New York City's congestion pricing scheme, which went into effect on January 5th, has sparked widespread interest in its potential to alleviate traffic congestion and generate revenue for transit improvements. Amidst the curiosity, a college-age duo's innovative web tool has emerged as a definitive source for gauging the scheme's effectiveness.

Benjamin and Joshua Moshes, brothers and students at Brown University and Northeastern University, respectively, created the Congestion Pricing Tracker as a school project. The tool utilizes real-time traffic data from Google Maps to calculate traffic times for chosen routes and days, presenting the data as a line graph of traffic times before and after congestion pricing went into effect.

The tracker's launch coincided with the implementation of congestion pricing, and its instant popularity among transportation advocates and the general public has been remarkable. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), responsible for overseeing congestion pricing, wasn't scheduled to release its own preliminary traffic figures for weeks, but the brothers' tracker helped meet the demand for real-time data.

The Congestion Pricing Tracker's methodology involves collecting data from 19 routes, using the shortest time to drive from point A to point B for every route. The tool refreshes the times for every route every 15 minutes, resulting in 1,824 data points each day. Most of the data comes from the 13 routes directly affected by congestion pricing, with additional routes from outside the zone and even control routes in Chicago and Boston.

Benjamin, a senior studying math and economics at Brown University, initially worked on a project about taxis before his adviser, professor Emily Oster, suggested exploring the new congestion surcharge. The concept of price elasticity and demand fascinated Benjamin, who wondered how much it would take for people to change their behavior and opt for alternative modes of transportation.

The brothers' decision to use commute times as the primary metric has been praised for its intuitive appeal. "What's great about commute times is that it's easier to sort of internalize saying, 'Oh, now it's taking me four minutes to cross Lincoln Tunnel when it used to be 10,'" Benjamin explained.

The Congestion Pricing Tracker's impact has been significant, with citations in major media stories from The New York Times, The Economist, and Bloomberg. The brothers have been surprised by the tool's rapid popularity, which has earned them recognition and even donations to support their project.

Looking ahead, the brothers hope to keep the tracker live, despite the costs associated with web hosting and data collection. They plan to make enhancements, improve their data collection methods, and design a better map. As the project continues to evolve, its value in delivering real-time traffic information will only increase.

Professor Emily Oster, Benjamin's adviser, praised the project's enormous success in delivering immediate information about traffic patterns. "I was so proud that they were able to put this together," she said in an email.

In the end, the Congestion Pricing Tracker's unlikely success serves as a testament to the power of innovative thinking and collaboration. As New York City continues to navigate the complexities of congestion pricing, the Moshes brothers' tool will undoubtedly remain a vital resource for policymakers, transportation experts, and the general public alike.