The first day of London’s “congestion tax” began well, according to this report.

There were complaints and small demonstrations around London, but traffic was lighter than normal and did not appear to back up around the edges of the restricted zone, as expected by opponents of Mayor Ken Livingstone’s charging plan.

Video cameras enforce the tax. This seems like an expensive approach. My guess is that as radio transmitters become cheaper, we will see many more toll roads in the U.S. using “easy pass” type systems. People will be amazed at how effective they are at reducing traffic jams. But chaos theory suggests that you only need to deter a few cars from using the roads in order to greatly reduce the chances of a traffic jam developing.

For Discussion. Why do economists like tolls so much?