> But no one, no one loves the unavoidable traffic jams. So the thing about clinging to their cars is sort-of two faced.
I don't understand this reasoning at all -- I find it quite irrational.
So let's remove that irrationality and instead talk about swimming pools.
You build a free public pool. More people will use it until it gets so crowded that it's not worth it to enjoy the pool. That means that the marginal swimmer will be indifferent as to the pool, but all the other swimmers will benefit from the pool -- that is a large amount of benefits.
Fun Fact: One reason why public pools are filled with kids rather than seniors is because kids don't care so much about things being crowded or privacy. We have a heterogeneous population with heterogeneous preferences.
So now we have a crowded swimming pool. Does that mean that "clinging" to the swimming pool is a bad idea, because it is so crowded? Is a bar bad because it is so crowded? Are those who attend the crowded bar "two-faced"?
Now let's say you decide to build a second swimming pool. Well, it becomes as crowded as the first. Does that mean that building more swimming pools provides no value to the community, because they are all crowded?
Some are willing to put up with a crowded pool more than others, and these will be the ones that crowd up the pool, making those with different trade-offs feel left out.
Much of the rationale behind things like congestion pricing is to make the world more palatable to those who have different trade-offs, specifically to those who place a higher value on their time/privacy/personal space than others. This often boils down to questions of class - but not always. For example someone that has to drive around to make housecalls values the road more than someone who can work from home or has a more flexible schedule.
Now going back to roads and cars. People will again use the road until the congestion makes it not worth it for the marginal user. The road offers a trade-off between mobility and time, just as the swimming pool's trade off of swimming versus privacy. As with swimming pools, this creates a situation where the roads are always too crowded for some, and these insist there is no point in building an additional road. But the same road provides a great benefit to others -- the actual users of the road who, by revealed preferences, prefer to use the road even though it is congested.
