Congestion pricing tax trolls reveal the tolls

 

THE CITY

The years-long effort to toll vehicles in the most congested parts of Manhattan as a way to bankroll billions of dollars in mass-transit improvements and reduce traffic is no longer stuck in neutral.

Today officials released the long-delayed “environmental assessment” of the proposed Central Business District Tolling Program — touting how it could potentially cut congestion coming into the core of Manhattan by nearly 20%, improve air quality, boost bus service reliability and increase mass transit usage.

The document also outlined what the program may cost drivers entering the toll zone: between $5 and $23 per trip, depending on the time of day and the type of vehicle.

The shift would change truck traffic in Manhattan, in particular; the report estimates truck trips through the central district would drop between 55% and 81% as drivers opt for less expensive routes. But it acknowledged that tolls could increase the number of drivers diverting onto roads in the South Bronx and on Staten Island.

Initially approved in 2019 by then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the state legislature, the rollout of so-called congestion pricing has been repeatedly hampered by federal bureaucracy, including hundreds of highly detailed questions from the feds that pushed back the projected launch date.

New York’s system would be the first time tolls would be used in the United States to reduce traffic-related emissions.

But the program that aims to fund $15 billion of subway, bus and commuter rail improvements as part of the MTA’s 2020 to 2024 Capital Plan now appears to be on track, with virtual public hearings set for later this month.

“Bottom line: this is good for the environment, good for public transit and good for New York and the region,” Janno Lieber, MTA chairperson and CEO, said in a statement.

THE CITY 

In August, the transit agency will hold a series of six public hearings to take public comment on the assessment. They will be held on the following dates. THE CITY will update this piece when more information is made available on how and where to submit testimony:

• Thursday, Aug. 25, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. 
• Saturday, Aug. 27, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. 
• Sunday, Aug. 28, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
• Monday, Aug. 29, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. 
• Tuesday, Aug. 30, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. 
• Wednesday, Aug. 31, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The work of making the final determinations about toll amounts and system functionality will be done by the Traffic Mobility Review Board, or TMRB, made up of six people — five appointees from the MTA and one from the mayor. The transit agency and Mayor Eric Adams appointed all TMRB members this summer. They are:

• Carl Weisbrod, former chair of the City Planning Commission and former director of the Department of City Planning.
• John Banks, president emeritus of the Real Estate Board of New York.
• Scott Rechler, chair of the Regional Plan Association and former CEO of the real estate group RXR.
• Elizabeth Velez, president of the construction management firm the Velez Organization.
• Kathryn Wylde, president and CEO of the Partnership for New York City.
• John Samuelsen, president of the Transport Workers Union (TWU) and former president of TWU Local 100 in New York.

Adams appointed Samuelsen, and the rest were appointed by the MTA. Weisbrod will serve as chair of the review board.