San Francisco congestion pricing is a proposed traffic congestion user fee for vehicles traveling into the most congested areas of the city of San Francisco at certain periods of peak demand. The charge would be combined with other traffic reduction projects. The proposed congestion pricing charge is part of a mobility and pricing study being carried out by the San Francisco County Transportation Authority (SFCTA) to reduce congestion at and near central locations and to reduce its associated environmental impacts, including cutting greenhouse gas emissions. The funds raised through the charge will be used for public transit improvement projects, and for pedestrian and bike infrastructure and enhancements.
This initiative is supported by the U.S. Department of Transportation. The initial charging scenarios considered were presented in public meetings held in December 2008 and the final draft proposal, which calls for implementation of a six-month to one-year trial in 2015, was discussed by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors (SFBS) in December 2010. The SFBS decided to exclude the Southern Gateway scenario and authorized SFCTA to seek federal financing to continue further planning for the two Northeast Cordon options.
If approved, it would be the first city based congestion charge scheme in the United States, as the New York congestion pricing scheme stalled in 2008. It is similar to the existing schemes such as the Singapore road pricing scheme, London congestion charge, Stockholm congestion tax, and the Milan Area C. Under a separate initiative congestion pricing tolls were implemented at the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in July 2010.
Read more about San Francisco Congestion Pricing: Background, Description of The 2008 Proposal, Description of The 2010 Proposal, Concerns and Controversy, See Also
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