NYC has got to find someway to force the poor and middle class from taking up space on city roads that the rich want to use to get places quicker.
This is probably the most regressive form of taxation there is.
This is probably the most regressive form of taxation there is.
Why do you presume New York can't do what every other jurisdiction that has deployed congestion pricing has?
https://ny1.com/nyc/manhattan/transit/2023/11/30/congestion-...
"Low-income drivers can register with the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, the body in charge of congestion pricing, for a 50 percent discount on all trips into the Central Business District following the first 10 trips in a month. This group of drivers includes people with household incomes under $50,000 who drive to work in the district."
Would note that the New Yorkers I know who own a car are either stupendously rich or live in the outer boroughs, rarely bringing them into the city. (Why would you.)
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/29/nyregion/congestion-prici...
1. fewer people drive (which is good because less pollution, reduced congestion, fewer pedestrian casualties)
2. as fewer people drive people start to question why there are so many empty streets (and push for that space to be given over to other people)
3. because fewer people drive they are not going to vote for pro-driver policies, like dedicating an insane amount of the city to roads and instead will support things like more walkable neighbourhoods and more cycle paths/lanes. Bikes are a mathematically better way to travel in cities because you can easily get 5-10 times higher capacity!
This plan just forces the people to whom $15/day is a burden to use the available crappy public transport options and allowing the wealthy to continue to do what they have always done, unaffected by the little people - as usual.
The same thinking that is used to propose that we should ban gas stoves, but not private jets or 500' yachts.
> The same thinking that is used to propose that we should ban gas stoves, but not private jets or 500' yachts.
I think most people who support congestion charging also support higher taxes on private jets and private yachts. Like this is the same principle...
Good luck with that… The NYC government will want those $15 fees to keep flowing in and better public transit is a threat to that. Same reason your police department wants you to keep speeding so that they don’t lose a lucrative revenue stream.
The MTA, which administers our public transportation, is collecting the fee.