Reports and Guidance Documents

FHWA Congestion Pricing Primer Series
Other FHWA Publications
One Page Briefs
Value Pricing Pilot Program Reports to Congress

FHWA Congestion Pricing Primer Series

The Congestion Pricing Primer Series is part of FHWA's outreach efforts to introduce the various aspects of congestion pricing to decision-makers and transportation professionals in the United States. The primers are intended to lay out the underlying rationale for congestion pricing and some of the technical issues associated with its implementation in a manner that is understandable to non-specialists in the field.

Congestion Pricing Overview (HTML, PDF 664KB) – Explains the concept of congestion pricing and its benefits, to present examples of congestion-pricing approaches implemented in the United States and abroad, and to briefly discuss federal-aid policy and programs related to tolling and pricing.
Congestion Pricing – A Primer: Effective Approaches to Streamlining Back Office Operations (HTML, PDF 3.1MB) – The document explores the range of back office issues that have arisen on congestion pricing projects throughout the United States. The issues are organized into eight categories: policy decisions, interoperability back office efficiency, enforcement, data analysis and warehousing, transparency, privacy, and private sector involvement.
Congestion Pricing - A Primer: Evolution of Second Generation Pricing Projects (HTML, PDF 2.1MB) – This primer explores the evolution of first-generation pricing strategies into more complex express toll lanes using new or expanded capacity.
Congestion Pricing – A Primer: Metropolitan Planning Organization Case Studies (HTML, PDF 623KB) – Summarizes the results of a study to examine how road pricing was incorporated into long-range planning in four metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), providing examples that could support other regions seeking to do the same.
Congestion Pricing: A Primer on Institutional Issues (HTML, PDF 717KB) – Explores the types of institutional issues that are commonly encountered with priced roadway lanes and parking pricing programs.
Contemporary Approaches to Parking Pricing: A Primer (HTML, PDF 2.3MB) – Discusses advances covering a broad array of parking pricing applications, available technology, preferred user accommodations, and strategies for gaining public acceptance for policy changes in parking pricing.
Economics: Pricing, Demand, and Economic Efficiency - A Primer (HTML, PDF 3.5MB) – Describes the underlying economic rationale for congestion pricing and how it can be used to promote economic efficiency.
Income-Based Equity Impacts of Congestion Pricing (HTML, PDF 1.4MB) – Examines the impacts of congestion pricing on low-income groups, public opinion as expressed by various income groups, and ways to mitigate the equity impacts of congestion pricing.
Non-Toll Pricing (HTML, PDF 458KB) – Focuses on forms of congestion pricing that do not involve tolls but that are still aimed at creating more efficient pricing mechanisms for automobile use.
Priced Managed Lane Guide (HTML PDF 3.5MB) – A comprehensive source of collective experience gained from priced managed lanes implemented in the United States through 2012.
Technologies That Complement Congestion Pricing (HTML, PDF 492KB) – Considers the technology options that are available to complement congestion-pricing approaches and explores how technology broadens the success for congestion pricing by supporting the traveler's decision to change travel time, travel mode, and travel route.
Technologies That Enable Congestion Pricing (HTML, PDF 1.6MB) – Explores transportation technologies that enable congestion pricing.
Transit and Congestion Pricing (HTML, PDF 4.5MB) – Examines the interrelationships between congestion pricing and transit operations and use.

Other FHWA Publications

FHWA has developed a number of other Congestion Pricing publications that provide case studies and examples from locations that have implemented pricing strategies.

