Toronto traffic is gridlocked and transit is lacking. Here’s how three other cities have solved both

Thestar.com
Oct. 13, 2023

It’s getting harder and more frustrating to get around the city. The downtown core chokes with traffic as the end of the day rolls around and the TTC is often late, overcrowded, or both.

Toronto ranked seventh among the worst cities in the world for traffic and the average commuter lost nearly five days a year from commuting, according to a 2022 report. A car of CBC reporters drove along a three kilometre stretch of Adelaide Street between Bathurst and Parliament streets at peak rush hour and were stuck in traffic for 52 minutes -- the same walk takes 47 minutes according to Google Maps.

For transit users, the TTC announced in its 2023 budget it would be cutting service by five per cent while hiking youth and adult fares by 10 cents.

Meanwhile, other cities have turned to congestion pricing schemes to have drivers help fund public transit, while reducing congestion and air pollution.

Congestion pricing schemes charge drivers for passing through the densest and busiest areas of cities, pushing drivers away from cars and towards transit while also building up revenue to go toward transit systems. Vancouver briefly flirted with the idea, but the idea -- deemed a “road tax” -- was killed by Mayor Ken Sim shortly after his election in last year.

Here’s a look at three cities that have used congestion pricing to ease gridlock in their streets and boost transit funding.

Currencies were converted on Oct. 12 using the most up-to-date costs for congestion pricing plans. Figures are shown in Canadian dollars unless otherwise stated.

Singapore
Lowest: $1

Highest: $6

Singapore’s has used an Electronic Road Pricing system since 1998 -- its original congestion pricing plan was one of the world’s first when it was introduced in the 1970s.

Depending on the time of day, drivers are charged $1 to $6 (the Singapore dollar is on par with the Canadian dollar) to pass through the city’s main business district and along major highways, except on Sundays and public holidays. Only emergency vehicles are exempt from the charge.

Drivers purchase electronic tags for their vehicles at a cost of $150, which charge drivers a fee every time they pass through one of 80 electronic gates dotting city streets and major highways. If a driver passes through a gate without one, they are fined $70.

While the average daily traffic volume entering the city has increased since 2004, peaking at 304,000 drivers in 2017, more cars have been able to go faster on arterial roads, as the average speed increased from 24.8 kilometres per hour in 2004 to 30 kilometres per hour in 2022.

London, England
Flat fee: $25

Introduced in 2003, London’s congestion pricing dropped the number of vehicles within its congestion zone by 30 per cent after just over a year. Drivers are charged a flat fee of £15 (or $25) to enter the area within London’s Inner Ring Road, which encompasses the city’s central core. Cameras planted around the city capture license plate numbers and drivers are charged through a notification that is mailed to them.

The fee kicks in between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m., with special hours for weekends and holidays and discounts for residents. Those who don’t pay the congestion fee are charged a $300 fine, which jumps to $450 if the fine isn’t paid within four weeks.

London also has an “ultra low emission zone,” introduced in 2019, to help reduce the city’s air pollution, that tacks on another $21 fee for cars that don’t meet emission standards. The low emissions zone is larger than the congestion pricing zone, and covers all of London’s boroughs. Emission standards are based on E.U. standards, which mean that most cars built after 2005 automatically meet them. Otherwise, drivers can check if their car meets the standards through a government portal online.

In the 2022-23 fiscal year, the congestion charge program alone brought in $372 million for the city of London with an additional $377 million collected from the low-emissions zone fee. According to a city report, the proceeds go toward the bus and rail system as well as London’s cycling infrastructure. An average 3.2 million people a day rode the London Underground system in summer 2023, based on user data collected by Transport for London.

While the number of cars travelling through the city has been declining over the long-term, London still ranks among cities with the worst traffic in the world.

New York City
Peak: US$9 to US$23

Off-peak: US$7 to US$17

It’s taken New York City 15 years to hammer out a congestion pricing plan, but after receiving approval from the federal government in June, the city plans to implement it as early as May 2024. The fees haven’t been determined yet, but the proposed pricing plan ranges from US$9 to US$23 for peak hours, with a lower range of US$7 up to US$17 for off-peak hours.

The Central Business District Tolling Program would create a congestion pricing zone that encompasses “the largest and most economically significant metropolitan region in the United States,” according to a federal report.

The federal government estimates the new program would reduce the number of vehicles entering the Manhattan area by anywhere from 15 to 20 per cent, while also collecting more than a billion dollars to go toward New York’s subway system.