What’s funny is that while New Jersey is upping its toll prices, nobody from New York is throwing a fit over it or trying to actively block it. Why don’t they start hitting NJ with stupid lawsuits to try and block it? By using NJ’s logic for congestion pricing, it would be “impacting those who commute to NJ for work”. Clearly an agenda is at play here. If anything, NJ is probably trying to stall it until Trump becomes officially president so he can kill it for good.
Get ready. Congestion pricing is on. The NJ Federal Judge rejected NJ’s plan to stall it. January 5th, automobiles will be required to pay the $9 fee when entering the zone.
New Jersey state government was offered a “generous” financial settlement but declined. Instead they got zero in the end after failing to prevail in court. I doubt they’ll get an injunction from the Third Circuit this weekend.
LOL, NJ needs to get with it and invest in mass transit. They are the densest state in the country if I’m remembering correctly and sandwiched between a global metro and a large metro. There is no reason why NJT shouldn’t be massively expanded
If NJ were smart about congestion pricing, they would have argued over trying to get a cut from the earnings to use for NJ Transit. NY also offered a settlement with a large sum of cash (that could easily have gone towards NJ transit). But they’re not smart and turned that down too. Despite being super dense, they are clearly car-centric and care only about those who don’t rely on transit, so as a result of their stupidity they got zero dollars and made themselves look like fools although I know they are not going to give up on their fight to kill congestion pricing for petty reasons.
The whole congestion pricing controversy makes the US look inept around the world. Continued reliance on penny pinching state governments to fund decent mass transit is a long term dead end. Only when the feds are able to mount a true long term investment system will transit progress. Biden’s programs have helped in the short term, especially for the NE corridor. But it’s a drop in the bucket for what’s needed. Maybe we should send all of Congress on a world tour of systems in Europe, Japan, and China. They might even ask why we haven’t done this. Duh!
We’ll just have to wait and see how this whole congestion pricing thing shakes out. Most of the arguments I’ve heard centers around whether the MTA can actually handle the cash flow or if they’ll just waste it.
There are some real downsides to think about too. Like, what if all the new riders end up making the trains even more packed than they already are? You know some people are just gonna start taking shortcuts to dodge those tolls, pushing all that traffic headache further north. Like for example, parking in Harlem and taking the train the rest of the way. That just pushes the headache to other neighborhoods. Plus, it kind of feels like the state just wants to dip into people’s wallets a bit more. Let’s not even get started on the subway mess we’ve seen lately which is definitely influencing people’s views on this whole deal.
If the MTA wants to sell congestion pricing to us, they’ve gotta prove they’ll use the money right and that it will actually benefit most people. We need to actually see those improvements, whether it’s cleaner stations, fewer delays, or something else that makes our commute less of a drag. If they can’t show us something real, then all this talk about congestion pricing might just be a money grab.
You do realize that money for the MTA is only a secondary benefit right? The main purpose is in the name. Even if the MTA completely screws up their new funding it will still be a success
Sure, the name states it purpose but if the MTA doesn’t do the necessary improvements with the cash, we will be stuck with more fees and no real changes to our roads and infrastructure.
This actually sounds like an insane thing to do. If you’re gonna take PT anyway why wouldn’t you just take it from near your place of residence and save yourself the headache of trying to find parking in Harlem or paying exorbitant parking fees. I mean if you’re taking your car into the city, it’s likely you are avoiding taking PT in order to either save time or because you don’t like PT and prefer the comfort of your own car. Finding a parking in Harlem, parking your car in Harlem, walking to a subway station, and taking PT 20-30min the rest of the way accomplishes neither of those.
But isn’t this going to turn the areas just outside the zone into parking lots?
No. The congestion pricing environmental assessment found that areas in Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan just outside the CBD would also enjoy reductions in VMT and total vehicles. That projection matches the reality of how congestion pricing has played out in other cities, where neighborhoods just outside the toll zones did not become full of people trying to park before finishing their commutes on public transit.
“And, lest we forget, when Gov. Hochul lowered the proposed toll from $15 to $9, she did not also provide a 40-percent cut in the cost of Long Island Rail Road or Metro-North fares, which means that a train rider from Hicksville will pay significantly more than a driver from Hicksville, which makes a mockery of Gov. Hochul’s claim that she is a climate champion.”
I already know a lot of people who been doing this before congestion pricing. Taking the train where I live is ok but it’s not as fast as traveling by car to Manhattan since there are many delays and aren’t any express stops. Driving halfway there and taking the train the rest of the way in the city is a common practice especially when you live in the Bronx, Westchester, Long Island, etc. It is the difference between a hour and 30 minute commute vs a 20 min car ride combined with a 20-25 minute train ride for 45 minute commute. Street parking is free most places in uptown. The latter of the method will more than likely just increase. It’s a more convenient option because you not only bypass city traffic but you get don’t have to deal with the headache of the MTA once you are out of the city.
Yes you could take the train that’s closest to where you live but not everyone lives near a train station. To commute to your nearest one and then have to journey along the hour long commute just to get to midtown when it’s only 20 minutes by car, most people would prefer the comfort of their own car.