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It costs you, but not me.
New York Gov. Cathy Hochul and state legislators have tapped a little-known transportation fund to give drivers in Queens and the Bronx free tolls, which are meant to discourage driving. Critics say it is inconsistent with the stated goals.
Starting Saturday, Bronx residents who sign up for the new service can program Get an instant rebate on your $3.18 E-ZPass toll to cross the Henry Hudson Bridge. Queens residents receive a full discount on the $2.60 Cross Bay Bridge toll. The fund will also maintain the existing discounted fee of $2.75 for Staten Island residents to cross the Verrazzano Bridge.
New Jersey Congressman Josh Gottheimer said if the MTA introduced congestion pricing, other drivers in the area would have to pay a $15 daytime toll to enter Manhattan’s 60th Street or below. , said the rebate was a pain.
“The irony here is rich,” said Gottheimer, one of the Garden State’s most vocal critics of congestion pricing. “They don’t really care about traffic and air pollution.”
The state will take $20.5 million from New York City’s “Outerborough Transit Account,” which was created by the state Legislature in 2018 to increase transportation options in city neighborhoods far from subway stations. Withdrawals will help cover the cost of free tolls. Confirmed by MTA. The account is funded by surcharges on taxi and rental car trips that enter Manhattan’s most congested areas.
But last fall, Hochul, along with representatives appointed by Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, released the funds, according to a letter from Heastie’s office obtained by Gothamist. He reportedly ordered that almost all of the money be used to pay discounts to drivers.
“The Outer Boroughs Transportation Fund was supposed to help improve transportation in the Outer Boroughs so that more people have access to public transportation,” Queens State Sen. Leroy Comrie told Gothamist about its creation in 2019. Ta.
Of the $22 million available from the fund, only $1.5 million will be used for public transportation. The MTA will offer Far Rockaway residents discounted $5 LIRR tickets for trips starting and ending within the five boroughs.
MTA Chairman Jano Lieber said Wednesday that Hochul and the state Legislature should reconsider how the funds are used.
“Future revenues for suburban district transportation accounts should include investments that make transportation more attractive or more affordable,” he said.
Gottheimer said the fund reveals the true motivations for the MTA’s congestion pricing.
“They’re using this money to encourage more people to drive to New York City,” he said. “They just want money.”
curious commuter
question:
Is the MTA going to adjust its rush hour trains once fewer people are commuting to work from home? For example, far fewer people now commute to work on Fridays than before the pandemic. However, trains are crowded on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
– Jennifer, Brooklyn
answer:
The pandemic and the resulting increase in remote work have certainly changed the way New Yorkers use public transportation. But not as much as you think.
The number of users of the system remains about 30% lower than before the pandemic. Data also shows that usage varies depending on the day of the week. Last Wednesday, 3.6 million people entered the subway turnstiles, compared to about 3.3 million last Monday and Friday.
However, this difference is not new. Pre-pandemic data showed subway ridership was also lower on Mondays and Fridays than on Wednesdays.
MTA spokeswoman Joanna Flores noted that Friday’s daytime ridership was actually higher than the same times on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
Still, MTA officials said they have responded to changes in travel patterns over the past year by increasing daytime service on the B, C, D, J and M lines and increasing weekend service on Lines 3 and 5. .
But even if the MTA wanted to make more detailed changes to its schedule, it would run into bureaucracy that has remained largely unchanged for decades. The metro operator and conductor choose his timetable twice a year. There is little flexibility in subway timetables. If the MTA wants to create a special schedule on Wednesdays, for example, it would have to reinvent the way subway service has been planned for decades.
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