Dear Santa,

I’ve done my best to be a good bus chick this year. I always have my fare ready when it’s time to pay; I keep my headphones turned down; and I never, ever take up more than one seat when the bus is full. I’ve held up my end of the bargain, Santa, so I’m hoping you’ll get started on yours. Remember that congestion-pricing plan I’ve been asking for? …

Thanks to my incessant nagging, Santa knows what congestion pricing is. In case you don’t: It’s a system that charges drivers for entering busy city centers during certain hours. A number of cities, including Singapore, Stockholm, and Oslo, have congestion-pricing plans, but London’s is the largest and easily the most well known. London’s effort is, of course, imperfect and controversial, but there is no disputing that it has reduced congestion and raised considerable revenue for transit projects.

As far as I know, congestion pricing hasn’t been introduced in any U.S. cities (New York is arguing about it, at least), so this is Seattle’s chance to be a pioneer on the driving-reduction front. And why not?

Boiled down, the benefits of such a system:

1) It would get people out of their cars (nothing like the sting of a $10 fee to make the short walk to the bus stop seem more palatable), thereby reducing pollution, aggravation, and–oh yeah–congestion.

2) It would raise money, which could be used to get even more people out of their cars. The fees would quickly recover the cost of implementing the system and then could be used to pay for stuff like: more and better transit service, bike paths, and even road repairs.

3) It would require people who choose not to get out of their cars to pay more of the real cost of their destructive habit. (Yeah, I said it.)

We could start by charging folks for driving downtown (given that it’s really the only place in the city that almost everyone can reach easily without a car) and expand the “charging zone” (perhaps even create one on the Eastside) as we raise enough revenue to expand transit options.

What say you? I’m pretty sure Santa’s down.