Recent developments and current policy issues in road pricing in the US and Canada

The United States and Canada lag Europe and Singapore in implementing road pricing on a large scale. But the two countries have shown interest in tolling roads as a way to curb congestion and to generate revenues. The US is funding congestion pricing demonstration projects through its Value Pricing Pilot Program, and Canada has examined new ways to charge for road use and to finance road construction and maintenance. This paper reviews the current state of road pricing and funding in the two countries. The prospects for extensive road pricing appear to be brighter in the US than in Canada.