/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24838349/080823_congestion_pricing_2.jpg)
This article was originally published on by THE CITY. Sign up here to get the latest stories from THE CITY delivered to you each morning.
By Jose Martinez, THE CITY
Just off Columbus Circle and above one of the city’s busiest subway hubs, congestion pricing is finally rounding from concept into near-reality.
New York’s long-running campaign to raise billions of dollars for transit upgrades by tolling motorists driving into the most car-clogged parts of Manhattan is taking shape in the form of vehicle-identifying scanners at West 60th Street and Broadway — tangible proof of what awaits motorists as soon as next spring.
The installation of E-Z Pass readers and license plate-scanning cameras similar to those already in use at approaches to the MTA’s nine bridges and tunnels marks a significant step for the Central Business District Tolling Program, which the Federal Highway Administration signed off on in late June after years of delays.
Tolling devices will be installed at an estimated 120 detection points, and some have already been spotted at West 61st Street and West End Avenue. The tolling zone will extend south from 60th Street, except for vehicles driving through using the FDR Drive, the West Side Highway and the Battery Park underpass.
Drivers in the area looked at the new fixtures warily.
“I don’t like it, because it’s going to affect me,” said Segundo Suculanda, an Uber driver who was parked Tuesday along West 60th Street, outside the Deutsche Bank Center. “We’ve heard about this congestion pricing for years, but seeing those cameras finally makes it feel real.”
The federal government’s June 26 Finding of No Significant Impact put the MTA on a 310-day clock to install, test and activate the country’s first congestion pricing system, which is expected to charge motorists somewhere between $9 and $23 during peak hours to drive south of 60th Street, with discounts of at least 50% eyed between midnight and 4 a.m.
Congestion pricing is supposed to provide close to $15 billion for MTA upgrades that include new subway cars and signals, expanded subway accessibility, electric buses and the extension of the Second Avenue Subway north from 96th Street to East Harlem.
It is also designed to cut by 15% to 20% the number of cars, trucks, vans and buses entering Manhattan, according to a study released last August that outlined potential tolling scenarios.
“At long last, congestion pricing is becoming visible and soon it will start bringing in the money to make the subway more reliable and accessible and clean up our air,” said Danny Pearlstein, policy director for Riders Alliance, an advocacy organization. “Congestion pricing was passed more than four years ago, but because of the holdup in D.C., it was seemingly on ice.
“But now it’s defrosting.”
Reconsidering Routes
The structures that will toll vehicles going south of 60th Street and into Manhattan’s central business district are being installed by TransCore. In 2019, the MTA selected the Nashville-based company for a six-year, $507 million contract to build out tolling infrastructure by mounting sensors on traffic poles and arms, on overhead signs or on bridges.
The six-member Traffic Mobility Review Board, which met for the first time last month, must come up with tolling recommendations, along with determining if there are any exemptions or discounts. The board is made up of five representatives appointed by the MTA and one appointed by Mayor Eric Adams.
The MTA’s governing board would then sign off on a final congestion pricing plan.
Congestion pricing still faces opposition from the state of New Jersey, which last month filed a federal lawsuit challenging what it called the Federal Highway Administration’s “rubber stamp” approval of the plan — and from some drivers.
“It’s going to add up, it’s scary to think about,” said Ryan Torres, 34, a delivery driver who lives in Bushwick and drives to Manhattan daily.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24838350/080823_congestion_pricing_torres.jpg)
Richard Davey, president of New York City Transit, the MTA division in charge of subway, bus and paratransit service, said Tuesday that the tolling plan is on track despite the legal challenges and years of delays.
“There’s nothing anybody can do to stop this,” Davey said on Fox 5’s “Good Day New York.” “The train is rolling in.”
The approval of congestion pricing is also causing some motorists to consider how often they will drive into Manhattan.
“If things keep going up like that and they start adding extra fees, I’ll just have to take the train some days,” said Nick Zaffuto, a Long Island motorist who was sitting in his parked car Tuesday along 59th Street. “I personally like to drive, but some days it just might be more feasible for me to take the train.”
