Carlos Daganzo

Freeway congestion at bottlenecks is different from tie-ups caused by accidents and other random incidents. It’s recurrent and therefore more easily diagnosed and perhaps even more easily controlled. Thus, at least in principle, we can reduce bottleneck congestion by modifying either the freeway’s design or the management policies that affect freeway operations. Unfortunately, the most obvious modifications often redistribute benefits and burdens unevenly, so some people feel they’d be worse off of the so-called improvements. The resulting clamor often leads to inaction, leaving congestion unabated. So we need to find win-win strategies that everyone might like—lowering bottleneck congestion while garnering widespread support.

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Gordon J. Fielding and Daniel B. Klein

For years, economists have claimed that the only solution to highway congestion is to charge motorists for driving. But it's clear that congestion pricing still remains politically unpopular. People easily recognize the losses they'll incur by paying tolls. But they ignore the prospective benefits, including equitable distribution of driving costs, reduced congestion, efficient use of road capacity, increased public transit and ridesharing, and funding for highway upkeep and expansion.

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