Freakonomics has a detailed discussion of the congestion pricing scheme was recently rejected in New York. I read on someone’s blog (I forget who or I’d link it) that the lack of acceptance of congestion pricing is a marketing problem. I agree entirely. The name congestion pricing is bad. You’re not paying for congestion, you’re paying for uncongestion. You’re not paying to use the road that you could have used for free, you’re paying for extra time. You’re paying to keep other people off the road. Don’t market congestion pricing as a punishment payment for the congestion that people cause. Market it as a payment for valuable extra time.

Whoever came up with the name “congestion pricing” must have been an economist …