THE CITY is an independent, nonprofit news outlet dedicated to hard-hitting reporting that serves the people of New York.
Someone down the line will campaign on its repeal and win an election. There’s no IMMEDIATE service improvements proposed, especially in underserved areas. In fact, MTA is trying to cut service in underserved areas and people affiliated with Riders Alliance are running cover for the MTA saying that the MTA isn’t cutting service and critics have bad information. You can’t trust a government entity like this and they don’t care that they’re doubling down on the lack of confidence in the MTA. It’s as if the only kind of people wanted in Manhattan are those who live on the UWS or Park Slope, not area workers that don’t live near a subway like me. In this reality, making it easier for me to afford something on the UWS TODAY would be a real commitment to area workers like myself. But they’re not doing that either.
CP is for capital projects only – so current bus and subway riders will get no benefit.
Bus riders will never get any benefit.
The fares are going up this month.
The MTA continues reducing bus routes and frequency through its “redesign”.
And somehow the City has tons to spend on expanding bike lanes/bicycling infrastructure (instead of contributing more to MTA )
Bus riders will see an immediate benefit when congestion pricing starts, as bus speeds will immediately go up. This year’s budget in Albany required the city to contribute new funding to the MTA. Capital projects mean things like elevators, new signals, new busses. Bus route redesigns make the routes more efficient rather than let under utilized routes languish. Travel patterns have changed dramatically in the past three years, and this rebalancing of routes improves service dramatically.
All of these things shoukd have been worked on a ling time ago. Where did that money go? The MTA let go many workers and reduced the amoun to salary and benefits they pay out for the metrocard machines. They charge a $1 for a new card. Where is that money going? The unfinished amounts o fmetrocards that they now allow to expire so you have to buy a new one. Was it necessary to bring in OMNY? The question that should be asked is who is connected to the companies that are being paid millions in contracts for this money grabbing service? A simple fee of $2.90 for EVERYONE driving in, no exemptions if it really was about the environment and improving public transportation.
Except that the “transit utopia” being purported here will not be reality. Bus route redesigns being planned in the outer boroughs seek “efficiency” for the MTA’s bottom line. MTA is willing to force people in areas underserved by transit or where subway service is at or near capacity make additional transfers and deal with crowded subways in the name of “efficiency”. If you’re headed to somewhere that’s not Midtown (let’s say the UWS) from a place like Queens, you’ve just made someone’s commute a lot worse and have forced an additional transfer or two in the name of “efficiency”. MTA is also removing bus stops in the outer boroughs in the name of “efficiency”. There’s no benefit to bus riders when your total door to door trip time is longer than before, while the MTA touts that bus speeds are faster because they removed stops. Much of the bus speed gains from bus lanes we’ve gotten have still not brought total trip times down to what they were before Vision Zero. Talk to bus operators and they’ll say that they’re afraid of speed cameras and that there’s a lot more scrutiny of their driving because of Vision Zero. New buses? They have to replace buses anyway, what’s not being said is that buses being manufactured today don’t have the same build quality they did decades ago
You can’t take parking away in an area like the UWS where area workers use these spots, then force people to make additional transfers and deal with overcrowded subways in the name of “efficiency”.
The subway lines that have new signals, there are still problems regularly and there are still long term outages that are taking place.
What this whitewashes is that bus redesigns in the outer boroughs force people to choose between frequency or coverage and force a false choice of one or the other rather than genuinely improving service. These are questions that Manhattan bus riders will NEVER be asked because much of Manhattan’s bus network is already laid out in a grid and many use the bus to go east – west.
Transit Rider –
CP won’t help bus riders.
Bus riders need more frequency and routes reinstated. (For example, cutting the M5 into 2 sections is horrible for bus riders.)
And if there are no buses, speed is irrelevant.
Buses have to obey speed limits and stop at red lights.
Curious – what bus do you take? what do you think is “underutilized”?
