For Fatima Syeda, a commute to class means a 45-mile drive from Huntley to Chicago. The senior health sciences student says she spends “about two hours (commuting) in the morning with traffic.”
“I have to pay three tolls when coming to school,” Syeda said. “Though this has a negative impact on me, this is something I’d choose over taking other forms of transit.”
Despite access to options like the Metra and CTA, Syeda finds taking multiple forms of public transportation to be “unsafe in some cases” and “unfeasible” during winter.
Syeda drove to campus daily during her first three years at DePaul and has learned to adapt her schedule around her drive. Now, she stacks her classes to avoid peak traffic times — but still struggles with the uncertainty of congestion.
“Though it’s nice to choose when to come to campus and when to leave, it becomes difficult at times because you have to take into account traffic and other things,” Syeda said. “It caused me to have to wake up super early to get to school, and leave really late to avoid traffic on the way back.”
Rush hour can be dreadful. Drivers stuck bumper-to-bumper in gridlock, public transit riders sardined on a bus or train.
Congestion during rush hour isn’t fun, but a new tax being piloted in New York could give Chicagoans a break if the city adopts a similar system in the future.
On Jan. 5, 2025, New York implemented their controversial Congestion Relief Zone toll, which charges drivers to enter lower Manhattan and encourages the use of the MTA (rail and bus system) in hopes of easing travel times on the roads.
According to a 2024 Global Traffic Scorecard released by INRIX, a transportation data analytics firm, New York City has clinched the number one spot for most congested urban area in the United States, with Chicago as a close second.
Early data released by the MTA shows the toll was effective at reducing congestion during its first week in effect. If the toll continues to reduce congestion, other metro areas like Chicago could adopt similar programs.
“The early data backs up what New Yorkers have been telling us all week — traffic is down, the streets feel safer, and buses are moving faster,” said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber in a press release. “Positive change wasn’t guaranteed, and it’s exciting to hear commuters — including drivers — talking about how much time they are saving since the program kicked off a week ago.”
In 2024, INRIX estimated that Chicago drivers lost $1,826 (in time and productivity) and 102 hours to being stuck in traffic.
Ted Villaire, Communications Director of the Active Transportation Alliance — a local nonprofit that advocates for safe walking, biking and transit systems — hopes a congestion fee would improve the urban transportation experience.
“By implementing a smart, well-designed congestion fee for Chicago’s downtown area, we can ease gridlock, boost public transit use and create a more livable region,” Villaire said in a statement to The DePaulia.
“With New York City leading the way in the U.S., Chicago has a unique opportunity to follow suit and create a more efficient, sustainable and livable Chicagoland,” Villaire wrote.
With the anticipation of more riders, revenue generated from the congestion toll in New York will go towards MTA improvements, a consideration Chicago would also need to make in order to implement a similar program, says DePaul professor and transportation expert Joseph Schweiterman.
“The worst thing to do is push people to transit when transit isn’t ready,” Schweiterman said.
By 2027, Schweiterman explained, commuters could see an estimated 40% decrease in services due to a “fiscal cliff” created by pandemic aid running out for transit agencies across the country.
“It may be an inopportune time to push people towards transit,” Schweiterman said.
Mary Hansen, senior manager of strategic communications at DePaul University, told The DePaulia that “Last fall, 1,926 full-time undergraduates lived in DePaul residence halls, out of 13,244 full-time undergraduates.”
“Students who don’t live in residence halls are considered commuters. Nearly all of our 8,003 graduate students are commuters,” Hansen said.
For commuter students like Syeda, an effective congestion pricing system could help make life easier — for an additional price, of course.
Related Stories:
- Red Line project to end transit inequity on Far South Side
- Lyft follows Uber with new pilot program to increase safety for drivers
Stay informed with The DePaulia’s top stories,
delivered to your inbox every Monday.
