What Gothenburg Got Out of Congestion Pricing
From Sweden, a cautionary tale about tolling downtown drivers to ease traffic tie-ups: In some cities, road pricing is an iffy proposition.
Streetcars ply the streets of Gothenburg’s city center, where a toll on drivers keeps traffic light.
Photographer: Soeren Stache/picture alliance via Getty Images
Perched on the North Sea halfway between Oslo and Copenhagen, the Swedish city of Gothenburg is known as the birthplace of Volvo, a hub for island-hopping, and a place to eat cinnamon rolls the size of dinner plates. Gothenburg has another distinction as well: With around 600,000 residents (in a metropolitan area of just over 1 million), it is one of the smallest municipalities worldwide to implement a congestion pricing policy. Today, those driving into the city pay up to 22 kronor ($2.33) for the privilege.
Ever since New York City implemented its high-profile congestion pricing program in January, there has been a fresh surge of interest in the efficacy of such policies. London’s tolls were intensely controversial when launched in 2003, but they succeeded in declogging streets; in Milan, congestion pricing has been hailed for reducing air pollution and raising funds to improve public transit. Early evidence from Manhattan, where most drivers must fork over $9 to enter south of 60th Street, indicates that the policy has sped up bus service and dampened urban noise, and it’s on track to produce about $500 million for transit investments this year, after expenses.