He’s likely talking about bus routes that take people between the outer boroughs and Manhattan, which in most cases NYC fully subsidizes. You can’t complain about “subsidizing” car storage then complain about transit services that have a higher subsidy, force people from outer boroughs with more limited transit to make multiple transfers and deal with crowded trains, while then demanding Citibike be subsidized by New York City so that UWS and other Manhattan residents can have an easy one seat commute on an electric Citibike. Makes people question what congestion pricing really about and further establishes the anti-car push as something tied to gentrification and manipulating the transportation network to rid Manhattan of “undesirable” people like how a landlord would rid their building of “undesirable” tenants.
Show me the proof of what you are saying! The 14th Street area is a travesty. No one can get anywhere. It is a danger to walk on the LES. The wide 14th Street is empty and all the dislocated cars are pushed onto the surrounding streets. It may be true that bus riders picked up a few minutes, but this could have solved 100 other ways other than destroying the City. 14th Street area is devoid of commerce. How is that helpful? How does it hep raise money for MTA if no one comes to the City?
A lot of the bus speed gains that have been made, particularly on Select Bus Service routes have been because of all door entry and not having to go to the front of the bus to pay your fare. If you simply made the crosstown buses fare free (for people with unlimited metrocards and transferring to the subway, they’re free anyway), you’d get speed gains without having to spend much on infrastructure. But there’s people that have to take advantage to make money.
Bob –
Bus stops were removed on the M14 route which also helped the “speed” metric.
But really bad for people who need the bus
Undoing much of the changes to the streetscape made since Janette Sadik Khan became NYCDOT commissioner in 2007 would do a lot more to speed up buses than bus lanes or busways.
Maybe that’s because the MTA is notoriously incompetent at spending any money they receive from any source. No private business would run itself like the MTA and still be viable. Not that City government is much better either.
The city fully pays for MTA Bus Company which consists of the operations of 7 private bus companies Bloomberg forced out of business in Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx. When discussing proposed bus service cuts for city funded MTA Bus Company routes between these outer boroughs and Manhattan, the MTA told rider advocates at a closed door meeting at 2 Broadway that these routes were a waste of NYC taxpayer resources. This is all while NYC has the money for bike lanes which remove parking spots like the one on CPW, and while NYC gets money paid by Lyft and other carshare companies taking away residential parking spaces on the UWS, which are used by people in transit deserts to come here for work and other business.
Among other things, media coverage and City DOT have not acknowledged the huge number of gig workers doing e-commerce delivery – people who are using personal vehicles (not commercial plates).
Just yesterday in front of my building in a few minutes – person delivering Instacart, another delivering meal kits, another with organic dog food….
These gig workers are not rich.
There will be a limit to one charge per day, regardless of whether someone is driving a personal vehicle or commercial, and I’m absolutely certain that the delivery companies will find a way to incorporate it into their fees, just like the car services do when you take a car to Newark Airport and get charged the fee for the bridge or tunnel even though the toll only gets charged on inbound traffic.
And what about us regular working people that live in the zone and would maybe want to get out of the city in a day off but now will have to pay this ridiculous toll just to use our vehicles once or twice a week just to get out of the city. Not to mention having to pay the toll to get back in.
Presumably the solution would be for those delivery platforms to add a surcharge offsetting the congestion pricing fee — in essence, passing it along to you.
Seems reasonable, no?
Brandon,
That is logical – if the corporations pass along to the gig workers
But gig workers are not employees, do not get benefits, no place to use the bathroom – nothing.
I personally have zero faith in these companies
If the gig workers disappear these companies will have to pay them more, called “fair pay.”
We need residential parking permits now. UWS is about to become a lot more popular for out-of-town visitors who drive in.
Absolutely. A single checkpoint is going to lead to visitors scouring 60th to 70th streets looking for parking to avoid the fee. Particularly if the fee ends up being $23.
Parking at 60th and up and then walking to theaters at times square is something many people can manage. There will be lots doing this to avoid the fee. Parking garages above 60th are hitting a goldmine. Rates will get even more ridiculous.
There’s also going to be increased stopping traffic with people constantly getting dropped off at 60th by Uber, taxis, and other passenger vehicles. Cross streets in the low 60s will get more traffic.
