Road Pricing Equity Report and Toolkit

A growing number of jurisdictions are considering road pricing to reduce traffic congestion and raise revenue. These proposals often raise equity concerns: road pricing can burden low-income drivers with new costs, while rising urban housing costs are forcing some to move out of transit-rich urban centers and rely more on private vehicles. However, road pricing can provide many benefits, including equity benefits by providing more funding for walking, bicycling and public transit projects; improving bus speeds and reliability; and by reducing total vehicle traffic can improve urban mobility, livability and public health. Road pricing can be more equitable than other transportation funding options, such as property and sales taxes, and even fuel taxes.

Pricing Roads, Advancing Equity: A Report and Toolkit to Help Communities Advance a More Equitable and Affordable Transportation System, by Stuart Cohen and Alan Hoffman at TransForm, challenges policymakers and equity advocates to apply comprehensive analysis to road pricing, and identifies various strategies to achieve equity outcomes, considering affordability, accessibility, and community health. It provides examples from cities in North America and around the world that have implemented some form of road pricing. It also looks at methods for achieving the full participation of vulnerable communities in the planning process. It also includes a worksheet to help equity advocates engage effectively in a transportation pricing planning process.