More than two dozen elected officials are calling on the Traffic Mobility Review Board (TMRB) – the body responsible for enacting congestion pricing regulations – to exempt taxi and for-hire vehicle drivers from the new toll. In a letter sent to the TMRB, 25 lawmakers from both state and city government said that passengers should pay a small extra surcharge for each ride in the congestion pricing zone below 60th Street in Manhattan, rather than burdening drivers.
“Congestion pricing serves a laudable goal: raising sorely needed money for the MTA while ensuring our streets remain usable and our air breathable,” the letter reads. “But we cannot allow this progress to occur on the backs of drivers, who not only provide an essential service to this city but are part of the vulnerable working-class and immigrant communities that congestion pricing stands to serve. [The fee] cannot be so high as to cause major job loss for drivers.”
Source: City & State New York
