Is Vancouver’s Proposed Road Toll Regressive? : An Empirical Analysis of Congestion Pricing

Vancouver is proposing to implement transport pricing in its Metro Core in an attempt to reduce pollution, however there has been pushback because of the hypothesis that the burden of this toll would fall most heavily on low-income populations. This research study tests this hypothesis empirically by understanding at a Census Tract (CT) level which communities would be disproportionately impacted. Results from this study show that the toll burden falls on people from higher income CTs who have the ability to substitute their means of transportation with public transit. These results are similar to the existing literature on transport pricing in other metropolitan cities, mitigating concerns that this toll would be environmentally progressive but economically inequitable.Arts, Faculty ofLand and Food Systems, Faculty ofVancouver School of EconomicsUnreviewedUndergraduat