Advancing Congestion Pricing in the Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process: Four Case Studies (HTML, PDF 449KB) – Examines how road pricing was incorporated into long-range planning at four metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) to provide examples that could support other regions seeking to do the same. The study summarized the experience in the Dallas/Fort Worth region, the Puget Sound region, the Minneapolis/St. Paul region, and the San Francisco Bay area, and identified common themes and differences amongst the approaches used and the outcomes.
Contemporary Approaches in Congestion Pricing: Lessons Learned from the National Evaluation of Congestion Pricing Strategies at Six Sites (PDF 5.6MB) – This document represents the final report of the national evaluation of congestion reduction strategies at six sites that received federal funding under the Urban Partnership Agreement (UPA) and Congestion Reduction Demonstration (CRD) programs. The six sites, or "urban partners," were Atlanta, Georgia; Los Angeles, California; Miami, Florida; Minneapolis, Minnesota; San Francisco, California; and Seattle, Washington. Each site implemented a comprehensive policy response to urban congestion that included four essential components known as the "4 Ts": 1) tolling (or congestion pricing), 2) enhanced transit services, 3) telecommuting and other transportation demand management (TDM) strategies, and 4) advanced technology.
Effective Approaches for Advancing Congestion Pricing in a Metropolitan Region (HTML, PDF 1.7MB) – Explains the potential role of congestion pricing in supporting regional goals as well as the most effective approaches for advancing congestion pricing strategies in a region.
Guidebook for State, Regional, and Local Governments on Addressing Potential Equity Impacts of Road Pricing (HTML, PDF 626KB) – Provides comprehensive procedures and guidance to State, regional, and local agencies as well as decisionmakers and concerned citizens to follow when considering road pricing projects to ensure that equity is appropriately and adequately addressed.
Impacts of Congestion Pricing on Low-Income Populations (HTML, PDF 482KB) – This white paper documents examples of mitigation strategies implemented by agencies to analyze and measure the impacts of their pricing projects on low-income users of the transportation system.
Lessons Learned from Regional Congestion Pricing Workshops (RCPWs) (HTML, PDF 822KB) - The information shared was designed to help workshop participants plan, implement, and advance a congestion pricing project in their region. This report focuses on the findings from three such workshops held between March 2016 and May 2017 in Schaumburg, Illinois; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Portland, Oregon.
Los Angeles Congestion Reduction Demonstration ExpressLanes Program: National Evaluation Report (PDF 34MB) – This document presents the final report on the national evaluation of the Los Angeles Congestion Reduction Demonstration (CRD) ExpressLanes Program, under the USDOT's CRD Program. The Los Angeles CRD projects focus on reducing congestion by employing strategies combining the 4Ts. Tolling (pricing) strategies include converting high-occupancy vehicle lanes on the two freeway corridors to variably-priced high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes, adding a second HOT lane to portions of one corridor, and implementing a downtown Los Angeles intelligent parking management system featuring demand-based pricing and real-time parking availability information.
National Congestion Pricing Conference
- National Congestion Pricing Conference, May 22-23, 2018 (HTML, PDF 1.3MB) – The Conference was held at the U.S. Department of Transportation Headquarters in Washington, D.C. on May 22 and 23, 2018. Over the course of two days, participants attended twelve sessions, including peer discussions, an off-site tour, and poster presentations. The conference featured the latest developments in congestion pricing divided into two tracks, Managed Lanes and City Pricing, that included both tolling and non-tolling innovations.
- National Congestion Pricing Conference, July 9-10, 2013 (HTML, PDF 279KB) – On July 9-10, 2013, 114 leaders in congestion pricing, managed lanes, and parking pricing convened in Seattle, Washington to discuss recent successes and challenges to advancing congestion pricing in the United States. The primary objective of the conference was raising the awareness, advancing the state-of-the-practice, and identifying the research and technology transfer needs in support of deploying congestion pricing strategies in the United States.
Priced Managed Lane Guide (HTML PDF 3.5MB) – A comprehensive source of collective experience gained from priced managed lanes implemented in the United States through 2012.

One Page Briefs

These One Page Briefs provide a succinct explanation of various issues relating to electronic tolling and congestion pricing.

Congestion Pricing: Equity (HTML, PDF 159KB)
Congestion Pricing: Environmental Benefits (HTML, PDF 159KB)
Congestion Pricing: Benefits (Time Savings and Throughput) (HTML, PDF 210KB)
Congestion Pricing: Safety (HTML, PDF 210KB)
Congestion Pricing: Examples Around the U.S. (HTML, PDF 160KB)
Congestion Pricing: Examples Around the World (HTML, PDF 170KB)
Congestion Pricing: Leveraging (HTML, PDF 173KB)
Congestion Pricing: Public Private Partnership (HTML, PDF 162KB)

Value Pricing Pilot Program Reports to Congress

Report to Congress on the Value Pricing Pilot Program Through May 2022 (PDF 229KB)
Report to Congress on the Value Pricing Pilot Program Through December 2020 (HTML, PDF 2.5MB)
Report to Congress on the Value Pricing Pilot Program Through April 2018 (HTML, PDF 2.5MB)
Report to Congress on the Value Pricing Pilot Program Through April 2016 (HTML, PDF 792KB)
Report to Congress on the Value Pricing Pilot Program Through April 2014 (HTML, PDF 2.5MB)
Report to Congress on the Value Pricing Pilot Program Through April 2012 (HTML, PDF 1.5MB)
Report to Congress on the Value Pricing Pilot Program Through April 2010 (HTML, PDF 73KB)
Report to Congress on the Value Pricing Pilot Program through May 2009 (HTML, PDF 688KB)
Report to Congress on the Value Pricing Pilot Program through April 2006 (HTML, PDF 700KB)