Traffic Effects of a Congestion Charge in Munich

Currently, Munich is one of the cities in Europe with the highest level of congestion. The present study empirically examines the effects of the pricing of moving and station-ary road traffic in Munich. The main result of the study is that a simply designed anti-congestion charge could significantly reduce congestion problems in Munich’s inner city. On the other hand, increasing the existing parking fees in the parking license areas to €10 per day would have practically no traffic-directing effect. However, if the higher parking fees were combined with a daily fee of €6 for flowing traffic, car traffic on the Mittlerer Ring could be reduced by more than 23% on average over the entire day, and by 33% at peak times. A fee of €10 per day would have even greater effects. The traffic-directing effect is mainly due to the fact that if an anti-congestion charge were introduced drivers would switch to other means of transport, especial-ly public transport. Nonetheless, the number of trips to the city centre by all means of transport would decrease only slightly. Less car traffic would significantly reduce road congestion, which would also benefit commercial traffic: Here, the travel time on the Mittlerer Ring would be reduced by 7.5% and in peak times even by more than 10%.