Could Robotaxis Create New Path to Congestion Pricing?

With robotaxis hitting the streets in other cities as well, the growth of the service is sparking fresh conversations about congestion pricing, a sometimes-controversial topic that city and regional leaders have only gingerly explored.

Transportation watchers like Andrew Miller — the former Toronto mobility lead for Sidewalk Labs, a smart-city project led by Google — have advocated for using robotaxis as a way to examine road-usage charging, known more commonly as congestion pricing.

Schwartz said that congestion pricing is expected to move forward as a future strategy for controlling traffic, managing AVs and monetizing city streets, but a number of cities may be timid, given the attacks by the Trump administration on the New York City congestion pricing program.

In March, however, a federal judge ruled in favor of the congestion pricing plan, finding the federal government's effort to terminate it unlawful.

Schwartz describes congestion pricing as a whole new frontier, led by the system in Manhattan, which he also sees as simplistic because it's limited to simply charging one price for entrance.