What Is ‘Congestion Pricing’ In New Illinois Tollway Plan?

That charge on your Illinois Tollway account may look different.

Illinois Tollway is rolling out a new plan (released in July) called a "roadmap for the Tollway". According to NBC Chicago, the plan in summary includes policies for police, capital projects, and procedures for operating the tollways.

One new feature in the plan is to "regularly update toll rates and explore dynamic pricing". Which is also known as congestion pricing.

Congestion Pricing

The plan would adopt congestion pricing, which works like this: it adjusts the tolls continuously, according to traffic conditions to help maintain a free-flowing level of traffic.

Congestion pricing (also known as dynamic pricing) increases in traffic congestion and decreases when the traffic flow is lighter. But no matter how insane traffic is, drivers will not be charged more than a maximum amount (or below a certain amount).

The UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies says that congestion pricing has a target speed limit, saying cars should always move between 55-65 mph.

Congestion pricing has gotten mixed reviews in places it's been implemented, but not for long. In other places, surveys found that 70% of people were opposed to the pricing system initially but after it had been in place, disapproval dropped to 30%.

The benefits of congestion pricing have also been shown to improve air quality. Stockholm, London, and Singapore all showed significant air quality improvements after having dynamic pricing in place.

Express lanes are also part of the Illinois Tollway's new plan. Some of the plan already started in late 2024.