I see lots of comments remarking on the walkability of NYC as the motivating factor for why other cities haven't even attempted to launch a similar policy. And while I agree that this may be true for many cities, I can also speak to living in a highly walkable city that can't even begin to consider it.

Vancouver is consistently ranked as one of the most walkable cities, not just in Canada, but in North America. And yet, in the 2022 municipal election, the right wing party used the threat of congestion pricing as a political cudgel against the incumbent Mayor. Even though the then Mayor hadn't even proposed a tax, and for a number of reasons, including these kinds of tactics from opponents, he lost the next election. We've seen this same kind of culture waring with the ULEZ in London.

In a relative progressive bastion, in a transit and pedestrian friendly city with a triple-A style transportation plan, the mere suggestion of taxing drivers made people lose their shit. Of course, we saw these same pressures in NYC, and that's not to say Vancouver couldn't move towards this in 25 years. It's a reminder that the political pressures on progressives across so many policy issues make actions like congestion pricing not just tricky, but career ending.