What you should know
- Congestion tolls in New York City have been a hot topic, and on Monday it made no difference, as there was more pushback against the MTA Advisory Board’s congestion pricing plan, with many saying the increase will affect those who visit Manhattan.
- MTA Transit Chairman Richard Davey said money from congestion pricing will generate billions of dollars for subway and bus improvements.
- Davey also dismissed the rejection by local politicians as a political stunt, describing them as “two suburban elected officials from somewhere north of the city and somewhere west who probably drove up for their press conference.”
NEW YORK — Congestion tolls in New York City have been a hot topic, and on Monday it made no difference, as there was more pushback against the MTA Advisory Board’s congestion pricing plan, with many saying the increase will affect those who visit Manhattan.
After booking a customer for his restaurant this week, owner Julio Peña detailed his own reservations about congestion tolls.
“That person who came twice a month, who came three times a month, maybe they will come less,” Peña said.
You may have already seen the menu of toll prices for entering Manhattan south of 60th Street starting in mid-2024:
- Autos: $15
- Taxis: $1.25 per trip
- Uber and Lyft: $2.50 per ride
- Small trucks: $24
- Large trucks: $36
“Having them impose congestion pricing on us will be a blow,” Peña said, while meeting with two congressmen on Monday who have been consistent critics of the MTA’s first-in-the-nation tolling plan, including the New Jersey Democrat. , Josh Gottheimer.
“It’s the commuters who suddenly won’t be able to afford $15 a day, almost $4,000 a year,” Gottheimer said.
Rockland County Republican Rep. Mike Lawler also shared similar sentiments.
“It is nothing more than a money grab. “It’s a scam,” Lawler said.
However, Richard Davey, president of MTA Transit, said the plan will be good for the environment, emergency vehicles and public transportation.
“It’s air quality. It’s emergency vehicles moving. And, for the purposes of my job, it’s buses moving,” Davey said.
The MTA’s transit chairman said money from congestion pricing will generate billions of dollars for subway and bus improvements. He also dismissed the rejection by local politicians as a political stunt, describing them as “two suburban elected officials from somewhere north of the city and somewhere west who probably drove up for their press conference.”
In fact, they arrived in cars. Lawler, who holds a seat that could determine control of Congress, said out loud that he hopes to turn congestion pricing into voter turnout next year.
“I assure you that next year anyone who is in favor of congestion tolls will be defeated at the polls,” he said.
Opponents of congestion pricing don’t have much chance of stopping tolls before they start. There will be an MTA Board vote on Wednesday. If approved then, there are still two court cases brought by the state of New Jersey to block congestion pricing on environmental grounds.
2023-12-04 22:47:35
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