When a few cars are removed from a congested road (as little as 5 percent of the total, according to the FHWA), vehicles begin to flow more freely and the roadway becomes more reliable and predictable for people.
Now, the Greater Washington Partnership has released a report (PDF) that makes the case for “performance-driven tolling” as a way forward out of the gridlock.
The authors note that PDT, “when deployed correctly, allocates a fee to single-occupant vehicles, which creates incentives for consumers to divert trips to non-peak periods, increase vehicle occupants, or opt for public transportation and carpooling.”
One estimate puts the annual costs of congestion for Capital Region residents at more than $7 billion annually, with the Washington metro area drivers each losing $1,834 in 2014, which is the highest amount for any metro area in the nation.
As noted in the graphic at the top, there are two other possible solutions that the Partnership thinks are not as viable for the D.C. region as performance-driven tolling.
One would be to build additional highway capacity, but that:
- Requires infrastructure investment and land
- Free lane access induces more trips that can negate most benefits from new capacity, and
- LA spent $1.6 billion over six years to widen the I-405 that resulted in average rush hour travel time increasing by one minute.
The other is to develop the transit network and service, but that:
- Requires infrastructure investment and land depending on the type of transit (such as bus versus rail), and
- Investment in transit alone provides minimal decrease in roadway congestion.
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Read the complete article at greaterwashingtonpartnership.com