Remember all the hullabaloo about Congestion Pricing a few years ago? It was Mayor Bloomberg’s proposal to charge vehicles to enter Manhattan below 60th Street as an effort to reduce congestion from NYC traffic. It got voted down, and now it’s back.
There will be 22 entry points where vehicles will pay the NYC Congestion Pricing Toll.
What Will the Congestion Pricing Toll Plan Be?
The Rate is Unknown at this time.
Congestion Pricing Tolls would be in effect 24/7. Peak rates from 6am – 6pm. Lower rates on weekends and overnight.
NYC Taxis don’t have to pay a toll. But passengers will pay a $1 toll per trip.
Livery Cars, aka Gypsy Cars will pay 50% of the Congestion Pricing toll. We don’t know if that fee will be charged once a day or every time the Livery Car enters the Congestion Pricing Zone, and if that charge will be passed on to passengers.
Commercial Vehicles will pay the toll once a day.
Bridge Tolls for the Whitestone, Throgs Neck, Cross Bay and Verrazano Bridges will decrease by 15%. This is supposed to halt the planned 2013 increase for MTA fares (NYC subways and buses) and bridge & tunnel tolls until 2014.
Insiders believe the new Congestion Pricing tolls could raise $1.9 billion dollars, hopefully to be used for transit improvements to NYC subways and NYC buses.
The NYC Taxi tolls for passengers will bring in approximately $180 million every year. $20 million of that amount will be put towards health care for taxi drivers.
Will It Pass?
According to both the NY Daily News and New York Observer, state lawmakers don’t believe there is enough support. On the other hand, this time around there is strong support from environmental and labor groups.
Margot Tohn of Park It spends her day coming up with ways to make driving, parking and walking in NYC easier. Check out her musings at www.parkitnyc.com.