Photo of traffic congestion in Hong Kong by A.H. 1987 from
Flickr Solving the problem of congestion is usually a top
priority for city authorities, who note that congestion not only
causes air pollution, but also decreases quality of life and
imposes significant economic costs, especially in rapidly
growing cities. Although different cities have developed
different solutions for dealing with the problem of congestion,
few have successfully solved it. Mostly cities come up with ad
hoc measures for dealing with congestion, like constructing more
roads, bridges and highways, which paradoxically spur more car
ownership and, hence, more congestion. To date, the most
effective measure to reduce congestion is something called
congestion pricing, a type of road pricing put in place during
specific times and locations, namely the most congested areas
during peak times like rush hour. The pricing scheme is used to
encourage travelers to shift to other travel times, routes and
modes of transit. Congestion charging rates