London Uses Congestion Pricing. Why Doesn't New York?

[M II A II R II K]

London Uses Congestion Pricing. Why Doesn't New York?


AUG. 10, 2017

By VIKAS BAJAJ and STUART A. THOMPSON

Read More: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...-new-york.html

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The millionaires tax is ultimately just one idea among several that state leaders should consider. All of them are politically risky, to be sure. But lawmakers must decide on a plan if they are going to fix the transit system and solve the city’s growing traffic problems.

- Bridges and tunnels are major contributors to traffic congestion in the city, as cars and trucks avoid tolled bridges in favor of free alternatives along the East River. One solution: toll all the bridges and tunnels. A plan by Move NY, which supports greater investment in transit, demonstrates how tolls could reduce traffic and generate revenue from the people who are causing the congestion. They proposed adding tolls to some of the most convenient routes that are now free: the ones leading into and out of Lower Manhattan.

- These include the Queensboro Bridge, Williamsburg Bridge, Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan Bridge. Crossings like the George Washington Bridge, the R.F.K. Bridge and the Lincoln, Queens Midtown and Holland tunnels are already tolled. They also proposed reducing tolls along bridges that serve neighborhoods that have few mass-transit options, like the Bronx Whitestone Bridge, the Verrazano Bridge and the Throgs Neck Bridge.

- Manhattan’s worst traffic congestion is found on the lower half of the island — anywhere south of 60th Street in what officials call the Central Business District. Under the Move NY proposal, cars traveling into this area would have to pay a fee. The argument in favor of the plan is simple: Almost everyone pays to enter central Manhattan — through a MetroCard or bus or train ticket, taxi fare or, for people coming from New Jersey, a bridge or tunnel toll — so why should cars and trucks coming from Upper Manhattan be treated differently? This fee would be the same as the toll on the East River bridges.

- Instead of toll booths, riders driving southbound past 60th Street could pay using an E-ZPass. For cars and trucks without an E-ZPass, cameras could photograph license plates and send bills in the mail. The M.T.A. recently installed a version of this technology on the R.F.K. Bridge, the Queens Midtown Tunnel and several other crossings. The city could also explore having riders buy passes in advance and fining drivers without passes, as they do in London.

- Another option is to add fees on taxi and ride-share trips below a certain point in Manhattan during the busiest times of the day. Mr. Cuomo’s office is reportedly considering this idea, according to Times reports. Taxis and and ride-shares would be exempt from the Central Business District fee (and the bridge and tunnel tolls) and would bring in revenue from people using congested streets to help pay for better forms of transportation.

- New sources of revenue are needed to solve the M.T.A.’s crisis. Ambitious proposals like the one from Move NY have been around for years, but state lawmakers have been reluctant to pass them fearing political blowback from drivers, rich taxpayers and others. Some officials are also ideologically opposed to any taxes or fees, arguing that the cost of living in New York is already too high. But these arguments ignore the fact that congestion and a dysfunctional transit system impose a substantial and growing cost on residents and on the economy.

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Tolls