We're Already Paying the Congestion Charge

Traffic congestion isn't free. Cars trapped on Calle 26. 

Bogotá Mayor Rafael Pardo is moving ahead with the idea of charging drivers for entering highly-congested areas, as a way to reduce traffic jams and finance public transit. The idea, which has succeeded in cities like London and Singapore, is sure to generate controversy. 

Here are some arguments against such a charge, and why they don't make hold up:

'Car drivers already pay more than their fair share of taxes and tolls.'

In fact, because of their innumerable impacts on urban quality of life, drivers' payments don't come close to compensating. Do cars pay for their air pollution? Traffic congestion? The space they occupy when parking on the street (or the sidewalk)? The costs of law enforcement and emergency medical services? How about the stress we all suffer from cars' horns and those useless car alarms? The impacts are innumerable.

'A congestion charge would favor the rich.'

That's true enough, when viewed very narrowly. But, if we were to follow that logic, then nobody should ever pay for anything. In any case, that 'injustice' is tiny compared to the huge social injustices caused by cars. After all, cars carry only about 20% of Bogotanos, but occupy 80% of road space. That means that a small minority, who tend to be wealthy, are stealing many hours of life from the bus-riding majority trapped in those traffic jams - who tend to be humbler people. The income from the congestion charge would be used to benefit all Bogotanos, particularly the middle class, by improving transit and other public resources.

'A congestion charge is too much for an already-overburdened middle class'

This argument falls apart for many reasons. A congestion charge would be only a tiny fraction of the

Trapped! How much would you pay to get out of this jam?

costs of having a car, and nobody is forced to buy or use a car. Those 'overburdened' auto-addicts have alternatives: take the bus, ride a bike or stay at home. Most Bogotanos get along without cars.

But there's a larger issue here: Traffic congestion, pollution, noise and all the other problems associated with too many cars cost Bogotanos monumental amounts of time and money. By reducing congestion, a congestion fee would save everybody time, and money, and increase productivity. If they save, say, a half hour or an hour per day, even those who pay the congestion fee will benefit and save money.

An urban planning expert I spoke to wonders whether a congestion charge could overwhelm the already-overcrowded TransMilenio system. It's a legit concern. But, a congestion charge would enable all traffic to move faster, including those mostly-empty SITP buses.

There are many other very basic steps Bogotá's leaders could take to rationalize traffic, such as creating carpool lanes, setting up a website for potential carpoolers to connect, considering traffic impacts when evaluating urban projects.

Congestion pricing produces opposition at first. But in nearly every city where it's been tried, it has stuck, suggesting that residents come to recognize the policy's benefits.

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

The Landmark Law You Never Heard Of

Carrera 30 near the Universidad Nacional on a typical afternoon. 

Going nowhere, and inching along to get there.

While you were getting ready for the holidays, Colombia's Congress passed a law which, if well implemented, could revolutionize Bogotá's economy and quality of life.

The law doesn't sound very earth-shattering: It allows cities with more than 300,000 inhabitants to create urban tolls. Drivers, of course, won't like it. But these tolls, also known as congestion charges, are the only realistic solution to Colombia's mounting traffic jams.

Another day, another
traffic jam in Bogotá.

We all know that traffic jams waste our time - but they also cause other, less obvious kinds of harm, including stress and air pollution. In fact, the World Bank concluded that the health impacts of traffic congestion cost Colombia almost 1% of its gross domestic product. Add to that all lost time and wasted fuel, and congestion creates a huge drain on Colombia's economy and quality of life.

And things will only get worse. The number of cars in Colombia tripled between the year 2000 and 2012, and looks to continue rising, compounding the nation's traffic troubles. At the same time, more and more Colombians are moving into cities.

Pro-cycling campaigns are great, but are overwhelmed by the flood of car commercials. Share-your-car campaigns, lose out before people's immediate, short-term self-interest. (Automobile use exemplifies 'The Tragedy of the Commons': It's a behavior which (apparently) benefits people individually while damaging society as a whole.

The only way to change driving habits is by altering drivers' self interests. And that means making them pay for the delays and pollution their driving causes. Tolls are one way to do that. Another are high-occupancy vehicle lanes, which haven't been created in Bogotá, for reasons that are beyond me.

Drivers will wail and gnash their teeth over urban tolls. But, in practice, they will be the first to benefit from shorter driving times - and time is money.

A Singapore firm did a preliminary study on congestion pricing for Bogotá. An English firm is now doing a more detailed study.

They should know. Both London and Signapore have used congestion pricing succesfully for years to reduce traffic jams and pollution. Bogotá would do well to emulate those leading metropoli instead of going the way of urban basket cases like Caracas and Sao Paolo.

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours