricing, now New York is going to adopt it, and charge 23 bucks to enter. It simply means rich elite won't notice it, and poor people won't be able to afford it. (see Bright, Netflix, 2017)

Singapore began charging drivers a fee to enter its business district in 1975.

Tolls range from $0 during the evenings and weekends, when there’s little traffic on the roads, to as much as $9 to enter the city center during rush hour.

There are no tolls on Sundays or during public holidays. And there are no exemptions, except for public service vehicles. Even public buses have to pay the fee.

Stockholm began charging drivers a fee to enter its business district in 2006

When congestion pricing began, traffic immediately dropped by 20% – the difference between gridlock and moving traffic.

When the program started in 2006, drivers paid $2 to enter the zone during rush hour.

At other times during the day, drivers were charged $1. There is no charge between the hours of 6:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m.

Now, in the summertime, when more drivers enter the Stockholm toll zone, drivers pay a fee of $4.50 during peak hours. In the winter, when there are fewer drivers, the toll decreases to $3.50 during peak hours.

people with disability plates don’t have to pay the toll (I do not understand what getting a dr to give you a handicapped plate has to do with bypassing the toll for driving (or parking int he USA at parking meters for free))

London launched its version of congestion pricing – known as the Central London Congestion Charging Zone – in 2003. It covered eight square miles, an area similar to New York’s congestion zone. Shortly after its launch, the number of vehicles circulating in the tolling area dropped by 15% and congestion in the zone declined by 30%

It currently costs $19 to enter the city center. That's up sharply from the $6.30 the congestion pricing program charged when it launched. Vehicles are charged on weekends and holidays from noon to 6 p.m.,

There are many exemptions. People who live in the zone get a 90% discount. People with disabilities or vehicles that transport people with disabilities aren’t charged. Vehicles with more than nine seats aren’t charged. Vehicles that are 100% electric are exempt from the charge, but will have to pay the full price starting in 2025. Motorcycles and taxis are exempt, but private for-hire vehicles aren't.

https://gothamist.com/news/3-global-cities-have-had-congestion-pricing-for-decades-hows-it-going

2 comments:

  1. You missed the ULEZ (Ultra Low Emission Zone) in London which runs along side the congestion charge. If your vehicle isn't compliant you get charged £12.50 per day to drive it in London. As of 29th August the ULEZ is expanding to cover all of London not just the city. If your Petrol car is over 16 years old or a diesel over 6 years old it will not be ULEZ compliant.
    It is one of the most controversial and unpopular changes to hit London and as ever the rich wont care and the poor who drive the older cars will end up suffering. The scrappage scheme was expanded to be a little fairer with less than a month to go but only offers £2000 but used car prices for compliant cars have doubled and in some cases tripled since the expansion was announced.

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    Replies
    1. I'm not writing the encyclopedia of thorough research that covers everything about a topic, I don't have that kind of time.
      This post was simply about congestion pricing, and where it is.
      It would take a lot more time than I have to write a newspaper style researched article about this, or anything else, and I'm not here working for someone who pays me to do that.
      This blog is just something I do in my spare time.
      If I were focusing on London, and it's evolution on this emissions vs congestion pricing, plus the time line of it's expansion of the area covered, I'd also have to dive into other aspects that pop up, like that they are not doing this because of emissions, as that would be focused on tailpipe emissions specs, and not categorically allowing model years to be compliant with these policies.
      Like you, I see it as a wealthy vs poor situation, a push for electric cars, and possibly the aspect of that is clearly that the poor are not going to have electric cars, nor be able to afford homes that can be upgraded with charging stations.
      So, what I did was edit the source, that I linked to, to just put the summary of that article here for a speed read version

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