New Yorkers are at the moment feeling deep financial ache, with insufferable taxes, inflation hitting new highs, meals and gasoline costs skyrocketing, they usually now are compelled to choose between placing meals on their desk or paying their vitality invoice. But, at a time after they want monetary assist essentially the most, Kathy Hochul desires to flip the screws on struggling New Yorkers upward of one other $34.50 a day.
That’s proper. Final week, the MTA launched its plan to start congestion pricing, charging as much as $34.50 per day for drivers touring south of sixtieth Avenue in Manhattan. As if it wasn’t dangerous sufficient that this Hochul Hike would increase one other $1 billion a 12 months on the backs of hardworking New Yorkers, with no modifications that may power the MTA to spend this taxpayer cash extra effectively or successfully, the kicker is, traditionally, congestion pricing has failed spectacularly at its said objectives.
Have a look at London
Even after implementing congestion pricing in London, drivers nonetheless ended up spending much more of their lives in visitors, whereas additionally paying way more yearly within the congestion-pricing charges which can be supposed to chop down on visitors. The backup turned so heavy within the areas flowing simply outdoors of London’s congestion zones that measures needed to be taken to scale back the quantity of vehicles there as effectively.
Congestion pricing in New York Metropolis would have the identical affect on the encircling boroughs as felt in London. Many vans that will be unable to make use of different routes will find yourself inflicting extra visitors on main highways within the South Bronx and Staten Island. This implies extra bumper-to-bumper visitors on the Cross Bronx, Staten Island Expressway and different accompanying bridges alongside your commute to and from work day by day.
London’s plan for congestion pricing blew up of their face when their different modes of transportation weren't as environment friendly as driving. On account of their exemption from congestion tolling, use of private-hire drivers, comparable to Ubers, soared. Regardless of including greater than 300 buses to their fleet, London commuters continued to make use of vehicles as a result of bus reliability dropped dramatically.
London’s points are solely foreshadowing for New York’s, particularly contemplating the state of our public transportation system. These in favor of congestion pricing level to the subway or different strategies of transportation as alternate options, however how can Hochul look New Yorkers straight within the face when her pro-criminal insurance policies like cashless bail, Much less is Extra, defunding the police and way more are eroding public security?
The New York Metropolis subway system has racked up many undesirable headlines over the previous few months. We’ve had Daniel Enriquez, a Goldman Sachs worker, shot and killed on the Q prepare. We watched the video of a cop brutally attacked for attempting to implement legal guidelines in opposition to turnstile hopping only a few weeks in the past. New Yorkers are grabbing onto poles and guard rails as a result of they worry being pushed onto the tracks.
Again on monitor
If Kathy Hochul and the MTA wish to see much less vehicles on our streets and extra individuals in our subways, perhaps they need to work to truly make them a extra interesting mode of transportation.
To scale back congestion, we have to take steps to verify the MTA is spending cash effectively and different modes of transportation, like our subways, are secure. As a substitute, many commuters who reside in New Jersey or Connecticut could elect to modify or go away their jobs primarily based in New York Metropolis, additional stifling New York Metropolis’s financial restoration in a metropolis that has been suffering from COVID shutdowns.
On paper, congestion pricing goals to create a income pipeline for the MTA to modernize public transportation infrastructure and scale back congestion in varied components of town. In follow, it is a failed coverage that can solely deepen the financial ache which so many hardworking New Yorkers are already experiencing.
With New York already going through a mass exodus, this Hochul Hike will assist kick the outward movement of migration into overdrive.
Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-LI) is a candidate for governor of New York.
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