California Partners for Advanced Transportation Technology

Many public officials looking for ways to increase the efficiency, equity, and financial stability of transportation systems are turning to metering road use with electronic tolls.  While tolling today is easier and cheaper than ever, officials face many obstacles to implementing tolling – especially concerning equity.  Accordingly, this paper examines road pricing equity from a variety of perspectives.  We begin by developing an evaluation framework that defines three distinct bases for evaluating equity – free markets, equal opportunities, and equal outcomes.  We then use this framework to guide a review of five case studies of road pricing – in San Diego, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Germany, Stockholm, and New York – that explore how equity concerns have been raised and addressed in practice.  We find that equity was a central question in each case, alternatively motivating (1) the implementation of pricing (Germany), (2) the funding of alternative modes (San Diego, Minnesota, and Stockholm), (3) mid-course restructuring of the pricing program (Stockholm), and (4) successful opposition to a pricing proposal (New York).  Successful mitigation of equity concerns have entailed:  (1) careful planning of the project or program, paying attention to the dedication of toll revenues to both transit and highway improvements in and around the tolled areas to create constituents for the pricing program, (2) a limited geographic scope to central, congested zones, particular travel corridors, or particular market segments, (3) incremental implementation to allow for mid-course adjustments in project development, and (4) ongoing, substantive, and sincere public outreach and education efforts that have meaningfully influenced program design.