By: Aarav Sapra
New York City is in a position to begin creating a poll to enter certain parts of the city to ease massive traffic jams. Although this hasn’t been set in place within major cities in the U.S., this idea has lingered in other major cities worldwide. Such schemes have been implemented in London, Stockholm, Milan and Singapore. This spring, New York City will begin a $15 driver fee to enter the busiest parts of Manhattan. This concept is known as congestion pricing, and New York City is the first city in the U.S. to offer congestion toll pricing on drivers. On Wednesday, members of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board voted to agree to the congestion pricing plan, which is expected to go into effect in June. The board approved only minor changes to a plan presented to the public months ago and brushed off requests for exceptions by dozens of groups of commuters. The new vote authorizes a toll on the most commuter passenger vehicles that drive through Manhattan south of 60th Street, a zone near Central Park. The tolls will take place during daytime hours but will be cheaper for late-night entries into the city. Furthermore, tolls will be higher for larger vehicles and lower for small vehicles like motorcycles.
Many supporters of the congestion pricing concept believe that it will have a more positive effect on the city. Believing that it will urge more people to try public transportation, reduce traffic congestion, which will speed up buses and emergency vehicles, reduce pollution, and raise money to build infrastructure. Others seem to disagree and believe this plan will only burden workers and increase the prices of staple goods driven to the city by truck. Furthermore, to enter Manhattan from another state or borough, commuters already pay $15 in bridge and tunnel tolls and later in June, the congestion fee will be charged on top of it. Moreover, daily parking costs are already running and are expected to be near $25 to $50 in the congestion zone. The state legislature already mandated this project in 2019, mandating that the program raise one billion dollars annually to fund public subway and bus systems for the city’s 4 million daily riders. It also established zone boundaries, but the project was delayed due to the pandemic and lack of federal regulation.
Some exceptions have been made, including a free pass for emergency vehicles, specialized city vehicles, and buses with regular public routes or city school contracts. Vehicles carrying disabled people and certain low-income commuters also get a pass. Low-income drivers are eligible for discounts and tax credits. If the plan continues to fall through, New York will become the first U.S. city to implement a congestion pricing scheme, which may be for the better or worse.
