Congestion Pricing Practices and Public Acceptance Paper Example

Description of Congestion Pricing

In most of the urban cities issues with congestions in the road transport has promoted push towards the Congestion Pricing; a lot of of pros and cons about it have been discussed. The term Congestion pricing refers to the vibrant pricing plan meant to regulate the demand by raising the prices without necessarily increasing the supply (Gu, Liu, Cheng, & Saberi, 2018). Congestion pricing is commonly applied at the transportation and shipping industries, while at the same time is perceived to be utilized under the utilities and services which demand varies over time, such as telecommunication and electricity. Congestion pricing operates by the system of surcharging customers' goods and services that are subjected to the cyclic or temporary increase in demand. The policy regulates the excess demand by using higher prices when the demand is at the peak cycles.

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Even though the policy of congestion pricing is commonly identified in the transport resources, it can also be used with the varying levels of demand by time of the day, such as the electricity. The idea that drives Congestion pricing is the fact that it encourages users to be flexible in their usage times to transform their use away from peak period to the times when it is less expensive (Kim, Schmocker, Fujii, & Noland, 2013). Many stakeholders have perceived congestion pricing as the regressive tax since it affects low-income users more compared to other groups. In recent years, there are various congestion pricing policies referred to as surge pricing that have been implemented by companies such as Uber, whereby it surcharges rideshare customers at peak hours.

Facts About congestion pricing

Is Congestion Charge needed in New York?

In New York, the number one reason for having high traffic on the roads is that there are too many cars for the roadway which are mainly private cars. The New York Jam is among the worst in the world, and it always gets worst every day causing delays in the city (Kim, et al, 2013). The Congestion Charge will be of significance to promote motorist to use other means of transportation rather than their personal cars and hence it will reduce the number of vehicles on the road. People will shift into, cycling, walking, and use of public transport.

Congestion pricing in New York City is proposed into a traffic congestion fee that will be subjected to the vehicles that are getting within the predetermined area in the Manhattan central business district of New York City. The policy was first proposed in 2007 by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg though the proposal was delayed in the New York State Assembly (Gu, Liu, Cheng, & Saberi, 2018). Then again, in 2017, Governor Andrew Cuomo introduced his proposal on the congestion pricing policy following the New York City Subway's state of emergency whereby it as established that the subway had on-going reliability and crowding problems which are as a result of the funding shortfalls; Although, the proposal faced opposition from Mayor Bill de Blasio and was not included in the state's 2018 budget. Through an established commission set in late 2017 to investigate the viability of the congestion pricing, it was reported that congestion pricing scheme could be of benefit to New York City. If the proposal by the report will be presented and approved by the mayor, New York City's congestion pricing zone will be the first to implement congestion fees in the whole of United States.

Where will the Money Collected from Congestion Pricing go?

As per the law, net revenue collected from the Congestion Charge must be directed to further improvements to transport across New York.

What are the Benefits will be Gained with the Implementation of the Congestion Charge?

London is one major city that has implemented the Congestion pricing for some time, and the results are encouraging. Similar to London, it is believed that the implementation of the Congestion Pricing in New York City will make a valuable contribution to the city's transport sector (Gu, Liu, Cheng, & Saberi, 2018). It will reduce congestion within the city and at the same time offering better transport services, safer and cleaner roads. The congestion charge is propelled by the fact that it reduces traffic levels and congestion.

My Opinion about Congestion Pricing

A lot has been said regarding the effects that congestion pricing has brought towards the transport sector in New York City, but let us stick to the fact rather than relying on propaganda. We can all agree that New York City is disadvantaged with an acute increase in a vehicle in the street, the number of personal vehicles surpassing those public ones. The many vehicles on the roads towards the city have led to jam and congestion which leads to an increase in, air pollution, noise pollution, and accidents associated with congestion. Also, there are delays of the fire-fighters, ambulances, police and other emergency departments who are not able to get into action because they have to take time to meander in a jam.

Indeed there is need to decongest the city and pave the way for only necessary vehicles to get in within the city. I support Congestion policy as it is the only means applicable that will seek to reduce the number of vehicles getting into the city. This will push people to switch into using public means, cycling of footing within the city. The implementation will also have financial benefits towards the local government; they will have another source of resources. Hence they can get more funds that will finance the maintenance and upgrade of the local roads, and also the money will contribute towards the national income.

The implementation of the Congestion Pricing to the city will make it more peaceful, with reduced pollution and efficient transportation. There is no need for having personal cars that will occupy extra space at the parking or the road, and yet space is necessarily needed to ease the congestion. The implementation of the congestion policy should not be politicized; instead, it needs more support for those who have a good faith for the prosperity of the city. If the implementation is not taken seriously, then the community will have to brace themselves for hard times, since the congestion will continue to build up as more people purchase their cars and get them on the road.

References

Gu, Z., Liu, Z., Cheng, Q., & Saberi, M. (2018). Congestion pricing practices and public acceptance: A review of evidence. Case Studies on Transport Policy, 6(1), 94-101.

Kim, J., Schmocker, J. D., Fujii, S., & Noland, R. B. (2013). Attitudes towards road pricing and environmental taxation among US and UK students. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 48, 50-62.