On Wednesday, Connecticut’s Transportation Strategy Board (TSB) unanimously and (according to one board member) “enthusiastically” resolved to “undertake a comprehensive review and analysis of electronic tolls and congestion pricing as a means of both managing transportation and raising revenue.” Funding for the pricing study will come from the $5.5 million allotted to the TSB in the recent state bonding bill. (see MTR # 567).
The Office of Policy and Management (OPM), where TSB is housed, plans to procure the necessary consulting services to conduct the study next year. Prior to this, a scoping process will be undertaken by OPM in January. It is anticipated that the report will be published around this time next year and will be quite broad, ranging from an analysis of the type, location and operation of some tolls to the economic and environmental impact of toll implementation.
The Tri-State Campaign has long been an advocate for a congestion pricing program on Connecticut’s roadways (see MTR # 392), and urges OPM to study the possibility of devoting pricing money to a ‘transit lock-box’ that would be used solely for transit operations and improvements.
Wednesday’s announcement could also be a good sign of things to come as transit advocates await the results of the delayed ConnDOT Reform Commission’s recommendations, now due in the first part of January. In fact, congestion pricing is one of four key components business, environmental, transit and civic groups hope to see included in the recommendations.
Do they have HOT (High-Occupancy Toll) lanes in the UK, Stephen? Those are highway lanes aside regular lanes that are free for carpoolers and buses but that single-occupancy vehicles pay to enter. The toll varies with the level of traffic congestion in the regular lanes.
At peak hours this gives drivers a choice between paying for speedy travel or driving for free and paying a “time tax” in the regular lanes. Because of the choice element, most drivers like them, including lower-income drivers who use the lanes in emergencies such as running late for work or day care.
Given that Connecticut doesn’t have a super-dense, transit-intensive city like NYC or London that could sensibly enact a cordon charge, I think HOT lanes are what will be pushed. (Also FYI Connecticut has no tolls on its highways.)
Road Pricing is perhaps the most stupid idea ever invented. It is nothing more than a added tax. A good site for review is http://www.notolls.org.uk/roadpricing.htm
No one wants congestion, but this daft idea that you can price people off the road is bad policy.
The under-used HOV lanes around Hartford (I-84, I-91) are in fact ripe for conversion to HOT lanes. Connecticut may not have areas where cordons would be desirable, but the I-95 corridor from New York to New Haven would benefit from a congestion charge that varies by time of day or by vehicle volume (like the price of the HOT lane in the San Diego area).
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