Congestion Pricing

f you want to play, you’ve got to pay. You won’t find this philosophy written in the margins of our Charter of Rights and Freedoms, nor carved into the base of the Statue of Liberty, but it permeates most of our post-capitalist-midday-Marxist-pre-apocalypse society.

Congestion pricing applies this principle to driving. Motorists who want to drive in high-density downtown neighbourhoods must pay for the privilege. It was first introduced in Singapore in 1975 and spread to cities including Stockholm and Milan. London introduced congestion pricing in 2003, hoping to reduce pollution and traffic congestion and increase pedestrian and cyclist safety. The city now charges motorists 15 pounds a day to drive in the city centre. Congestion fell 30 per cent.