What happens if you have to pay (congestion charge) every time you pass a certain point with your car in the city?

This is what they tried in Stockholm:
“The controversial trial of congestion charging in Stockholm ended at 6:30pm Monday [31/07/06], with the future of the tax still uncertain. The trial, which started in January, which cost 3.8 billion kronor to set up, claims to have reduced traffic in and out of the city by 22 percent, and garnered 400 million in revenues, much less than expected”. Source: The Local

Only one week later, this graph shows traffic to be on the same point as it was before charging:

Source: Södermalmsnytt, Nummer 32, augusti 2006.

I have mixed feelings about it. Only if public transportation is a good alternative, I would be definitely pro. But I guess all of us will face measures like this in the near future.

[tags]congestion charge, congestion tax, Stockholm[/tags]