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The traffic solution most cities haven’t tried

Vox | November 20, 2025



Congestion pricing works – just look at London.

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New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently announced a plan to bring congestion pricing to New York City. The goal is to raise money for the city’s crumbling public transit system and reclaim the dangerously busy city streets. But what is congestion pricing, and can it actually solve all our transit woes?

We took a look at London, a city that enacted a congestion charge in 2003, to see some of the benefits. Check out the video above to learn more.

For further reading look to our sister site, Curbed: https://www.curbed.com/

https://www.curbed.com/search?q=congestion+pricing

For information on New York’s potential earnings and benefits:
http://www.hntb.com/HNTB/media/HNTBMediaLibrary/Home/Fix-NYC-Panel-Report.pdf

And a closer look at how much money is wasted sitting in traffic:
http://pfnyc.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/2018-01-Congestion-Pricing.pdf

Finally – Check out this article by Nicole Badstuber on how London congestion pricing has started to level out and the plans the city has in place to bring revenue back up:

https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2018/04/londons-congestion-charge-needs-updating/557699/

Note: The headline for this video has been updated since publishing.
Previous headline: How London is fighting its nightmare traffic

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Written by Vox

Comments

This post currently has 44 comments.

  2. @Canasian23

    November 20, 2025 at 8:30 pm

    Also China does something interesting. For example, license plates ending in odd numbers on certain days can go with in the city limits and then even numbers can go on the other days that odd numbers don't go on.

  8. @BaconKiller360

    November 20, 2025 at 8:30 pm

    This video makes a good point about the privilege of road usage. In America, we are all told during drivers-ed that driving is a privilege, not a god-given right. That statement is certainly meant to be more from a legal-standpoint, but it seems people forget that all too often. Driving is a convenience that we take for granted.

  14. @billh.1940

    November 20, 2025 at 8:30 pm

    It will work as only wealthy can afford it. How about banning private cars? Only allow. Trucks after 6pm?
    No, just take money from workers. Ps has anyone noticed people are leaving nyc?,

  15. @jamesofalo6247

    November 20, 2025 at 8:30 pm

    Taxing to prevent behavior is intellectually lazy and in NY it's intellectually dishonest.
    The main purpose of NY congestion pricing is to fund the MTA, The Most wasteful transportation group in the world see NYU Marron Institute study.

  16. @jademonasFan22

    November 20, 2025 at 8:30 pm

    Brazil already has a similar system in place, the "rodizio" (which limits which plate numbers can enter downtown) and the IPVA (making people pay to use the roads)

    however, it just causes people to buy more cars with different plate numbers, thus increasing traffic, and making people poorer since theres not enough infrastruture (other than cars) to get to far away places

  18. @RiseUpToYourAbility

    November 20, 2025 at 8:30 pm

    Does no one else see giving one organization a monopoly over the majority form of transport within a city? What is stopping them from incong both cogestion charges and price of public transit at the same time? Apart from walking or using a bicycle which is not a real option for many people, you have no other choice.

  24. @nhanha7433

    November 20, 2025 at 8:30 pm

    All of these drivers no curtesy with other drivers need help to change direction. You must took them of public city and town and interstate hwy. to make less crowed

  25. @nhanha7433

    November 20, 2025 at 8:30 pm

    The drivers caused problems because they plan blocking traffic changing lane by driving multiple lanes straight but also do not want other driver to get in front of them from other lane. That why they tailor moving better than the parking speed You must ddiscipline the drivers grid lock traffic

  28. @lunax71

    November 20, 2025 at 8:30 pm

    Motorcycle lane filtering/splitting, Uber ride on motorcycles, smaller deliveries on motorcycles and ebikes, traffic lights that prioritize buses, bus in shoulder where possible, cleaner safer subways, promote carpooling/ride-sharing, gondola public Transit etc. More late night deliveries. Better incentives for public transportation like free. 0:15

  31. @olalan

    November 20, 2025 at 8:30 pm

    how about a tax credit to employers that allow workers to work from home, and a penalty on employers that do not allow workers to work from home for jobs that can easily be done from home? a large part of the problem is attitudes of employers towards working from home, i.e. micromanagers and stubborn bosses. congestion pricing simply means that employees who are not allowed to work from home, for whom driving is the most time practical mode of transport, will simply take home less money.

  32. @Immortal-Daiki

    November 20, 2025 at 8:30 pm

    Despite being the most populated metro area in the world, Tokyo doesn't have much of a traffic congestion problem, thus congestion pricing might not be necessary. Trains and buses already make public transport in Tokyo and other major Japanese cities easier and even cheaper to use. The only place in Japan that might need the congestion pricing system would be Okinawa Prefecture since it's a car-based society going back to US administration after WWII. Plus, Okinawa has the worst traffic congestion in the entire country

  33. @Ashwinnbr

    November 20, 2025 at 8:30 pm

    This only works for countries with developed bus/metro systems. It doesnt make sense in so many ways, you have to pay road tax and on top of that you have to pay a congestion price? Wont be long when congestion price will be everywhere in the country. Good luck to the politicians trying to convince car manufacturers this.

  38. @mattbear4802

    November 20, 2025 at 8:30 pm

    Congestion pricing should be framed as an investment in reducing congestion, because that is what it is.

    It gets the people who can onto bikes and public transport, because that becomes a cheaper and more practical option for them.

    And for the people who still need to drive, there is less traffic on the roads, so they can get around faster and easier. The time savings from not being stuck in traffic, and the better fuel efficiency from smoother driving and less time with the engine running would arguably cancel out the congestion pricing toll.

    And the money raised from congestion pricing can be used for better maintenance of roads, pathways, and public transport infrastructure; or to improve public transport service so more people can ride the buses/trams/trains, getting even more people off the roads. It's really a win-win.

  39. @brucenadeau2172

    November 20, 2025 at 8:30 pm

    another anti car video
    why do i have to give up my freedom to go where i want to go. when i want to go. carry what i want. and do it protected from the weather.
    i pay for roads with my license fees and gas taxes.
    how about charging bike rider theyuse the road without paying for them now
    what road will you people use when no cars are there to pay foryour roads

  42. @cameronprice3063

    November 20, 2025 at 8:30 pm

    just another way to take away mobility from poor disabled people. just make accessible public transit. i live in LA and it would take me 2 1/2 hours to get somewhere that takes 45 minutes of driving because our public transit infrastructure is so bad. this is not gonna work for so many. they just want to profit more instead of investing our tax dollars

  44. @jellybeansi

    November 20, 2025 at 8:30 pm

    "Nobody wants to pay for something they've gotten for free for so long". Therein lies the issue. All this stuff, from free parking to road maintenance/repairs, have been subsidized by every person in the municipality (taxes!). But because it's not an immediate cost someone can see, but something that's removed out-of-sight, people don't process it the same way. It's just like how using a credit card to pay $100 for something is much easier psychologically than taking out $100 worth of bills. You don't see the money, so it's easier to shrug off.

Comments are closed.

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