CityNerd asks 'Congestion Pricing: Will We Finally Learn?' A driving update

I just returned from my morning appointment and will drive into the office this afternoon. By the time I return home, Pearl's odometer will have rolled over another 1,000 miles, so it's time for a driving update.

I begin with Ray "CityNerd" Delahanty asking Congestion Pricing: Will We Finally Learn?

People always hate congestion pricing...until they see how good it is. Whatever you want to call it — "the valley of political death," "the hill of hysteria" — it's a dynamic that goes way beyond congestion pricing. Let's examine.

"[T]he hill of hysteria" — that alone makes this sequel to CityNerd explains 'Why Traffic Is Worse Than Ever (and can NYC fix it?)' worth watching. I'm going to start using that phrase from now on. As for the answer to Ray's question, I hope it's yes.

That's the big driving picture. Follow over the jump for my personal driving update.



As I wrote above, Pearl the Prius will pass 74,000 miles by the end of today. That will be 78 days since her odometer rolled past 73,000 miles on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, yielding averages of 12.82 miles per day, 391.03 miles per standard month, and 4,679.49 miles per standard year. That's less than the averages of 13.16 miles per day, 401.32 miles per standard month, and 4,802.63 miles per standard year she accrued between Thursday, March 26, 2026 and June 10, 2026. I expected that, since I was driving to only one worksite instead of two. I also predicted that I would be driving more this summer than last when I drove 12.05 miles per day, 367.47 miles per standard month, and 4,397.59 miles per standard year between Tuesday, May 27, 2025 and Monday, August 18, 2025. That's because I drove to work four days a week instead of twice a week. Finally, I drove Pearl 4,000 miles between August 18, 2025 and August 28, 2026 for averages of 10.67 miles per day, 325.33 miles per standard month, and 3,893.33 miles per standard year, up slightly from the 10.55 miles per day, 321.90 miles per standard month, and 3,852.24 miles per standard year between May 27, 2025 and June 10, 2026.

I expect I will be driving more by the next update at 75,000 miles because I will be working at two campuses, four days a week at the farther one and two days at the closer one. That should be in November. In the meantime, stay tuned for a resumption of Emmy Awards coverage. Saturday Night Live's eleven Emmy nominations, anyone?