Congestion Pricing: Lessons for Miami from Washington, D.C.

Washington has a possible lesson for Miami transit authorities, but it takes the political wherewithal to apply it since there will be some who will complain. Besides the Florida Turnpike it can be applied especially to I-95 and, eventually, other feeder roads that are overloaded. This is another reason to have a strong Mayor/County Manager form of government–can you imagine our County Council approving this.

The Washington area is the nation’s most aggressive laboratory for
atransportation innovation that is designed to cut highway
congestionand subway crowding but that could end up costing commuters
more intolls and mass-transit fees.

The notion of “congestionpricing”– charging people more to travel at peak times to spread out demand –could transform how Washingtonians travel, turning commuters into cost-conscious consumers. Instead of simply getting into their cars or onto the subway, they could be induced to consider traveling
atoff-times, when prices dip. Congestion pricing could also encourageothers to work from home or use telecommuting centers and perhaps leadto more carpooling and transit use.