Using Big Data To Estimate the Environmental Benefits of Congestion Pricing in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area

US Transportation Collection2021PDFTech ReportBento, Antonio M.METRANS Transportation Center (Calif.)Pacific Southwest Region 9 UTC, University of Southern CaliforniaUniversity of Southern California. Sol Price School of Public PolicyCalifornia. Dept. of Transportation. Division of Research, Innovation, and System InformationUnited States. Department of Transportation. University Transportation Centers (UTC) ProgramCalifornia. Dept. of Transportation. Division of Research and InnovationUnited StatesCaliforniaCongestion pricingData analysisEnvironmental impactsPollutantsPollutionCongestionCo-BenefitsPSR-19-2465A0674 TO 032Final report (04/01/2020 \u2013 03/31/2021)The purpose of this project is to measure the magnitude of the pollution reduction co-benefit generated by pricing congestion. Specifically, we estimate two empirical models: First, a model that examines the effects of traffic congestion, measured by cars per miles, on NO and NO2 emissions of vehicles in freeways. Second, a model that relates speed with NO and NO2 emissions from vehicles on local roads. Our results suggest important relationships between traffic congestion and NO and NO2 in both freeways and local roads, and results are reported for different time periods. Such estimates can serve as an important input in order to calculate the pollution benefits of congestion pricing. Therefore, we take our estimates and illustrate the pollution benefits from removing vehicles from the freeways. For example, removing 500 cars in the morning peak in a typical freeway translates roughly into a 10% reduction of NO emissions in freeways.121