DC wants to study plan to charge tolls, congestion fee to drive in certain parts of the city

WASHINGTON - The D.C. Council proposed spending nearly $500,000 to study the idea of charging tolls and a congestion fee to drive in certain parts of the nation's capital.

The proposed study would consider the pros and cons of adding fees to drive on some District roads. The study would also look at the idea of regional tolls that would impact drivers in D.C., Maryland and Virginia.

A congestion fee, similar to what the proposal would study, was just approved in New York City.

D.C. City Councilmember Jack Evans told FOX 5's Paul Wagner that the District is looking at options that will cut down on congestion.

"Paul what we are dealing with in the District is we have so many people living now in the city--more and more people commuting into the city every day and we have a real traffic nightmare in Washington and in the downtown area and so we are looking at all sorts of ways of alleviating some of that traffic," he said.

District leadership is also looking at how other cities are handling traffic.

In London, for example, drivers pay just over 11 pounds a day to drive in certain zones between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Were a similar plan implemented in D.C., hybrid and electric vehicles would likely get a pass.

The study - which would be conducted by the District's Department of Transportation - would also look into the possibility of placing tolls on streets and bridges coming into the city.

However, in D.C., talk of a commuter tax has always been met with stiff opposition - especially from Congress.