Congestion pricing is incredibly effective public policy

This shouldn’t be surprising — it’s a model that has also worked well elsewhere — but congestion pricing in New York City has been a huge success:

And what about the concerns about pollution of people in the South Bronx, which some anti-tax anti-transit suburbanites cynically grasped as a pretext?

Community groups were especially concerned that drivers avoiding the tolls might be diverted and drive more pollution to the South Bronx, which has some of the highest rates of asthma in the nation. But the number of vehicles traveling daily on the Cross Bronx Expressway was down slightly in January through April, compared with last year, according to the New York State Department of Transportation. And speeds were up about 2 to 3 percent during weekday work hours.

It has also improved travel times for the majority of New Jersey commuters who use transit and improved traffic speeds in poorer neighborhood. Rarely is the ratio of benefits to costs for a controversial policy higher.