New York Governor to put congestion pricing on political table
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and his staff are considering the implementation of fees and tolls for using Manhattan streets, according to the New York Times. Known as the Move NY Fair Plan, the project would impose fees on vehicles crossing several key points in the city, including the four bridges into Manhattan over the East River. The plan is expected to raise $1.5bn every year, which would be dedicated to improving the city's transport infrastructure.
The need for congestion pricing is greater than ever. New York City’s subway system has degenerated into a stupendous mess after years of neglect and maladministration. It is becoming clear to commuters and politicians alike that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority needs to spend much more money to upgrade its antiquated signaling system, replace dilapidated trains and refurbish worn-down stations, not to mention extend the system to transit-starved neighborhoods.

That’s where congestion pricing, specifically a proposal known as Move NY Fair Plan, comes in. It is based on the ideas of Sam Schwartz, a former New York City traffic commissioner, and it operates on the principle that everybody who travels to Manhattan should share the burden of easing traffic and improving the transportation system.

Move NY, which Mr. Cuomo is considering, would impose fees on cars and trucks heading south across 60th Street and vehicles that enter Manhattan from the four East River bridges that are currently free. It would lower tolls on outer bridges like the Robert F. Kennedy (still known as the Triborough) and the Verrazano-Narrows that serve areas with few transit options. And it would increase fees on taxi and ride-share trips in much of Manhattan during the busiest times of day. The fees and tolls would be higher on weekdays and during rush hours, and lower at other times. The plan would raise nearly $1.5 billion a year for improving transit services in the city and the suburbs. Cities like London and Singapore have used similar policies effectively.

Mr. Cuomo has provided few details about his congestion pricing plan, and it is not clear how closely it will resemble Move NY. The governor says he has been thinking about the idea for months and has been encouraged to move ahead with congestion pricing by the success of a recent experiment in which the M.T.A. lowered some bridge and tunnel tolls at night to prod truckers to shift deliveries to less busy times. Ideally, Mr. Cuomo would borrow heavily from Move NY, rather than adopt just one or two components of that proposal.

The governor will also need to work hard to win over skeptical elected officials, including Mayor Bill de Blasio, who has previously criticized congestion-pricing proposals and has proposed a tax on the wealthy that would raise much less money than Move NY. But Mr. Cuomo doesn’t have to start from square one. More than two dozen state lawmakers in the Assembly and the Senate have sponsored congestion-pricing legislation. And several local chambers of commerce, labor unions, segments of the for-hire car industry, truckers, transit riders’ organizations and environmental groups have supported Move NY.