Having graded fees with sensors and fees at 100th, 80th, 60th, and 40th would lessen the impact at any one point. Hopefully placement of sensors and fees will likely evolve.
I really hope otherwise but the potential for 60th and a few blocks above to be a mess seems probable.
Mike,
I live on West 63rd and we have a feeling our street will be a pick up and drop off point and double parking will be the new normal. This exact thing happened and is happening in London right outside of the zone.
And starting to tow double parked cars.
I think that the effects on the UES and UWS won’t be as big of a problem. If anything resident permits is a grab of street parking for those who can afford to live here (which I can’t), while transit won’t improve. You see the difference between Astoria, Washington Heights, Inwood and other neighborhoods vs. the UES and UWS is that Alternate Side is twice a week. Generally, the easiest spots to find on the UES and UWS are metered spots (which have Alternate Side) or residential spots on cleaning day. No one who is going to Manhattan south of 60th Street will want to deal with Alternate Side for 90 minutes, especially if the Alternate Side window is in the middle of normal working hours (much of the UWS 70s and 80s are 11-12:30 as an example).
Now the upper west/east side are going to be swamped with Bridge/Tunnel people parking here and taking the subway
People doing business in the CBD aren’t going to sit in the car for 90 minutes to save 20 bucks or so.
Time is money and the people affected by this are worth more than $13.50/hour.
Before knocking on people from New Jersey, take a look at this tweet. NJ residents who work here pay taxes to New York NOT New Jersey, including MTA taxes. There’s no incentive for NJ Transit to provide better service, only to lose more NJ residents paying income taxes to NJ. If anything, people who drive in from New Jersey pay tolls to Port Authority, which benefits both states and is fully self funded, that isn’t the case with NJ Transit:
https://twitter.com/TheLIRRToday/status/1688550823066750977
I am not a fan of this, but I am so glad I live north of 60th Street. I only drive to places outside of the city, and bike or take the subway when going to midtown/downtown, so this won’t affect my travel patterns much. However, if I lived in the congestion zone and I had to pay $23 every time I wanted to leave/re-enter my neighborhood, I would be livid.
” I only drive to places outside of the city…”
When you drive to places outside the city, do you ever take the 59th St bridge? Or any of the downtown bridges? Or any tunnel? If so, you’ll be paying the fee.
59th St Bridge towards Queens is officially out of the zone if you come down 2nd Ave. Coming back to Manhattan, you need to take the upper level which puts you on 62 St, lower level all the way down keeping right to 60th St westbound or take the “mid” bridge exit onto 60 St eastbound.
I think I read that the 59th Street Bridge upper roadway entering Manhattan will exit outside of the congestion zone, but the entrances to the bridge from Manhattan (both upper and lower roadways) will be inside the zone. I hope they’ll make an exception from the Manhattan side, but if that is the case I’ll take the Triboro or the Whitestone/Throgs Neck on trips out to Long Island and eat the toll.
I only drive to places outside of the city too but I do take the Lincoln Tunnel and if I am reading this correctly, it will now charge people who are going down West End Ave to 11th to just get to the tunnel. If they really do plan to enact this, they should have it on streets that are leading people out of the city!
this dude Nick Zaffuto just unwittingly proved the entire point of congestion pricing lol
Actually commercial vehicles are the majority of vehicles.
A Modest Proposal….
Able-bodied Manhattan residents should cut down on using Amazon and Uber?
That would work as long as New Yorkers stop shopping or stop going anywhere.
This is absolutely going to destroy business, commuting, etc. If people were considering going to back to work in person or go to a show or a restaurant, this is the nail on the coffin not to return.
Take public transport – you won’t die
Like the smoking ban killed the restaurant and bar business as predicted many years ago?
Ironically…
The MTA wants vehicles so it can get the cash.
The bicycle lobby groups (Transportation Alternatives etc) do not want vehicles so that bicycling can be easier and expanded.
And the City keeps manufacturing congestion enabling projects like a casino, super-tall luxury buildings, closing streets…
This remains a great idea, as it was was back in 2008 when Sheldon Silver killed the first iteration (recall what happened to that paragon of civic virtue).
