The Case for Two-tier Congestion Pricing on Urban Tollways

The basis of the concept of congestion pricing is that demand for mobility is affected by the price charged to use a roadway facility. Hence, at times and places where demand exceeds supply or capacity, pricing should be an effective tool for reducing peak demand and, therein, congestion. In the United States, the only form of congestion pricing that has been implemented to date is high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes, which users can access by meeting a vehicle-occupancy requirement or by paying the market price. These HOT lanes have been created through either the conversion of existing HOV lanes or the construction of new express lanes generally operated on the HOT principle. This article discusses the congestion-reduction possibilities of pricing an entire urban freeway system, with a special focus on a two-tiered congestion pricing scheme.