Chapter 7: Traffic Congestion And Congestion Pricing

For several decades growth of traffic volumes has outstripped investments in road infrastructure. The result has been a relentless increase in traffic congestion. Congestion imposes various costs on travelers: reduced speeds and increased travel times, a decrease in travel time reliability, greater fuel consumption and vehicle wear, inconvenience from rescheduling trips or using alternative travel modes, and (in the longer run) the costs of relocating residences and jobs. The costs of increased travel times and fuel consumption alone are estimated to amount to hundreds of dollars per capita per year in the U.S.A. (Schrank and Lomax, 1999), and comparable values have been reported for Europe.