New charges for car externalities

Interest from state and local governments in new ways to disincentivize vehicle use is growing. In 2022, Bogota, Colombia, piloted aprojectwith ClearRoad, a U.S.-based transportation and technology company, that used smartphones to monitor movement along streets within a congestion-pricing district to address the city's extensive traffic. The state of Oregon is experimenting with a road usage fee program in which drivers pay a fee based on the number of miles driven, andNew York Citywill soon begin to use congestion pricing toreduce trafficand related pollution in Manhattan and fund its public transit system. There is general openness to private-sector innovation around the issue of congestion, but equity concerns, such as rerouting delivery trucks through lower-income communities, require further consideration by planners.