Traffic in Washington is already bad and could get worse when autonomous vehicles arrive. But D.C. Council members want to look at ways to reduce congestion and delays and move more people than cars. So how do you do that?

Hit people in the wallet. With tolls.

The Council included almost half a million dollars in its budget to study the idea known as “congestion pricing.” A major business group, the Greater Washington Partnership, is also on board, but some local officials say there are more things that can be done before tolls.

The “transportation demand management” idea has been executed in the region in a few different forms, including the High Occupancy Toll lanes on I-95 and the Beltway, and in the District’s Chinatown neighborhood, where hourly meter parking prices change based on demand.

Could applying the idea to driving on regular city streets be next?

What’s congestion pricing and what’s the history?

Congestion pricing charges a fee for driving in a congested central business district during peak periods.

It’s not really a thing in the U.S. so far. But in 2021, New York City will be the first to do it. The city will start charge about $12 to $15 a day to drive a car south of Central Park in Manhattan.

That’s expected to generate a billion dollars a year for the city’s transit system.

The idea is to invest in transit and make it attractive enough to get people out of their cars and into buses and the subway. The city would put up gantries around the congestion areas and drivers would pay for the fee with E-Z Pass transponders or license plate accounts.

London started with congestion pricing in 2003 and charges $17 to for going into downtown between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. In the first year, the change reduced the number of cars in the area by nearly 20% and traffic delays went down 30%.

But in some areas of D.C. historic preservation issues could limit the use of gantries, so the Greater Washington Partnership wants a higher tech version — toll by GPS.

Why do the D.C. Council and the Greater Washington Partnership want to consider congestion pricing?

D.C. first looked at congestion pricing about five years ago. The area stretched from Foggy Bottom to Capitol Hill and would’ve charged the equivalent of a round-trip peak Metro fare, about $4 to $6.

It never went past the idea stage because of some legal questions and other concerns.

But that’s a problem, says Joe McAndrew, who does transportation policy for the Greater Washington Partnership, a group of major business CEOs.

He says D.C. is behind the rest of the nation in studying the idea.

“Us not looking at this is a detriment to addressing the challenges of our region’s residents being able to live, choose to grow a business and thrive here,” McAndrew said.

Worsening traffic congestion will turn business off from coming here, McAndrew said. And it will make it harder to retain talent, access jobs and other opportunities.

“Basically, if you’re stuck in traffic and can’t get home for dinner or your kid’s basketball practice, you’re not going to want to be here,” he said.

“We don’t want to negatively affect people (financially), but everyone is paying for congestion one way or another,” McAndrew said. “Your bus is stuck behind traffic or your car is stuck because of an overturned tanker… how can we have better access for everyone?”

Now, in 2019, the Council cites the coming onslaught of autonomous vehicles as another reason to revisit tolling.

“Traffic in the District is a constant inconvenience for District residents, and with the likely proliferation of autonomous vehicles in the future, the (Transportation) Committee fears that the issue of excessive traffic may become even more pronounced,” a budget document stated.

How are local officials reacting?

Council member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) welcomed the idea. He says a short distance can take two hours to drive.

“Our city is so popular and there are so many cars… you just can’t get around, and so how are you going to address this enormous traffic here?”

Before the council pitched the idea, WAMU asked the District’s two biggest transportation leaders about the idea.

WMATA General Manager Paul Wiedefeld says New York is on such a different scale than D.C.

“It’s a unique case,” Wiedefeld said of NYC. “But are there other things that that can be done here to improve mobility?”

He wants to make buses better and faster with dedicated bus lanes and bus priority signals at intersections. If drivers see buses going faster than their car, then they’ll want to get onboard.

“I think we should explore those first and particularly the lower hanging fruit that’s a little bit less difficult politically,” Wiedefeld said.

District Department of Transportation Director Jeff Marootian said the District should improve transit efficiency and keep the Circulator bus free to help decrease congestion.

He says DDOT has not studied any particular congestion pricing plan but has kept an eye on New York.

What can we expect going forward?

The Council doesn’t approve the budget until the end of May. If it passes, the study would take a year to look at things like: 

• Who to charge? Just outside drivers? District residents, too? Would there be exemptions for people with disabilities or other restrictions? 
• How much? The study would look at multiple pricing plans like a variable toll and fixed toll. It could also look at pricing plans for lower-income residents.
• Where would it go? It could apply to the whole District or perhaps just the most heavily-congested business district.
• Could they work with Maryland and Virginia on the idea?
• And what are the legal hurdles?

But the bigger lift will likely be political. Washington is still a car-dominated region with nearly two-thirds of people commuting into D.C. by car.

This story first appeared on WAMU.