Can LA Save Billions In Congestion Costs?

Could emissions and congestion charges of 10-30-cents per peak-traffic mile produce smog reductions worth more than $200 million a year?

1 minute read

November 22, 2000, 6:00 AM PST

By Chris Steins @planetizen


In recent years, air pollution and congestion have cost the average household in the Los Angeles Basin about $4,000 a year -- about $16 per workday. Since 1990 the average household in the South Coast Basin has lost four 40-hour workweeks a year to traffic delay. By 2010, if official models are right, smog costs could stay the same or decline, but congestion costs will rise to $2,850 a year per household, roughly $11 per workday. In 1997, after two years of deliberation and $1.5 million worth of study, Reduce Emissions and Congestion on Highways (REACH), a blue-ribbon California policy Task Force, unanimously recommended that full-scale emissions charges and congestion charges be studied and developed for the long run, and HOT (high-occupancy/toll) lane demonstration projects for the short run. Until the late 1990's emission, and especially congestion charges have not been popular with the general public, but, if the models and the Task Force's attitude surveys are right, adopting some combination of the two seems to be a "no-brainer" compared to all other alternatives, including doing nothing.

Thanks to Planning & Markets

Tuesday, November 21, 2000 in Planning and Markets

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Redlining map of Oakland and Berkeley.

Rethinking Redlining

For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

May 15, 2025 - Alan Mallach

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

23 minutes ago - Diana Ionescu

Rendering of California High-Speed Rail station with bullet train.

California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself

The railroad's new CEO thinks he can get the project back on track. The stars will need to align this summer.

May 19, 2025 - Benjamin Schneider

Passengers exiting the back door of a blue public bus.

Opinion: Make Buses More Like Sidewalks

Sidewalks are an intuitive, low-cost, and easily accessible mobility tool. Can local buses function in the same way?

1 hour ago - Fast Company

Protest

How Cities Can Support Climate Adaptation

In the face of federal cuts to climate resilience funding, a panel at ULI’s Resilience Summit offered suggestions for maintaining managed retreat and other climate adaptation programs.

2 hours ago - Smart Cities Dive

Screenshot of University Transportation Centers website

Transportation Research Centers Lose Key Federal Funding

The federal University Transportation Center program funds critical transportation research and innovation at 35 consortia of colleges and universities.

3 hours ago - Streetsblog USA

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.