Filed under: Transportation Alternatives, Legislation and Policy, USA
NYC Council approves traffic free plan for Manhattan
It's finally arrived. NYC is copying London's Congestion Charge. The City Council voted 30 to 20 for a Home Rule resolution asking lawmakers to approve a Senate Bill empowering the city to impose the traffic plan. Congestion pricing, as the plan is called.
How does it work? The congestion charging zone would be in effect in Manhattan south of 60th Street between 6 am and 6 pm Monday-Friday. Cars will be charged $8 daily, trucks will be charged $21 daily ($7 if it's a low-emission vehicle) when entering the zone and there would be a $1 surcharge for vehicles without EZ-Pass readers. Weekends, evenings and early mornings remain free. Moreover, each taxi ride will be surcharged by $1 for trips that start and/or end in the designated zone. Motorcycles and scooters will have to pay $4. Big Apple drivers can also look forward to increased metered parking rates and residents won't be able exempt from the parking tax, although there will be a residential parking program. What do we get for the cost? The Council committed the estimated revenue of $491 million for transit improvements.
[Source: NYCDOT via Bloomberg]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
GoodCheer 10:12PM (4/01/2008)
Ok, I don't live in New York, let alone south of 60th St., but I think this is wonderful. If the plan sticks, and works (which I think it will if it sticks), it might enable people who need to to actually drive around downtown, and may eventually enable everybody else more sidewalk to walk on... if they get expanded once it's no longer necessary to have 4 (or 6) lanes of cars on every street.
Bravo New York City Council.
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GoodCheer 10:13PM (4/01/2008)
Or is this an April Fool's joke?
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steven 11:13PM (4/01/2008)
Thanks for warming our hearts with a 8 year old picture of the Manhattan skyline.
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Mark 12:14AM (4/02/2008)
haha, nice april fools joke
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David Wright 4:46AM (4/02/2008)
Fools Day joke? Maybe not. Check out similar reports dated the day before..
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Mort 7:26AM (4/02/2008)
This is a beautiful plan.
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Edsel 8:26AM (4/02/2008)
Wow! It's a sweeping and very comprehensive law.
Soon, Manhattan traffic will look like Beijing traffic did 30 years ago - belching transit buses and thousands upon thousands of bicycles.
$4.00/day for even a simple scooter?
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phil easler 8:47AM (4/02/2008)
Can electric vehicles enter free, both 4 and 2 wheel?
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Throwback 8:57AM (4/02/2008)
Not surprised my hometown went this route. The vast majority of New Yorkers already use mass transit. The problem is the trains and buses are bursting at the seams during rush hour now. How will they handle the additional riders? The trucks won't stop coming into the city, goods still need to be delivered so this is a nice revenue maker for the city. If Bloomberg really wants to reduce car traffic, try lowering the fares trust me that will work.
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Tim 9:18AM (4/02/2008)
Yea, electric vehicles should be free and the city needs to install free charging locations to promote ZEVs.
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Throwback 10:15AM (4/02/2008)
Tim, if charging stations are installed they won't be free. Nothing is free in the city.
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steven 10:21AM (4/02/2008)
FOUR obvious things I see missing from the post and the linked articles (have not finished reading the Commission's final report yet...):
1. How do the votes 20 council members translate to the Bloomberg quote "It is now completely clear that congestion pricing has the strong backing of the people of New York City"
2. How much is this gonna cost to implement?
3. It does not clarify if the expected revenue of "$491 million, all dedicated to improve and maintain the largest U.S. public transit system" will result in a direct cut in the current funding to the mass transit system. Just like the way the lotteries are "helping" our schools. It is a lot of money, but is it simply replacing previous funding which will be reallocated elsewhere and no longer available?
4. What happens if this plan works "too well" and cuts congestion so much that the revenues are less than expected? Not everyone is automatically going to roll over and pay these rates. A lot of folks are not going to be able to afford it. Like the way high cigarette taxes are helping a lot of smokers to quit while at the same time drying up a source of tax revenue. With the predicted reallocation of previous source of mass transit funds, it looks like more rate hikes will be in the near future for the mass transit system and the congestion fees.
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David 1:06PM (4/02/2008)
If this works, then NYC should put in the bike program that Paris has. It's so handy, and there'd be plenty of people looking to use it.
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Throwback 1:16PM (4/02/2008)
New Yorkers are walkers, only messengers ride bikes!
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Kevin Nugent 7:27PM (4/02/2008)
I am for the congestion plan ; as for the fact that i live in new york city . But as many others have said right now during rush hour you cannot find a comfortable amount of space between you and the next individual . It has gotten so bad that there are actually 4 or 5 people with whistles at the Lexington train stop monitoring and directing how many people can get on the trains . Many people believe that rush hour in nyc is not that bad but You would have to see it to believe the simple magnitude of 5000,000 people using the same transportation system at once.
Here are my problems
#1 i see not exception to the rule , i personally believe that those who take the initiative and buy efficent electric cars shoudl be allowed in for free.
#2 Is that money really going to go towards the improvement of current roads and the building of infrastructure of future road??? Come on lets be honest do we ever really see any vast improvement . How about we get our road conditions so up to date that we can drive at auto bon speeds ?? Nah that wont happen because the money will be squandered selflessly. Im trying to be optomistic about this plan Most of the time when these vast revenues are made nobody can actually account for where the money goes.
#3 Those who are hit the hardest are going to be those who don't have the money to pay that 8 dollars a day . Imagine if that individual has to travel in and out of that area twice a day . 16 dollars a day just to drive back and home?? That seems a tad much.
#4 Why isn't some of the money going towards green energy . Im not talking about lets send 214 million toward research and development for bio fuels i mean actually buying a fleet of offshore wind generated turbines that could power the whole of downtown Manhattan . That would be the ultimate green .
#5 How will this charge work because having a line the length of the Brooklyn's street bridge is not an option . This would just ass more pollution to the air if cars are waiting 15 minutes just to pay the fare. There needs to be an advanced e-z pass system implemented that the fair would be charged without having to actually stop.
If all these problems can be solved then i say why not . Go ahead with the congestion pricing plan!
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Niralisherni 6:56AM (4/08/2008)
If EVs are to be exempt, that is one more reason to go in for an electric vehicle (apart from reasons such as cheaper to run, good for the environment, compact, easier to park etc). -http://www.zapworld.com
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