By now, most know that the Federal Highway Administration granted final approval to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA’s) congestion pricing program. That approval gave the MTA – the agency that runs the city’s subways and buses – the right to decide on final toll rates, including any discounts and exemptions. The MTA advisory panel, the Traffic Mobility Review Board (TMRB), delivered its report and recommended toll structure to the MTA on Nov. 30, laying out the general guidelines for the impending tolls, including costs, when certain prices will be in effect, who gets credits and more. The vote paves the way for a 60-day public comment period, followed by a final MTA board to initiate the program.
The congestion pricing program aims to reduce traffic in downtown Manhattan and improve air quality by charging drivers a fee to enter Manhattan south of 60th Street, one of the world’s busiest and most traffic-clogged commercial districts.
The recommended toll structure includes cars that will be charged an additional $15 to enter Manhattan at 60th Street and below, while trucks could be charged between $24-$36, depending on size. The toll will not be in effect for taxis, but drivers will be charged a $1.25 surcharge per ride. The same goes for liveries and traditional black cars. Uber and Lyft’s surcharge will be $2.50 per ride. The MTA board has since overwhelmingly voted to approve the measure. The MTA reserved the right to increase the congestion pricing toll 25% on gridlock alert days and raise or lower the tolls by up to 10% during the program’s first 12 months.
Decreasing congestion is a laudable goal, but let’s be real. The congestion pricing program will not significantly reduce congestion. It will merely be an added cost that businesses pass to their customers. It will also be an added burden on individuals in an already mediocre economy. What this program is all about is providing funds and resources to the MTA. The reality is also this: While NYC’s subways do need a well-needed upgrade and infrastructure overhaul, the MTA has historically been the worst-run state entity in the history of New York State. It never stays on budget for capital projects and always runs out of money.
Is this the entity that should be in charge of the revenue from congestion pricing, expected to exceed $1 billion per year?
The State of New Jersey is suing the U.S. Government to halt the congestion pricing program, claiming that the tolling program will place unfair financial burdens on the state’s residents. The lawsuit calls for a more exhaustive study than the one done by the MTA, saying that the agency did not do an adequate job of studying whether the tolling program would harm people in disadvantaged communities. New Jersey’s Gov. Murphy claims the plan will only move congestion and pollution into his state. He says he wants a more stringent Environmental Impact Statement conducted. If granted, an EIS study would take more time and would likely push the implementation date past a projected spring 2024 start date. Gov. Murphy contends that the TMRB’s recommended credit structure is wholly inadequate, especially the lack of toll credits for the George Washington Bridge, which he believes will lead to toll shopping, increased congestion in underserved communities, and excessive tolling at New Jersey crossings into Manhattan.
Mark Sokolich, the mayor of Fort Lee, N.J., is also suing to halt the new tolling system, saying it will harm his city. This cross-border fight would generate money for mass transit, but how much of the financial burden will the residents of New Jersey have to bear? Some estimate it could add $5,000 a year to the price commuters pay to drive to work in New York… and that is on top of the $17 they already pay to cross a bridge or tunnel in NYC, plus parking, gas, and the billions New Jersey residents pay yearly to New York in income taxes.
Mayor Sokolich’s lawsuit seeks a “full and proper environmental study” and a monitoring program for people with respiratory problems resulting from additional traffic. The suit contends that, in addition to costing commuters more money, congestion pricing would worsen air quality in Fort Lee and surrounding communities. That issue for Fort Lee and the rest of Bergen County, NJ is mitigating the effects of increased air pollution that the agency’s environmental analysis predicted could affect Bergen County from extra traffic using the George Washington Bridge to bypass the congestion zone.
I don’t doubt that congestion pricing is critical to NYC’s ability to deliver better transit services. As far as less traffic clogging our streets, whatever the cost, it is too expensive for low and middle-income individuals and small businesses. I admittedly do not have a better alternative, but it is already bad enough that most people can’t afford to live in Manhattan. Soon, it will be too expensive to enter lower Manhattan.
As far as the lawsuits are concerned, I have no doubt the court will side with the U.S. government (Federal Highway Administration), and the MTA’s plan will proceed. Lawsuits are always a poor means of resolving disputes. It may bring parties to the bargaining table, but there is nothing to bargain over here. New Jersey does not want congestion pricing and the MTA sorely needs the money to fund its capital improvements.
I am less concerned with the pending lawsuits than with how the congestion program will ultimately affect the For-Hire Vehicle (FHV) industry. My biggest concern is what the MTA will do down the road, as far as increasing fees. I hope this does not happen, but it would be completely naive to think it will never be possible.
Someone will bear the cost, and that cost always comes with consequences -–consequences to the riding public, licensed bases, licensed drivers and licensed FHV owners. The FHV industry has seen enough turmoil in the past 10 years. We will weather the storm, but at what cost to the long-term viability and vitality of the FHV industry? I aim to do all I can to make the FHV industry survive and thrive no matter what curveball is thrown our way. As always, I remain ready, willing, and able to help however possible.
