New York officials have released a congestion pricing plan that would charge most drivers $15 to enter Manhattan’s central business district.
The plan, which is the first of its kind in the United States, is projected to generate $1 billion annually and would be used to finance upgrades to the city’s mass transit systems.
Discounts are included for low-income drivers and travel between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. Opponents, including taxi drivers, have criticized the proposal, while New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has filed a lawsuit over congestion pricing. (Trending: Greta Thunberg Caught on Video Going Full Anti-Semite)
Congestion pricing could cost NYC drivers $15 to enter Manhattan’s busiest streets https://t.co/tWg1T5M792 pic.twitter.com/aG50abFXio
— New York Post (@nypost) November 30, 2023
“Absent this we’re going to choking in our own traffic for a long time to come and the MTA is not going to have the funds necessary to provide quality service,” Carl Weisbrod, chair of the traffic review board.
“The city has already decimated the taxi industry with years of unregulated, unchecked competition from Uber and Lyft, and the MTA seems poised to land a final blow to the prospect of stability and modest survival,” Bhairavi Desai, executive director of the New York City Taxi Workers Alliance.
“If this proposal is implemented, thousands of driver families will get dragged back into crisis-level poverty with no relief in sight,” said Desai.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy wrote in a statement, “The Traffic Mobility Review Board’s recommended credit structure is wholly inadequate, especially the total lack of toll credits for the George Washington Bridge, which will lead to toll shopping, increased congestion in underserved communities, and excessive tolling at New Jersey crossings into Manhattan.”
The plan will be voted on by the MTA board after public hearings in February 2024.
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