Urban Congestion Pricing and the Response Times of Emergency Medical Services
A study of New York City's congestion pricing program reveals that it reduced emergency medical service travel times by approximately one minute. The research highlights the positive impact of traffic reduction on critical public health response times.
Why it matters
This provides empirical evidence for urban planners regarding the secondary benefits of congestion pricing beyond traffic management.
Cities around the world, including London, Stockholm, Milan, and most recently, New York City (NYC), have adopted congestion pricing, charging drivers a fee to enter high-traffic zones. The primary motivation has been to reduce gridlock, but these policies also have other effects. In Congestion Pricing and Emergency Medical Service Response: Evidence from New York City (NBER Working Paper 35414), Yulia Chikish , Gregory J. Colman , Dhaval M. Dave , Brad R. Humphreys , Zachary Santamaria , and Zachary Winship examine one of these other consequences: improvement in response time of emergency medical services (EMS). NYC implemented its congestion relief zone (CRZ), the first comprehensive congestion pricing program in the US, on January 5, 2025.
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