I don't understand this mindset. The only way a congestion charge can possibly actually work is if it's high enough to discourage people from making car trips into the city. If it's low enough that people can ignore it, then it's useless for its purpose.
That also means that it entirely favors people with the sort of disposable income that such a charge is meaningless, making it pretty regressive. I'm not saying it's wrong, but I can understand why some people feel that it's unfair.
You can take transit if you don’t want to pay the toll.
If I go to NYC on my own I take the bus from Ithaca, if I have a party of 3 or more I drive across the GWB and Bronx and stay somewhere near the east side of the Queensbridge because it is cheaper to park, stay in a hotel, etc. The toll is just one more reason to keep doing what I am doing.
People from all social strata live and work in Manhattan. Most people visiting from New Jersey can find parking and take the Path for the same price or less than what parking costs.
Sure, introduce a Pigovian tax then enhance public transit / trains. But what will happen in practice is this money will go into general coffers, be squandered on graft, “consulting,” and intentionally non-viable pet projects, then we all are poorer.
Your certainty around "what will happen in practice" is completely misguided. The program is being run by the MTA and the tolls collected are sequestered for MTA capital projects and will be used solely to invest in public transit. The program you're decrying and the one you claim to support are identical.
> Congestion pricing refers to the use of electronic tolling to charge vehicles for entering certain areas during peak commuting hours, ideally resulting in reduced traffic congestion and increased revenue for transit-oriented projects.
> Revenue generated from the program will be bonded against and placed in a designated MTA “lockbox” to fund capital improvements to the city’s ailing mass transit system.
> The program is expected to generate $1 billion annually, which will be used to secure $15 billion in bonds for repairs and improvements to the public transportation system.
> The electronic tolling system will operate similarly to the cashless tolling system on the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, where overhead sensors read drivers’ E-ZPass tags and administer the fee directly to their account.
The explicit purpose of the congestion charge is to fund transit. I do share your skepticism as NY/NJ leaders have previously laundered tolls into the general budget making them a de facto tax.
This toll will have 0 impact on congestion and just extract money from folks that are already over taxed. It's a slap in the face to working class NYers.
