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Several state, regional and local governments now are studying congestion pricing and are especially concerned with public reactions to the concept. This article analyzes the results of public opinion polls on congestion pricing spanning 13 years and draws implications for analysts assessing public opinion regarding the prospects of public acceptance. This article addresses the importance of broadening and detailing congestion pricing in public polls, including attention to variations in the concept as well as plans for revenue allocation, alternative services and mitigations. It also suggests broadening assessment of equity from its usual focus on income, testing the concept in the context of highway finance and assessing both gains and losses in support with concept variations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluation plays a central part in the development and implementation of Congestion Management Systems (CMS) as required within Transportation Management Areas under ISTEA legislation. Specifically, a Final CMS Rule issued by the Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration states "system monitoring shall be established … to evaluate the effectiveness of implemented actions." The Rule also states, …"traditional and nontraditional systems shall be identified and evaluated based on … established performance measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]