All that congestion pricing does is push the traffic problem further uptown, not actually solve it. Like I’ve said, I’m all for the pricing, but only if the MTA can prove they’ll use that cash wisely. There’s no excuse for why every toll, subway ride, ferry ticket, and even Citibike rental is going up this year, and we’re still not seeing those big improvements. They need to stop overspending on these projects.
It’s avoiding $9 but adding $5.80 due to the round trip on NYC subway, so a net loss of $3.20.
But as you said, people will go to great lengths to avoid a toll. And so these are the same folks who will pay $0 to ride the subway as they will jump the turnstile. So a net loss of $9 in that scenario.
curious to know what area is 20 minutes from midtown by car, but somehow an hour on the train
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What does Citibike have to do with the MTA? It appears to be owned by Lift (through a series of acquisitions/buy outs).
I do agree with your sentiment that the MTA needs better money management and advertising/engagement on how the money is spent. Yes, they put out huge reports but they are not meeting the public where they are— the average New Yorker isn’t reading through a Capital Plan when our attention span has been reduced to 2 second TikTok scrolls. This is a hard task to overcome, even if service levels improved.
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From a Westchester perspective experience, in order for me to get to grand central station, I would need to take the bus to the 4 train at Woodlawn. Then I would take it all the way down to grand central. That trip would take a little over a hour as opposed to a 20-25 minute car ride down the Major Deegan and then a transfer onto the FDR or West Side Highway through Inwood. I don’t have a problem taking the train route but not everyone is going to want a hour commute.
I mentioned more as the cost to travel around the city is starting to go up regardless of the transportation you take. Whether you drive, take the train, use biking services, or the ferry, the cost to travel is increasing.
I think the MTA needs to be more transparent to why construction cost are so high. Why does it cost to a 100 million dollars to install an elevator per station? They need to find a way to bring cost down.
There’s a lot of factors that go into why elevator installations cost so much. Aside from usual MTA bloat, there’s utility relocation, NIMBYs delaying projects for years because they think new elevators and entrances “ruin the character of the neighborhood”, high labor costs, inefficient procurement methods, limited space in some stations (which often results in some bespoke complex installations), etc.
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I think we need to change the narrative of who is to blame really.
While the MTA is the face of the bloat and inefficiency, at the end of the day it is the Governor, State Legislature, Mayor who are to blame because, they hide behind the fact that the MTA is an independent “Public Authority” so they don’t take the blame for the MTA’s many shortcomings.
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Ok I hear yall. We will just have to wait and see if this will have a positive or negative impact on New York. I think it will do more good than harm but I’m not even sure if this will survive the upcoming administration.
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This seems like a pretty unique experience. Also if you took the MNR from the Woodlawn station (where you can park your car) to Grand Central, it is far less than an hour. Not sure where you’re getting these numbers from.
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Were you banned from Metro North?
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Wouldn’t that end up costing more money in the long run? Looking at the Metro North website, it would cost $7 to buy a one way ticket from there. I’m not a 100% sure on how the ticketing system works as I never been on the Metro North, but it looks like it would either cost the same or more to drive depending on which package you choose.
Getting from anywhere in Inwood/Wash Heights (where I live) to somewhere random in Midtown in just 20 minutes is a super rare occurrence, so I can’t imagine how it could only be 20-25 minutes from Westchester. Just not possible
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It’s definitely possible, just honestly depends on how traffic is at the time. I’ve been able to get into midtown under 30 minutes many times.
why would you want to drive to midtown? I assume you are also paying for a parking garage?
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No, you don’t always pay for parking.
I’m asking you specifically if you pay for parking.
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No I don’t drive into the city personally.
oh sorry, based on your statement I thought you were speaking personally.
So after talking with a couple of my friends and family, I understand their concerns about congestion pricing. They all stated that it would cost more money to take the train then to take a car even after congestion pricing. Let’s talk about the couple scenarios we talked about before but add a random destination in midtown. Imagine you are a person who’s going from 233rd in the Bronx to Midtown (near Penn Station) for a 9 AM work arrival:
-
Subway:
- Time: ~1 hr 15 min (bus + subway, possible transfers)
- Cost: $2.90 (with free transfer)
-
Metro North:
- Time: ~1 hr 6 min (bus to Woodlawn, train to Grand Central, then subway)
- Cost: $16.90 ($14 for Metro North round trip + $2.90 subway fare)
-
Uber/Lyft:
- Time: ~55 min
- Cost: Approximately $70 for an Uber
-
Car:
- Time: Dependent on traffic, roughly 30-40 min
- Cost: $11.74 total ($9 toll + $1.37 gas each way, assuming 25 mpg at $3.12/gallon)
Hybrid Option:
- Drive to Harlem (116th St.), then take subway:
- Time: About 1 hour
- Cost: Less than $9 ($2.90 subway fare + minimal gas), assuming free parking.
The hybrid method of driving partway from NYC’s outer boroughs and then taking public transit to reach Midtown is the option most people I know choose due to cost savings on tolls and gas, reduced traffic time, decrease in waiting for the bus, train, and/or connections, and increased flexibility with schedules. Even though the subway is the cheapest option, the hybrid method offers the convenience of personal car use for part of the journey combined with the speed of the subway system for the final leg into midtown. You don’t have to deal with the uptown train delays or the midtown traffic.
The MTA can reduce car dependency by improving service speed, connectivity, and safety, making public transit more appealing than driving. My math could be wrong but that’s why we are all here, to discuss the how city can improve life for all. If anyone has any rebuttals or questions, feel free to comment. I’m want to wait to see how this whole thing plays out.
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