Congestion pricing, an idea long promoted by both economists and environmentalists, is finally making its way into the mainstream debate of how to deal with California’s traffic problems. New electronic toll technology has allowed more Californians to benefit from congestion pricing programs, and provides new opportunities for Bay Area traffic relief.

Congestion pricing refers to the policy of varying road prices according to the amount of traffic on the road. For example, toll bridges might require a higher toll during rush hour, or a crowded commuter highway might offer an express lane for cars that are willing to pay an added toll. Similar pricing methods are successfully used by long distance phone companies, airlines, and movie theaters who charge more for popular times of use.

Caltrans estimates that Californians lose 500,000 hours daily due to congestion. That translates into $2 billion in lost productivity. They also reported that each year congestion costs the average driver in San Bernadino county $1,090 in lost time and added vehicle costs, the average San Francisco Bay Area driver $950, and the average Los Angeles driver $920.

According to the EPA, “on-road” vehicles account for 53 percent of volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions, 64 percent of nitrogen oxide emissions, and 82 percent of carbon monoxide emissions. These pollutants can cause adverse health effects such as decreased lung capacity, heart disease, bronchitis, eye irritation, and headaches. Congestion directly contributes to air pollution, because, according to the California Air Resources Board, emissions are 250 percent worse when cars accelerate, decelerate, or idle, which happen often in congested conditions.

Throughout California, transportation officials are realizing the benefits of congestion pricing. In Orange county, the California Private Transportation Company has built and operates a privately owned toll road that costs drivers between $.50 and $2.75 per trip to use, depending on the time of day. The road operates using electronic toll booths that do not require drivers to stop and manually pay a toll. Instead, they purchase electronic cards that attach to the inside of their windshields. They pay a fee in advance, usually in $40 increments, and as they drive through the electronic toll lane, sensors read the card and deduct the toll amount from the driver’s account.

24,000 daily commuters use this toll road to avoid the congested state route 91, which is also now less crowded because 24,000 fewer cars use it. Public opinion polls among drivers in Southern California show that over 62 percent approve of the Express Lanes.

In San Diego, Interstate 15 has converted an underutilized carpool lane into a High Occupancy Toll Lane, or “HOT” Lane. Using similar electronic toll technology, single drivers can pay a monthly fee of $70.00 to use the carpool lane. In 1998, the program plans to use dynamic pricing, which uses variable tolls according to the actual amount of traffic on the road at that specific time. An electronic message board will display the fare to drivers.

In Sonoma County, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, Caltrans, and the Sonoma County Transportation Authority are conducting a feasibility study for building two variable-priced toll lanes on the median of State Route 101 between Marin County and Santa Rosa. Using the SR 91 Express Lanes and the I-15 HOT Lanes as models, they are currently determining toll amounts and funding sources.

The Bay Area has numerous toll facilities that could easily adopt congestion pricing: primarily, the Bay Bridge. As plans for the new eastern span of the bridge unfold, it has become certain that tolls will double next year to pay for construction and retrofication. Implementing a variable toll would not only help cover these costs, but would reduce congestion for the thousands of commuters who use the bridge every morning.

The Carquinez Bridge in Oakland already uses an electronic toll facility, and similar facilities are scheduled to be installed on the Bay, Richmond-San Rafael, Antioch, and Benicia-Martinez bridges by next spring.

Not only do the new electronic tolls make congestion pricing easier to achieve, but public opinion polls show Bay Area support. A 1995 Bay Area Council poll shows that 58 percent of drivers in the region approve of congestion pricing on the Bay Bridge.

Traffic and air pollution continue to plague the Bay Area. Congestion pricing through the use of electronic toll facilities uses a market incentive to provide a much needed high tech solution.

Erin Schiller is a Public Policy Fellow at the California-based Pacific Research Institute.