Classic New York Post article. I take the 6 train every day to and from work during rush hour and this week didn’t feel like a meaningful difference in ridership. Certainly not “packed like sardines.” I don’t doubt ridership is up (clearly the stats show it is), but it’s not having as much of a negative impact on public transit as they’re suggesting.
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NY Post is a joke and extremely biased. It’s evident in the way they always report negatively on transit.
Other more credible news agencies are reporting a variety of things about ridership but I don’t think more riders necessarily is a negative thing. Assuming most of the MTA riders are paying their fares, it’s more revenue for them and NJT is also benefitting as well. NJT definitely needs to improve service, if it wants to keep these riders though.
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Interesting to see NJ actually benefit from this given how much they opposed.
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NJ Transit deserves some gain from this as the state consistently continues to gut it and screw them over like they did when they turned down NY’s settlement for NJ’s stupid lawsuit. I mean if more people take transit it’s an overall win as it’s fulfilling the biggest goal of congestion pricing: getting people out of cars and making them realize transit is a better, cheaper option and NJT benefits from gaining new riders who are pumping money into their coffers when they buy a ticket.
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It’s such a shame as at one time NJT was deemed best in the nation.
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I really look forward to seeing how things play out long-term. People continue to notice change and hopefully, it’s only going to get better.
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It’s almost like planners understand wtf they’re talking about
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NYT article yesterday provided some data on entry into the congestion zone. Traffic was way down on Monday but crept back up over the course of the week—not as high as before tolls began but over half way back. That’s only one week but it is possible that some were so frustrated by using mass transit that they decided to pay the freight. There was no data printed on entry point so we don’t know if the creep back up was concentrated in one place. I’m sure more data will show up over time.
There is absolutely going to be an adjustment period for this, so day to day changes are expected. What’ll be more interesting is seeing the weekly averages when we’re 6 or 7 months out from this.
An aspect of travel behavior that the general public tends to overlook is, people aren’t like water traveling down a pipe. People make travel decisions based on their needs/preferences. As long as the toll doesn’t get canceled by a new administration, people are going to keep adjusting their lives around it until we settle into an equilibrium.
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I too suspect the decline we’re seeing won’t hold over the course of time. At least not to the magnitude we’ve observed int he first week. I think there could be an initial “protest” behavior towards the new tolls and people trying to avoid coming into the zone… as they acclimate in the coming weeks and months some may decide to return to more normal habits, so even if the first few weeks/months show a substantial decline, doesn’t mean it will necessarily last… especially as we get into the warmer months and people want to galavant again.
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Even if people do continue to drive in and traffic reduction is less than what was observed in the initial week, the toll is still a win since driving into the most transit-dense region in America is no longer subsidized and free. The MTA still gets a bunch of extra cash either way.
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Ironically, the more congested the zone gets the more money the MTA gets. Life is strange.
Yeah, they could also charge more to capture that same increased revenue and maintain the decreased congestion. Best of both worlds.
Are there any data on collection rates for congestion pricing?
I imagine that a huge chunk of drivers are covering up their license plates, declining to get an EZ Pass, etc.
Like, for every $10 the MTA is supposed to collect, do they at least break 50%?
There’s so much talk of fare evasion on the subway, folks jumping over the turnstiles, etc.
Why is the media silent on congestion-pricing evasion?
Seriously, what gives?
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There is probably more recent data, but at least in 2022 it spiked up above 7% unreadable when speed cameras went 24/7. I would expect a similar trend this January.
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Covering your license plate is illegal. Most people are not criminals.
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“Huge chunk” maybe like 10% or 10% if that. Most people don’t do that stuff
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In 2023, not even 1% of tolls uncollectable were due to obstruction. I doubt the number even with congestion pricing is anywhere close to even 2%. Overall, the amount of unbillable tolls was 1.3% and that number includes the evaders. It’s still an incredibly small amount of tolls that weren’t collected compared to how many individuals do pay it.
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I understand most folks are not criminals and are good at heart.
But the media has promoted congestion pricing as a crime against humanity, a genocide against the working class.
I am concerned that the precedent data presented above related to historic evasion trends will not hold up, as the narrative built by mass media begs for “civil disobedience.”
It could quadruple and barely break 5%
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