Congestion Pricing and Urban Partnerships Web Cast Provides Valuable Information to Transportation Professionals

On April 4, 2007, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) made the content of its Congestion Pricing and Urban Partnerships Workshops available to a wider audience through the NTOC Talking Operations Web cast series. The three-hour Web cast provided an abbreviated version of the one-day workshops recently offered by FHWA in Washington, DC, Denver, CO and Atlanta, GA.

Moderated by Regina McElroy, director of FHWA’s Office of Transportation Operations, the Web cast introduced transportation professionals to the basic elements of congestion pricing and its supporting strategies as well as political and public outreach techniques that could be used to gain support. The Web cast included four presentations: Introduction and Congestion Pricing Basics; Congestion Pricing Policy Development; Design of a Comprehensive Package of Strategies; and Urban Partnership Agreements and Federal Grant Solicitations.

Beginning the session with an overview of the U.S. DOT Congestion Initiative, McElroy explained that there are six points involved:

• Execute Urban Partnership Agreements with 1 to 5 major metro areas
• Encourage states to consider enacting public/private partnership laws
• Develop new interstate highway and rail capacity through a “Corridors of the Future” competition
• Reduce bottlenecks at major freight gateways, including Southern California
• Find and implement solutions to border congestion
• Accelerate major airport capacity projects, reform airport pricing policies and overhaul the air traffic control system

McElroy emphasized that the Department’s goal is to work on reducing congestion, not just the rate of growth of congestion. The Urban Partnership Agreements are focused on utilizing “4 Ts” to accomplish this goal: tolling, transit, telecommuting and technology.

Patrick DeCorla-Souza, FHWA Office of Transportation Operations, presented first on congestion pricing basics, providing examples of implementation both in the United States and internationally and describing what those experiences have taught transportation professionals. He noted the distinction between tolling and congestion pricing, explaining that while tolling is generally a flat rate that is used to collect revenue to pay for construction and operation, congestion pricing tolls vary by the level of demand and serve the purpose of managing demand in order to maximize efficiency and reduce delay.

While the public may initially resist congestion pricing, the examples DeCorla-Souza shared explained how public acceptance and approval quickly rose once the pricing was implemented. Among the lessons learned were that travelers have flexibility, small charges can reduce traffic significantly and driver privacy can be protected through the use of anonymous cash cards. Overall, DeCorla-Souza reported that “seeing is believing,” as public opinion about congestion pricing changes after the effectiveness of the pricing is experienced. McElroy concluded this first presentation stating that congestion pricing maximizes economic efficiency, maximizes system efficiency, provides market signals for investment and encourages the creation of new travel options.

To view all of the presentations from this Web cast and to access a transcript, visit http://www.ntoctalks.com/web_casts_archive.php. Also, complete information about the U.S. DOT Congestion Initiative is available at http://www.fightgridlocknow.gov/.