The City Council may consider the feasibility of charging drivers to travel into the city center as a way to reduce traffic and encourage car pooling and other alternative means of transit.

The discussion is arising amid concerns about rising gas prices and gridlock on O'ahu's roadways.

The resolution, introduced in August 2007 by council member Charles K. Djou and discussed yesterday, urges "the city department of transportation services to study both the use of congestion pricing in London, England, as well as the proposed plan for congestion pricing in New York City, and determine the feasibility of implementing congestion pricing in Honolulu."

The study would also analyze and identify potential congestion zones in Honolulu.

"Traffic congestion is a problem here in our community and this is an innovative idea," said Djou.

Wayne Y. Yoshioka, director of the Honolulu Department of Transportation Services, said the administration would be in favor of studying the issue provided that, if implemented, it would be coupled with alternatives such as a rail system.

Any such pricing scheme would require extensive review, he said, and could not be implemented without collaboration with the state.

"One of the reasons it (congestion pricing) was considered in New York City was because they have a very, very robust rail system. London has a very robust rail system. Without alternatives, it would be very harmful, especially to certain income groups," said Yoshioka. "If you're going to tell the person they have to pay money to travel during peak times, but there is no alternative, they are going to pay the money anyway. There are a lot of complex issues here."

According to the state Department of Transportation, any discussion of congestion pricing is premature because the state does not have the authority to levy tolls, said Tammy Mori, DOT spokeswoman.

Last year the state briefly discussed with private developers the concept of building a $700 million toll road that could run from Kapolei to Honolulu via H-1 Freeway.

During discussion before the City Council's Transportation and Public Works committee, council members talked about the possible installation of payment meters on Bishop, King, Alakea, and Beretania streets.

"I think we can't put something like this in until we have options," said council member Todd K. Apo.

Congestion pricing works by shifting discretionary rush hour highway travel to other transportation modes or to off-peak periods, according to the Federal Highway Administration.

The strategy to reduce traffic in heavily congested areas is being used in London, Rome and Singapore, and momentum is building for a plan in New York City.

Karl Kim, a professor in the department of Urban & Regional Planning and the University of Hawai'i, endorsed the idea of a feasibility study in Honolulu.

"It is a good idea," said Kim. "We should be capturing the true costs of driving and we should, like other cities, use the funds for (all other forms of) transit."

In London it costs about $16 on weekdays to drive within the city's 15 square-mile congestion zone, indicated by road signs and markings, between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Drivers can pay the fee at convenience stores, by phone, via cell phone, text messaging, or online by midnight the next day. Motorcycles, taxis, buses, police cars, ambulances, vehicles carrying disabled people, and alternative-fuel vehicles are exempt from the fee, according to the city resolution.

New York City's proposal would charge motorists $8 to drive into Manhattan below 86th Street on weekdays between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Some have criticized the idea of privatizing existing roadways, saying it amounted to double charging.

"It ranks up there with charging people for going through drive-throughs. The association does not favor tolling on roads that have already been paid for by taxpayers," said Dave Rolf, executive director of the Hawai'i Automobile Dealers' Association. "It is important not to develop public policy that charges people for things they've already paid for."