NYC congestion pricing draft shows costly commute, especially for New Jersey drivers

[useapen]

Drivers heading into parts of Manhattan may soon face a new $15 toll,
according to draft recommendations from a group tasked with crafting New
York’s congestion pricing plan.

The tolls, which could be in place next spring, would be a historic move
for a city long plagued by traffic. The tolls are meant to discourage
driving and ease traffic south of 60th street and to help fund the
Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

But the tolls have set off years of controversy. Similar plans have come
and gone. These tolls are created by law and have the blessing of federal
officials, though there are still a few hurdles, like a lawsuit filed
against the plan by New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration.

These recommendations, if adopted, will create an especially costly
commute for some New Jersey drivers, about $25 or $30 a day combined with
other tolls commuters already pay to cross the Hudson River.

The tolling advisory group, known as the Traffic Mobility Review Board, is
recommending a $5 discount for drivers who already pay tolls to enter
Manhattan via the Queens-Midtown, Hugh L. Carey, Holland, and Lincoln
tunnels.

But it does not recommend such a credit for drivers coming in across the
George Washington Bridge. They already pay nearly $15 for that crossing
during rush hour, meaning some drivers will be paying nearly $30 per trip
into the city.

“As a conceptual matter, I support congestion pricing, as long as it is
structured in a way that is fair to all sides,” Murphy said in a
statement. “This plan is neither fair nor equitable.”

In New York, the tolls have caused some consternation, but their creation
follows decades of failed attempts to curb traffic in Manhattan. Still,
the details of the costs and who will pay them remain a knotty issue for
New York officials as well.

“Gov. [Kathy] Hochul has been clear from the start: congestion pricing is
critical to New York’s future, delivering better transit, cleaner air and
less traffic clogging our streets,” said Hochul spokesperson John Lindsay.
“The governor has said repeatedly that $23 is too expensive for the
central business district tolls, and is carefully reviewing the
recommendations of the Traffic Mobility Review Board.”

The MTA and the board advising it had considered fares ranging from $9 to
$23 for passenger vehicles and between $12 and $82 for trucks. The
scenarios contemplated different combinations of potential discounts,
credits and exemptions.

Ultimately, the board seemed to land in the middle — $15 for cars and $24
or $36 for trucks, depending on their size, according to the draft
recommendations obtained by POLITICO.

There is still a ways to go: The draft report will need to be formally
adopted by the advisory board, then approved by the MTA, which has final
say on the rates.

New Jersey and others have lobbied that board for exemptions from
congestion pricing, but the board’s chair and others have argued that
every exemption drives up the cost to other drivers, so the board appears
loathe to grant many exemptions.

New Jersey is suing the federal government to block the tolls. There have
been settlement talks in the case, but attorneys for the state also fret
the state won’t get its day in court until the tolls are already a done
deal.

https://www.politico.com/news/2023/11/29/nyc-congestion-pricing-commute-
new-jersey-00129248