new york — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board approved congestion pricing Wednesday in what its chairman described as “one of the most important votes” the board has ever taken.
Emotions ran high at the board meeting. While various people begged for mercy in the form of exemptions or lower fees, others said that after years of fighting, it was finally time to enact the controversial plan.
After a five-year discussion and approval process, sometimes on a whim, the MTA Board of Directors approved it. Drivers pay to enter Manhattan’s central business district below 60th Street.
The fee structure is as follows.
- If you enter below 61st Street in Manhattan, you’ll pay $15 during the day and $3.75 at night.
- Motorcycles cost $7.50 during the day and $1.75 at night.
- Truck fares range from $24 to $36 during the day and $6 to $9 at night.
- Taxi drivers pay an additional $1.25 per ride, while Uber and Lyft drivers pay $2.50
Several groups of drivers are exempt, but the majority are government employees.
These exemptions apply to bus companies that have contracts with the Department of Education., including public, private, and charter school buses. Private commuter buses, which account for about half of the city’s 26,000 vehicles, will also be exempted. However, civil servants who drive their own cars to work first responders and teachersremoved from the exemption list.
“It’s hard to accomplish anything big,” said MTA CEO Janno Lieber.
It was tough until the end. MTA police barricades surrounded the building. The place was crowded with policemen. However, despite all precautions, two groups of demonstrators entered the boardroom.
Shortly before the final vote, yellow taxi drivers, who didn’t want passengers to pay an extra $1.25 congestion charge, confronted the board, demanding they “exempt yellow cabs now.”
But the MTA was eager to establish a $1 billion annual congestion fee to fix its deteriorating transit system, and the vote was overwhelmingly in favor.
Long Island board member David Mack was the most vocal naysayer.
“My concerns are a vibrant city recovering from the coronavirus, vacancy rates in office buildings, and major corporations leaving New York and moving south,” Mack said.
Congestion pricing was signed into law by then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who recently made an about face. Says now is not the time to make it more difficult for drivers to come to New York City. Board member Norman Brown said goodbye to Cuomo and voted in favor.
“I actually wanted to thank former Governor Cuomo at some point for pushing this agenda forward, but in the short term his support went in the opposite direction. But five years later, Andrew Cuomo… I hope you’re proud of me for putting this in. “We drove stakes into midtown Manhattan traffic,” Brown said.
MTA officials expect to implement the plan in June and say most plans will come to fruition. infrastructure is already in placebut the rollout may be delayed for several ongoing lawsuits. Hearings are scheduled for April 3 and 4 in New Jersey, followed by a hearing in Manhattan federal court on May 17.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has made it clear he still wants to put the kibosh on it.
“This is not over yet. We will continue to fight this blatant cash grab. Today’s action by the MTA solidifies its resolve to break the law to balance the budget on the backs of New Jersey commuters. This is further evidence of this,” Murphy said.
Late Wednesday, another problem arose. Rockland County Executive Ed Day has filed a lawsuit seeking to block the project. His board appointees claimed the MTA had grand plans to use congestion cash to improve the system, but Rockland County had none.
