I think they are overlooking a very important point, and that is public transportation costs at the same time. The Stockholm region is divided into three publi

I think they are overlooking a very important point, and that is public transportation costs at the same time. The Stockholm region is divided into three public transit zones, and you have to pay for each zone you cross. So travelling across town would cost you three coupons, but going a few stops would just be one coupon. The problem was you pay based on how many zones you travel in, not distance. So if you took a subway two stops and crossed a boundary: bam! Two coupons. When they introduced congestion charges they also imposed a "one coupon" rule: you never had to pay for more than one coupon. So public transit became a lot more attractive over night at the same time that cars got more expensive. Small wonder that people switched. Now they've gone back to three coupons though... And anecdotally: the inner city feels just as congested now as it did before the charges.