New York is up in arms about a long-awaited plan to charge automobiles $15 or more to enter downtown Manhattan
According to a plan unveiled by New York officials on Thursday, most cars would pay $15 to enter Manhattan’s core business area. If authorized by transportation officials early next year, the congestion pricing proposal, over which neighboring New Jersey has launched a lawsuit, will be the first of its kind in the United States.
Passengers entering Manhattan south of 60th Street during the day would be charged $15 electronically, while small vehicles would be charged $24 and big trucks would be charged $36.
Similar initiatives exist in cities such as London and Stockholm, but New York City is set to be the first in the United States.
Toll revenue, estimated to be over $1 billion per year, would be used to finance borrowing to modernize the city’s public transportation networks.
Discounts for travel between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m., as well as regular low-income drivers, are included in the plan from the Traffic Mobility Review Board, a New York state committee responsible with advising the Metropolitan Transportation Authority on tolls. Municipal trash trucks and other government vehicles would be excluded.
Taxi drivers would be charged a $1.25 premium for entering the congested zone, while app-based ride-hailing customers would be charged a $2.50 surcharge.
According to officials, in addition to funding much-needed transportation upgrades, congestion pricing will enhance air quality and reduce traffic.
