Congestion charging schemes: When are they the right option?

Several cities throughout the world have introduced congestion pricing schemes, including London and Stockholm. However, other metropolitan areas, including the UK West Midlands and Copenhagen, ultimately rejected the use of congestion pricing schemes after some consideration. This article discusses the experience of these four metropolitan areas as well as results from a survey of networks and authorities worldwide regarding the benefits and difficulties of introducing congestion pricing schemes. Overall findings suggest that congestion problems have to be very significant before a congestion charging scheme even becomes feasible. It is suggested that cities could introduce congestion pricing from a more comprehensive approach that also considers air quality improvement in addition to traffic congestion.