Here’s to hoping the bad faith lawsuits spearheaded by NJ pols pandering to their suburban constituents are promptly dismissed.
I wonder what percentage of the naysayers in the comments are part of the 78% of Manhattanites who don’t own cars?
Congestion pricing did not work in London so why do so many believe it will work here? Bunch of idiots running the show and I’m tired of it!! Each day they take steps to ruin the city.
On what basis do you say it does not work in London? All evidence points to the contrary.
The 2007 plan called for IMMEDIATE service improvements in underserved areas, this plan does not. Most of the 78% of Manhattanites who don’t own cars don’t care enough to actively make life more miserable for those who need to drive, I’d say a fair portion of them are understanding about those who need to drive.
Another nail in the coffin to countless people driving cars who are living or visiting NYC.
This is New York City! Not London.
It’s not working too well there, it will not work too well here.
https://www.intelligenttransport.com/transport-news/143883/londons-congestion-charge-celebrates-20-years-of-success/
400 million dollars is lost every year with fare beaters. How about starting with that. How much will be lost by the city in taxes, Because now people aren’t going to want to come into the city Just for a night out. Not only does everything cost more and then you have to pay for parking. If you go home after midnight, you’re gonna be charged with 2 separate day fees. And all the low-income workers who have to use a car because of their businesses will not be able to afford it. This is such a narrow minded approach without appreciating the extent of the consequences.
They are pretty aggressively targeting fare evasion, with new fare evasion monitors starting on busses just this week.
From a report by the Community Service Society: Among all income strata of outer-borough residents (those living in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens and Staten Island), no more than four percent would regularly pay a congestion fee.
Of the city’s outer-borough working residents in poverty, only two percent — around 5,000 residents — will be asked to pay a congestion fee as part of their daily commute.
The city won’t want to subsidize the transportation needs of those 5,000 residents. They don’t like subsidizing transit in the first place. If you see how NYCDOT managed privately operated bus service before Bloomberg took the private lines out of business and forced MTA to run the service, you’d see. Another point worth mentioning is that MTA exists to make hard decisions regarding transportation no elected official wanted to make. The NYCDOT private companies were far more accountable than the MTA is, but the byproduct was that the private bus companies were overly sensitive to political concerns, so it was harder for the private bus companies to cut service or otherwise negatively adjust service because they depended on city council approval for their franchises.
I hope this leads to progress in solving the defaced/forged license plate problem.
Fix the license plate problem first please. Make legible license plates a requirement for NYS inspection. Give NYPD ticket agents a $5 bonus every time they write a ticket for one. Tow the cars sitting on the street that are obviously illegal. Let New Yorkers report them for money like they do idling vehicles. There’s so much more that could be done.
Here’s an idea – how about charging for street parking for non-residents in neighborhoods north of 60th Street so we are not inundated with people from Westchester, Rockland, Long Island, NJ, and Connecticut clogging our neighborhoods looking for free parking in our neighborhoods. All are full of parks and other amenities that you need a resident permit to use (and I’m convinced that a lot of towns in along the river in NJ and Rockland get the bulk of their revenue by sending out their cops to ticket and harass bicyclists from NYC).
I would welcome answers from only those who know. Please, no editorials. And yes, I will send the same questions to Mark Levine et al. 1. Is congestion pricing still a work in process? Will rationale suggestions be considered? 2. Are there any North/South roadways that will not be charged (thinking bridge and tunnel access ang egress.)? 3. Discounts for EV’s and Hybrids? 4.Plans for charging stations? 5. Plans to increase elevator/escaltor access to at least major subway stops? Or are we not the greatest city in the world? 6. In London, only neighborhood residents have stickers to park in their neighborhood. Others take mass transit (our goal, yes?) or taxis.
The people who are here looking for street parking from elsewhere work on the UWS or have other business on the UWS. They’re not going to come to the UWS, deal with Alternate Side etc. just to take the subway to Midtown from here. The people who drive south of 60th Street have their reasons for doing so and I am doubtful it will change. Those who are coming to NYC neighborhoods just to take the subway do so right now in Riverdale and Washington Heights areas where Alternate Side is once a week, Alternate Side being twice a week is the saving grace for the UES and UWS in my opinion.
