In April, Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) chair and CEO, Janno Lieber announced that Congestion Pricing’s tolling infrastructure had been fully installed and connected to a 5G network, a major step forward in the agency’s plan. By all accounts, it appears Congestion Pricing will begin in mid-June, as previously projected, although there are a still quite a few things to iron out – including ongoing lawsuits, questions over how TLC-licensee passengers will be charged, and confusion over the MTA’s plan to toll the various exits on the Queensboro and Brooklyn bridges differently, depending on where they let out.
Let’s Start With Some Potentially Good News
In April, the Black Car Assistance Corporation (BCAC) emailed its members that, “Questions remain about how the program will be implemented with regard to for-hire vehicles (FHVs). We have learned that it’s likely that the MTA will use trip sheet data, NOT the gantries or license plate readers that will be used for the general public, in order to confirm trips into the CBD with passengers. There are still issues concerning TLC vanity plates that need to be worked out [and] it is also unclear how out-of-state for-hire vehicles will be treated, [but] all indications are that implementation will take place in mid-June.”
In his column this month, BCAC executive director, Ira Goldstein further explained that trip sheets will help confirm whether FHV trips into the Central Business District (CBD) include passengers. “It was also unclear whether drivers will be charged for entering the CBD without a passenger, [but] it appears possible that drivers will not be charged any fee if they enter the CBD without a passenger.”
Mr. Goldstein added that none of this was official yet, urging readers to stay tuned. I would strongly recommend reading his article in full on the next page, as it includes more details about Congestion Pricing and other important issues that are not addressed in my editorial this month.
The NJ Lawsuit Remains the Greatest Threat to the Plan
According to industry experts and several people with a far deeper understanding of complicated laws than I can muster, the only lawsuit that could potentially delay or derail the implementation of Congestion Pricing is the one filed by New Jersey. To get ahead of this issue, an article in Crain’s New York Business noted that Lieber announced plans in April to send “mitigation money to New Jersey as part of a final congestion pricing plan that has been submitted to the federal government.” Lieber added that, “the presentation we made to the feds does call for some allocation of mitigation dollars to New Jersey.”
Add in Some Last-Minute Confusion Over Bridge Exits
In case the ongoing uncertainty over such a massive project wasn’t stressful enough, The Gothamistrecently reported that, “Drivers are exempt from the tolls if they stay on the FDR Drive, West Side Highway and Battery Park Underpass. But about two months before the MTA hopes to flip the switch and begin tolling, the agency has confirmed it’s not quite that simple. Certain exits on both [crossings] will be tolled differently. One route on the Queensboro Bridge avoids the toll, while some drivers crossing the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan will face an unexpected charge despite taking an exit for the FDR, which is exempt from the toll.”
The MTA said they are following a basic rule when determining which roads were tolled: “Do drivers touch city streets? If they only drive on an overpass that goes above a city street, they’re not tolled.”
For example:
- A driver on the Brooklyn Bridge taking the northbound exit for the FDR Drive will not be tolled because the ramp doesn’t touch down on a city street.
- A driver on the Brooklyn Bridge taking the southbound exit for the FDR Drive will be tolled, because that route travels on a city street for about 80 feet before entering the FDR.
- The Queensboro Bridge has three exits into Manhattan, but only one will be toll-free. The upper roadway will deposit drivers on East 62nd Street, located outside the tolling zone. All other exits from Manhattan-bound lanes on the Queensboro Bridge deposit drivers in the toll zone. All drivers in Manhattan headed to Queens over the Queensboro Bridge will also be tolled.
MTA officials said signage alerting drivers about the tolls will start appearing on streets feeding into the toll zone in the coming weeks.
“Gridlock” Sam Schwartz, the former city traffic commissioner and congestion pricing expert, called this confusing situation unfair. Transit Workers Union President John Samuelsen, who sat on the MTA’s Traffic Mobility Review Board, agreed.
“It’s absolutely not fair that a Brooklyn Bridge commuter who goes directly from the bridge to the FDR is charged,” Samuelsen texted. He said New Yorkers have been “explicitly” told the FDR was exempt from the toll.
The MTA said the congestion pricing plan seeks to prevent “bridge shopping,” in which drivers avoid tolled crossings. But the “unexpected” toll on the Brooklyn Bridge could lead some drivers who might have crossed the Brooklyn Bridge and taken FDR Drive south to instead take the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, which costs $6.94 for E-ZPass users (much less than the $15 congestion pricing charge).
While these bridge toll issues may not have a major affect on the drivers in our industry, I included it as a heads-up that traffic patterns could drastically change as Congestion Pricing is implemented. More details can be found in The Gothamist article at: https://gothamist.com/news/which-drivers-get-tolled-under-congestion-pricing-on-the-brooklyn-and-queensboro-bridges-its-complicated.
Considering how truly painful Congestion Pricing first seemed for our industry’s drivers, it will hopefully reduce traffic, increase business for FHV and taxi drivers and not create major unintended consequences and headaches… but all of that, of course, remains to be seen.
