Stockholm’s Congestion Pricing Reduces Traffic and Boosts Alternative Cars

Stockholm’s congestion pricing plan — which charges motorists for driving in the city center during rush hour — has cut CO2 emissions in the congestion zone by 14 percent, reduced traffic in the inner city by 18 percent, increased ridership on public transport, and spurred the use of alternative fuel vehicles, according to a new study. Instituted on a permanent basis in 2007 in a 24-square-kilometer (9 square-mile) area, the congestion pricing program exempted alternative fuel vehicles from the $1.50 to $3 per-trip surcharge. As a result, the number of registered alternative fuel vehicles in the city jumped from five percent of the vehicle fleet in 2006 to 14 percent in 2008, according to a study by the Stockholm Traffic Association. The association said that the reduction in traffic and emissions is not related to the recession, as sales in Stockholm’s retail core have actually increased. Stockholm’s congestion pricing plan is managed by I.B.M., which has set up a series of 18 gateways into the city center that read transponders on cars and levy the congestion toll.