The scanning equipment on Broadway between 60th and 61st is over the northbound lanes. I don’t see any on the southbound side. Does that make sense?
The State and City government have bullied the citizens with this horrific plan. Even looking at the pictures, all can see there is NO CONGESTION in Manhattan since the pandemic. The pandemic, obviously, kept people in. But thousands left the city and never came back. Commerce is hobbling along and will be entirely destroyed oonce people dont’ come to the City. Car owners within the zone will be forced to leave the City or pay exorbitant taxes to leave or return to their home. This is idiocy: A plan to destroy our once, wonderful City.
They wouldn’t need to impose this tax to fill the NRA coffers if the MTA and Adams’ PD would stop turning a blind eye to everyone who actually uses mass transit but decides to bypass paying for their rides by jumping the turnstiles or just waltzing through always-open “emergency” doors. Simple observation at most stops makes it abundantly clear vastly more people are riding for free than are paying for the services they now want drivers to pay for.
FANTASTIC
Now for residential parking permits
So that people who work and have business on the UWS and can’t or won’t deal with deteriorating transit can get screwed over. Let’s also note that the people supporting congestion pricing and parking removal are the ones who want resident permits. Today its resident permits, tomorrow its get rid of all street parking spaces because UWS residents who can afford to live here, own a car and pay for parking are rich and privileged.
The last point I will make is that you can’t make it harder to drive, make transit worse and not want to house people who work here and have substantial business here. It’s a no win situation, especially for the area workers.
Being able to drive and park for free in a city or community you don’t live in is not your right. It’s a privilege.
Many, many cities far less rich in public transportation have residential parking in neighborhoods. The sky hasn’t fallen.
Take the train
Manhattan being the economic and social center of a 4 state metropolitan area is a privilege. The ability to afford market rate prices to live in Manhattan is a privilege. You know what else is a privilege? The fact that 71% of the UWS is in a historic district and that a significant portion of other neighborhoods in Manhattan have historic district landmarking, which is basically Manhattan’s version of suburban zoning.
Even Governor Hochul wouldn’t touch NYC resident permits in the budget process earlier this year. The national Democrats lost the House to the GOP because of NYC outer boroughs and suburbs. It’s people like myself who work on the UWS, are registered Democrats, see what’s going on in NYC and then go home and vote Republican in swing districts that cost Democrats the House, and you’re lucky it didn’t cost Democrats a veto proof majority in the NY Senate and Assembly.
There’s many more people that live outside of Manhattan in competitive Congressional districts than there are Upper West Siders and Manhattanites and you absolutely would not want a scenario where there’s even more resentment of Manhattan residents from those who live outside Manhattan. That’s a sure fire way for Manhattanites to shoot themselves in the foot. You’re lucky elected officials outside Manhattan haven’t decided to touch historic district landmarking on the UWS.
what effect will this have on taxis carrying wsiders downtown to medical appointments?
Everyone has a good reason to travel somewhere, not just those going to medical appointments.
I am wondering whether taxi rides beginning above 96th Street and ending below 60th Street will include two congestion fees. That is, all passengers in cabs driving below 96th St. already pay a congestion fee. Will they pay a second one? I’ve long wondered why I, in a taxi, have had to pay that fee but drivers in their own cars do not. If you know the answer, please let us know. I’d appreciate no editorializing as in why I’m taking cabs instead of buses and subways.
Yes, it drives me crazy! There are a certain # of taxi medallions and those should be included in normal business, not congestion- that is all the Ubers!
This has been a long time coming. Other countries have been doing it for a decade.
Public transport improvement that results from the fees collected should make bringing a car into the city unnecessary, especially for the folks who don’t live in the city. It might be a good investment to have parking at city limits so people can park and ride into the city.
