New York’s new congestion payment seems to be lowering commuting instances on key routes (see Tyler and this thread from Michael Ostrovsky). The toll solely has two charges, nonetheless, on-peak (5 AM to 9 PM on weekdays and 9 AM to 9 PM on weekends) $9 and off-peak ($2.50). I like the best way Vitalik Buterin defined a key weak point:
I want the tolls had been dynamic. Value uncertainty is best than time uncertainty (paying $10 extra in the present day is okay when you pay $10 much less tomorrow, however you possibly can’t compensate being 30 min late for a flight or assembly by being 30 min early to the subsequent one).
Precisely proper. Tyler and I make the identical level about worth controls (ceilings) in Trendy Ideas. A worth ceiling substitutes a time worth for a cash worth. However this isn’t a impartial tradeoff—cash costs profit sellers, whereas time costs are pure waste (see this video for a enjoyable illustration).
Right here in Northern Virginia the toll on I-66 to Washington is dynamic and on-average varies by greater than an element of 6 throughout peak hours. Everybody complains about congestion pricing when it’s first launched however individuals get used to it shortly. Albeit in VA we nonetheless have the choice of paying no-toll which maybe eases the transition.
The put up Congestion Tolls versus Congestion Pricing appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.
