Residents Reject Congestion Pricing As a Means to Tame Traffic

Driving in Massachusetts is not for the faint of heart. Due to its historic nature, the city of Boston has many narrow, windy, one-way streets. The city has grown organically since its founding in 1630, and, unlike New York City, it is not easily navigable with a grid-like street pattern.

One thing New York City and Boston both have in common, however, is traffic.

Given Boston’s deep-seated traffic issues, it may be tempting for policymakers to copy New York City’s recent implementation of congestion pricing to try to fix the problem. Essentially, the city levied a new toll on those accessing the city’s business district during peak hours.

Boston is notorious for its traffic. Earlier this month, INRIX released its 2024 Global Traffic Scorecard, which ranked Boston as the fourth most congested urban area in the United States and identified Boston’s I-93 SB as the second most congested roads in the country. In 2022, the same study even ranked Boston as having the fourth worst traffic in the entire world.

But New York City’s congestion pricing should be looked upon as a cautionary tale rather than a potential solution.

New York’s new $9 congestion price tolls have negatively affected everyone from commuters, business owners, and everyday New York City residents alike. Reports show that some New Yorkers are even charged the $9 fee just to leave their parking garage, and many have expressed their opposition to the congestion pricing.

Mass Opportunity Alliance’s most recent polling of Bay Staters revealed that 58 percent of respondents oppose bringing a similar congestion pricing policy to Boston to reduce traffic.

This opposition is even bipartisan, with a majority of Republicans (68 percent), Democrats (51 percent), and Independents (55 percent) all opposing congestion pricing in Boston.

Opposition to congestion pricing also spans different income levels. No matter the income bracket, the majority of Bay Staters do not support congestion pricing.

Some may assume that younger generations—who are more likely to live in urban areas and support more environmentally-conscious policies—would embrace congestion pricing. But support among that cohort remains relatively low.

Only 31 percent of Generation Z and 30 percent of Millennials favor the policy, compared to just 24 percent of the general population. Older generations, such as Generation X (17 percent) and Baby Boomers (21 percent), are even less inclined to support it.

When it comes to geography, those living in suburban (60 percent) and rural (63 percent) areas expressed slightly higher opposition than urban residents (52 percent) – although all three were significantly opposed. As we’ve seen in New York, even city-dwellers can get hit by congestion pricing as can residents of nearby neighborhoods.

Individuals who commute into the city for work on a daily basis, many who already pay daily tolls along the Massachusetts Turnpike and other roads, are less likely to want to pay the congestion pricing fee. Commuters recognize that a congestion pricing fee stacked on top of current tolls on routes into Boston further financially penalizes them for living outside the city.

Taken together, these figures make it clear: Congestion pricing is not a popular solution in Massachusetts. Bay Staters are already facing a high cost of living, and Massachusetts residents are not happy at the thought of another financial burden being added. So, instead of copying New York City’s approach, Massachusetts policymakers should consider alternative solutions that address congestion without penalizing commuters and businesses.