That’s not what’s happening. Look at how badly the MTA rolled out the new Grand Central service for LIRR. Take an LIRR train and your trip now is at minimum 10 minutes longer than what your trip used to be. If the LIRR train is late and you have to transfer, now there’s no timed transfers so you can be stuck waiting an hour for the next train. The other reality is that NJ residents pay income taxes to us, NOT NJ, so what incentive is there for NJ to improve transit only to have those people work here and pay taxes here? If anything people living elsewhere helps relieve demand for housing in NYC, and especially Manhattan. As it stands right now, you can’t have historic preservation on the UWS where 71% of the UWS is in a historic district and have enough housing for everyone who wants to live here, and believe me, pretty much the entire white population in Manhattan north of 96th Street plus others in gentrifying areas like Astoria, Greenpoint, Bed-Stuy have eyes on the UWS.
“Congestion pricing is supposed to provide close to $15 billion for MTA upgrades that include new subway cars and signals, expanded subway accessibility, electric buses and the extension of the Second Avenue Subway north from 96th Street to East Harlem.”
“Supposed.” Any wagers on where the money will really go?
I can not believe there is no plan for resident parking the upper west side will have all of NJ on the streets trying to park their cars in an area where it is almost impossible to park now.
I haven’t seen anything about fees for renting a car in “the zone” and driving.it out and the return fee…
Doe anybody have any information?
It doesn’t matter what the reason is or the scenario for driving a car in the CBD. The point of the fee is to reduce the number of vehicles which would include a rental car.
Like every other tax or NYC premium, people will just absorb it after they weigh the alternatives. Sure, drive out of your way to use GWB vs. Lincoln Tunnel. You will save the $23 but pay more in time and gas. The traffic will be worse. Eventually, you will just pay the $23. Just like you pay more for nearly everything vs. driving to the suburbs to buy it cheaper.
What is going on here?! Congestion pricing really?! Who do you think is putting in bicycle lanes, those bumper islands with a tree planted in the street, and still allowing all those wreck of constructed outdoor IN THE STREET extensions to the restaurants that are housing rats under each little gazebo. These IDEAS are what’s causing the congestion on Manhattan streets and the MTA still wants to steal from the general public by calling it Congestion Pricing so they can pump up their MTA salaries! Amsterdam Avenue used to be the fastest way to travel into the UWS, now with all the restaurant shanties, it doesn’t look”European”, it looks like the third world countries of India and Pakistan. Stop stomping on the cars, buses and trucks that service our city,
and instead tax the multimillion dollar and multi billion dollar business who have come to this city for business. Her’s a way to get more funds…reinstate that every business or commercial doorway or resident building must sweep their sidewalks everyday otherwise fine them for littering up our city sidewalks. This would make the city cleaner less rodent infested and give jobs to the people passing out the tickets for sidewalk littering. Do this city wide and watch the excess revenue pile up!
That’s right Mr Davey, the money train is rolling. So would you be so kind as to share the metrics being used to measure success of this commitment to “reducing congestion” so we can hold the Board and MTA accountable? Are we doing it to save 1 minute of driving at 3 AM? 5 minutes at rush hour? Please tell us.
Will you also share with us the changes that have been made at the MTA’s NYCT Authority to address the issues reported by the NYTimes in 2017: “How Politics and Bad Decisions Starved New York’s Subways”, documenting extensive corruption, inefficiency and fiscal mismanagement that created the problems more money won’t solve.
These topics were curiously missing from the Congestion Pricing debate.
Finally, what is the followup plan to deal with the unintended consequences of such a major change to life in NYC? Is there anyone tasked with handling that one?
Here’s one simple comment. For those who say that no one outside the city will park on the UWS because of Alternate Side parking rules, you obviously know nothing about said rules. Alternate side is 2 day/week. And there is no alternate side on Wed, Sat & Sun. Further, much alternate side is 9:30-11 am. Depending on flexibility, those will be prime spots to avoid the surcharge. Garages who now get up to $800/m and $15/ half hour will make an even bigger killing.
People who own cars in the city often use their cars for necessary transportation outside Manhattan, where bus and subway service is spotty at best.
