Suggested Citation:
Jenn, Alan (2019) Lessons Learned for Designing Programs to Charge for Road Use, Congestion, and Emissions. Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Davis, Research Report UCD-ITS-RR-19-48

Pricing externalities from vehicle use such as road damage, vehicular emissions (both greenhouse gases and local pollutants),and congestion has become an importanttopic in the transportation sector in recent years. Road user charge pilot programs are being explored in various states in the U.S.;cities like New York and San Francisco are following in the footsteps of Stockholm and London by announcing plans to implement congestion pricing;and numerous cities and countries have announced gasoline vehicle phase-outs or bans. In this study, we provide an overview of the academic literature related to vehicle pricing, we examine case studies of locations where pricing has been implemented, and we investigate the design choices for programs thatwould address each of three majorexternalitiesrelated to vehicle use: road damage, emissions(both greenhouse gases and local pollutants), and congestion. Our analysis finds opportunities for integrating technology across multiple pricing programs—by relying on overlapping systems, programs can be implemented more efficiently and provide tremendous cost savings.

Key words: Vehicle pricing, congestion charges, mileage fees