Aside from being an inconvenience and a time-suck, traffic congestion is dangerous to drivers and pedestrians. It also contributes to climate change, and harms public health. That's why some cities across the world have deployed congestion pricing. It’s a toll that drivers are charged based on where and when they enter high-traffic areas—usually downtowns. The goal is to reduce the number of cars clogging streets while also boosting, and funding, public transit. Fewer drivers means cleaner the air and improved safety.
This summer, New York City was set to become the first US city with congestion pricing, but the program was paused just before it was supposed to go live. Here in San Francisco, the county's transportation agency has been studying congestion pricing for decades. And transit advocates have been pushing for it for just as long.
With New York City's plan on hold, could San Francisco be the first U.S. city where congestion pricing gets a road test? We hear from climate reporter Mary Catherine O'Connor about what the future might hold—and what some folks who drive downtown regularly think about it.