Alternate Side is twice a week on each side. Further uptown like Washington Heights or Inwood and in outer borough neighborhoods like Astoria, Alternate Side is only once a week on each side and in outer borough neighborhoods like Astoria, many more people aren’t sitting the full 90 minutes like Manhattanites do.
best solution end this before it begins.
the MTA is notpart of the government we elect,
This is double taxation for those coming across bridges and tunnels that already have tolls. How about putting tolls in the East River crossings that don’t have them to generate revenue. Seems more equitable.
This is just a horrible idea. New York doesn’t have logical break points so the areas right around the edges of the zone will be a gigantic mess. I remember when there was a transit strike in late 2005 and you needed multiple people in a car south of 96th Street. The area just above 96th was a congested nightmare. Some people parked there and others idled and looked for an extra rider.
This is correct.
This idea has morphed from congestion reduction to revenue generation.
All the west side crossings (Henry Hudson Bridge, GWB, Lincoln Tunnel, Holland Tunnel) are already tolled. The NJ crossings have peak fares as well. If there’s a problem with too many people coming in from NJ, the simple thing to do is increase the tolls on these crossings.
The MTA could then put tolls on the Harlem River and East River crossings. You could even just limit to the main bridges (Brooklyn, Manhattan, Williamsburg, and 59th St, and the Cross Bronx Expressway). That would reduce congestion coming from Connecticut, Westchester, Long Island, etc.
Simple, easy. Doesn’t need to be called “congestion pricing”.
But, increasing tolls on the NJ bridges would put money into the Port Authority, not the MTA, so this weirdness of congestion pricing has come into being.
There’s a reason why we have a bi-state Port Authority. Maybe more of our public transit infrastructure should be run by them? Maybe the public streets in Manhattan south of 96th Street should be owned and managed by Port Authority? Port Authority bonds have helped financed MTA as well as NJ Transit buses and trains before. Port Authority has owned MTA railcars before.
Giving the Port Authority any more responsibility and money would be the worst decision of all time. That agency is notoriously inefficient.
I’ve lived in Hell’s Kitchen for over 35 years . When I moved here it was the Irish mob and no one wanted to move here and living here was dangerous. Then the “gentrification” took hold and it became a trendy place to live. I work in show Buisness which brings in BILLIONS in revenue to this city. As a tax payer and tenant in hells kitchen , a neighborhood which I have helped clean up from the slum it was, I now have to be overtaxed for living here. I’ve paid a garage to keep a car here as long as I’ve lived here. I used that car to travel out of town weekly to care for elderly parents. Now I’m forced to give that up???? I’m taxed while people in luxury apartments on the upper east side are not? Again, the upper class and politicians destroying the middle class. Shame on this administration. It will change once they see how Broadway will be effected by this…. Such idiots!
BTW traveling by bus (Fifth Avenue, Third Avenue) in midtown over the past few weeks have seen little volume and congestion – except on Third between about 54-59th due to the bridge approach.
Virtually all vehicles were commercial including many Uber.
Does congestion pricing attach to every taxi fare passing through Midtown? Or only to the first fare of the day for the taxi passing through midtown?
If the latter, how will a rider know whether they are the first or the twenty-first CP-surcharge for the day?
How is this not a massive potentail boondoggle-windfall for taxi drivers?
It is expected that the City will add another surcharge to taxi and Uber rides
Actually it will hurt yellow taxis more than Uber.
Because this is all passed on to customers. Uber and Lyft want higher fees for congestion passed onto customers. The target audience for Uber and Lyft have no problem spending that money. Some even get comped by their job for the higher fees anyways.
I’m wondering if driving through the FDR or West Side Highway, without ever actually exiting, constitutes driving through Manhattan. Nothing I’ve read addresses this question. Does anyone know?
I had just looked it up because all of my friends and coworkers come in from the outer boroughs.
From Newsday: Congestion pricing is a system of tolling vehicles entering or operating in Manhattan’s Central Business District, which is below 60th Street. There are some exceptions, including for drivers who stay on the FDR Drive and West Side Highway.
Jul 1, 2023
The UWS will be turned i to a New Jersey Parking lot and Brewer and CB7 does nothing.