Congestion pricing in Manhattan has also reduced driving times in the suburbs, new study finds – Jalopnik

When New York introduced congestion relief fees in Manhattan last year, it wasn’t hard to see how charging people who drive to the busiest part of the city would improve life for the people who lived there. Not everyone agreed that improving life for the people who actually lived in the city was worth inconveniencing those who didn’t, but it wasn’t exactly controversial to argue that fewer cars would mean quieter, safer, and cleaner streets. As Bloomberg reportsBut motorists in the suburbs have also benefited much more than you probably expected.

To be clear, we’re not talking about suburban commuters who still choose to drive into the city even though it still costs money. Yes, more people taking the train means less traffic and shorter journey times for those willing to pay the congestion charge, but that’s also old news. What is new is the claim that “[t]The majority of the time savings for drivers has accrued to those traveling completely outside the toll zone, for example those commuting from Brooklyn to Queens or within Northern New Jersey.”

Yes, the idea that congestion pricing would be a boon to drivers who never enter the traffic jam zone may be hard to believe, but that’s also what the National Bureau of Economic Research found. in a recently published study. Instead of showing that drivers who went out of their way to avoid the charge made traffic outside the congestion zone worse, researchers found that congestion charges actually shortened driving times.

Ultimately, they found that having fewer cars on the roads saved those driving in the congestion zone an estimated 83,000 hours per week. That alone would be pretty impressive, but when they looked at trips where the traffic jam zone was never crossed, they found that the time savings were much, much greater. As in “at least 461,000 hours per week,” higher.

Commuters driving into the city may have saved more time per trip — the researchers found that ride times were reduced by an average of three minutes each, while trips outside the congested area were only shortened by an average of eight seconds — but because the total number of trips outside Manhattan was at least 100 times higher, the total time saved quickly added up.

As Kate Slevin, executive vice president of the Regional Plan Association, told Bloomberg, opponents of suburban congestion pricing “probably would have said they expected no effect at all on their [daily] drive,” and yet, “There’s a very strong case for everyone in New Jersey to be concerned about this, even if you’re not going to use the tunnel.”

To understand why the overall time savings from the congestion charge mainly benefited those traveling outside Manhattan, consider that most drivers entering the island cross roads outside the congestion zone as they approach it from Long Island, New Jersey, or wherever they begin their journey. By reducing the number of cars entering the toll zone during peak hours, the congestion charge reduces traffic on remote roads, where remaining motorists – including those who never had Manhattan on their route – can now drive faster.

Even all the way on Long Island, that still meant driving times were reduced by an average of 2.3%. Perhaps more importantly, researchers also found “no evidence of offsetting delays on different road types…suggesting that the policy reduced overall traffic volumes rather than simply relieving congestion.” These findings could also be helpful in tackling future pushback, with Slevin saying, “If other drivers are driving faster and getting out of the way faster, and also more people on public transit, it just makes sense that your local ride will be faster.”