Bay Area, business leaders have strongly advocated congestion pricing through the Bay Area Council, and it is possible that similar support will emerge in the large metropolitan areas required by the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 to develop employer trip reduction plans. Similarly, the interest of commercial developers will be conditioned by the presence of less palatable alternatives, such as the imposition of impact fees to provide for new capacity. Although environmentalists have certainly helped revive interest in congestion pricing, the issue could not be said to have widespread support as a policy instrument among the different environmental groups. Some environmental groups find regulatory approaches to dealing with pollution more appealing than marketplace approaches. Some may remember the backlash that occurred in the 1970s when environmental groups supported transportation pricing measures to meet the requirements of the 1970 Clean Air Act. As for high-value-of-time highway users, the question is partly one of whether they have a local organization that would represent their interest on this issue. The local clubs of the American Automobile Association, for example, have long opposed tolling of any kind, as have the various state members of the American Trucking Associations. In contrast, the potential beneficiaries of the revenues, which might include transportation agencies, are well organized and might well be willing to lobby for congestion pricing. Transit agencies in particular might benefit from additional ridership and by local efforts to ensure adequate alternatives for motorists “tolled off” the highway.

The support of constituency groups willing to be advocates for congestion pricing is important because the American political system is organized in a way that makes change difficult. Proponents of change must be willing to advocate their cause successfully before state agencies, city and county councils, state legislative committees, and high-level government officials. Opponents of change, however, can stymie, if not block, progress by winning at any of these points.

Advances in technology are rapidly overcoming the perception of problems with congestion pricing associated with queues of motorists at toll booths. Innovations in technology are also providing options that would lessen concerns about the invasion of privacy.

Although there does not appear to be an ideal institutional mechanism for managing a regional congestion pricing program, workable institu-