The Federal share payable for such costs is 80 percent. Value pricing, also known as congestion pricing and peak-period pricing, is a way of harnessing the power of the market and reducing the waste associated with congestion. It entails fees or tolls for road use which vary with the level of congestion. Fees are typically assessed electronically to eliminate delays associated with manual toll collection facilities. This concept of assessing relatively higher prices for travel during peak periods is the same as that used in many other sectors of the economy to respond to peak-use demands.
Airlines offer off-peak discounts and hotel rooms cost more during peak tourist seasons.
A shift in a relatively small proportion of peak-period trips can lead to substantial reductions in overall congestion. And, while congestion charges create incentives for more efficient use of existing capacity, they also provide improved indicators of the potential need for future capacity expansion. They are also generating revenues that can be used to further enhance urban mobility. A number of value pricing projects have been launched in the United States over the past 3 years. The private sector led the way in 1995 by constructing new tolled express lanes in the median of State Route 91 in Orange County, California.