In a proposed move to ease traffic congestion and help raise some funds to fix its mass transit system, New York City could move towards charging drivers traveling into Manhattan’s congested sections a fee of $11.52 a day.
A report from Bloomberg cites a proposal from a panel that was created by Governor Andrew Cuomo. Under the plans, a geographic “pricing zone” would be created and new technology would be installed to keep track of traffic and charge vehicles electronically. Revenue from the plan would go towards improving the city’s transit, which includes the subway system.
“Our subway system is in a state of cardiac arrest,” said Scott Rechler, chairman of RXR Realty LLC and a panel member. “We have to do open heart surgery.”
Cars entering the designated zone between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. on work days would pay a daily fee of $11.52. That fee is even more for trucks (we’re assuming larger, work-related trucks here), which would be charged $25.34. Taxis and for-hire vehicles, like Uber and Lyft, would be charged a fee per ride that’s believed to cost between $2 to $5 per ride. The zone would cover the area of Manhattan in between 60th Street, Battery Park, the East River, and the Hudson River.
Motorists traveling on East River bridges don’t have to pay a fee and cars that enter through the Lincoln and Holland Tunnels only have to pay the necessary tolls.
The plan is believed to raise $810 million not including the charges that taxis and for-hire vehicles would pay, in addition to reducing traffic in the area by 13 percent. With the alleviation in traffic, the average vehicle speed is expected to increase by nine percent.
The fees won’t go into effect until 2020. Before then, the city plans to invest millions of dollars into upgrading its buses and subways.
London already does a similar thing, which is called the T-Charge and Singapore does, as well.