The second option is to design a pricing scheme aimed at achieving economic efficiency and congestion relief. Again, the
revenue can be used for funding road construction and maintenance as well as public transportation, but the amount of
the charge and the hours of application should vary throughout the day depending on traffic levels. If user fees are set
so that they reflect congestion, drivers will pay according to the marginal external costs they are imposing on society by
joining the roadway and thereby make more economically efficient choices. Thus, if a commuter enters onto a highway
that is experiencing congestion, he will be charged more than if he were to enter a highway that is flowing freely. One
way to closely approximate periods of traffic congestion is to use “time-of-day pricing,” where higher congestion fees are
charged during peak periods, less during shoulder-periods (in between peak and off-peak), and minimal fees during off-