What to Know
- Congestion pricing in New York City has been a hot-button issue -- and Monday was no difference -- as there was more pushback against the MTA Advisory Board's congestion pricing plan, with some business owners and lawmakers saying the hike will impact on those who visit Manhattan.
- The MTA’s transit president, Richard Davey, said the money from congestion pricing will generate billions of dollars for subway and bus improvements.
- Davey also dismissed the congressional pushback as a political stunt, describing them as "two elected officials from the leafy suburbs of somewhere north of the city and somewhere west who probably drove in for their press conference.”
Congestion pricing in New York City has been a hot-button issue -- and Monday was no difference -- as there was more pushback against the MTA Advisory Board's congestion pricing plan, with many saying the hike will impact on those who visit Manhattan.
After booking a customer for his restaurant this week, owner Julio Peña detailed his own reservations about congestion pricing.
“That person that used to come twice a month, that used to come three times a month, is maybe going to come less,“ Peña said.
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By now you may have seen the menu of toll prices set to increase in the near future to enter Manhattan south of 60th Street starting in the middle of 2024:
- Cars: $15
- Taxis: $1.25 per ride
- Uber and Lyft: $2.50 per ride
- Small Trucks: $24
- Large Trucks: $36
“To have congestion pricing shoved down our throats it’s gonna be a death blow," Peña said, as he stood with two congressmen Monday who’ve been constant critics of the MTA’s first-in-the-nation tolling plan, among the congressmen is New Jersey Democrat Josh Gottheimer.
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“It’s everyday commuters that suddenly won't be able to afford the $15 a day, nearly $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 is a scam," Lawler said.
However, Richard Davey, MTA Transit President said the plan will be good for the environment, emergency vehicles, and for public transportation to get around.
"It’s called air quality. It's called emergency vehicles getting around. And, for purposes of my job, it's called buses getting around,” Davey said.
The MTA’s transit president said the money from congestion pricing will generate billions of dollars for subway and bus improvements. He also dismissed the congressional pushback as a political stunt, describing them as "two elected officials from the leafy suburbs of somewhere north of the city and somewhere west who probably drove in for their press conference.”
Indeed they did arrive in cars. Lawler — who holds a seat that could determine control of Congress — said the quiet part out loud: that he’s hoping to turn congestion pricing into election turnout next year.
"I’m telling you, next year, anybody that is in favor of congestion pricing is gonna get annihilated at the polls," he said.
Congestion pricing opponents do not have many chances to stop it before it starts. There will be an MTA Board vote on Wednesday. If it passes then, there are still two court cases filed by the State of New Jersey to block congestion pricing on environmental grounds.
