The City Council has just approved the latest version of the Congestion Pricing plan to ease traffic in downtown Manhattan. As I understand it, the current proposal is to charge private $8 for cars to enter the area below 60th street weekdays, morning through evenings, and $20 for trucks. I believe there is still a proposed deduction for Hudson River crossing tolls, such that $6 toll charged to cross the Lincoln or Holland tunnels will be deducted from the congestion zone fee. The proposed mechanism for levying this fee is the EZ-pass transponder.
I live in Manhattan above 60th Street. I work in Manhattan below 60th Street. I own a car, and never drive to work. The primary reason that I never drive to work is that parking is prohibitively expensive and time consuming in downtown Manhattan. Congestion is extremely bad if one were to drive to mid-town, but given the proximity of my home and office to the exits and entrances to the F.D.R. drive. I could probably drive to work in about 20 minutes, even with congestion. Instead, I opt for a subway ride which is typically about 45 minutes door-to-door.
Traffic congestion in mid-town Manhattan really is bad. But I'm skeptical about the congestion pricing plan. Here are three reasons why:
First, A lot of very rich people work in Manhattan. My fear is that $8 a day will not deter these people from driving to work. Rather, it will simply seem like a convenience fee. Where they might not have driven to work before (because of the traffic and scarcity of parking), they may be more likely to with the streets cleared of more budget conscious drivers. They may think, I used to take the train or bus to work, because driving was impossible. Now, for the price of a mid-scale sandwich (in case you were wondering, $8 sandwiches aren't considered that expensive in NYC), I can drive to work. And if they live in NJ, it's just a $2 increase on the toll.
I remember a time in the 1990s when my wife and I drove to a movie theater in my wife's hometown of Quincy, MA. We parked on the street, in what I thought was a legal parking space. After the movie, I found a parking ticket wedged under my wiper blades. Like any New Yorker, I spent a couple of minutes cursing out loud. Then after re-reading the parking regulation signs, realized that it was my mistake, and I had parked illegally. Then I read the ticket. My fine for parking illegally was $5. It can easily cost $40 to park in a lot for a couple of hours in Manhattan. Parking ticket fines range from $65 to $110. $5 dollars isn't a deterrent, it's a bargain. This is the dynamic one faces with an $8 congestion pricing fee, where there are people much, much wealthier than I am, who are use to paying much more for everything.
Second, to the extent that the congestion fee does act as a deterrent, it will primarily deter personal automobiles. Sure, the tax on commercial vehicles and trucks is higher, but deliveries have to be made. The cost will simply be passed on to the consumer. Anybody who has spent any time driving in Manhattan during rush hour will tell you that traffic slows because of trucks and buses, not personal cars. Some might argue that traffic is traffic, but I disagree. Unless traffic is completely stopped, it is not just a function of the density of vehicle population, but also the average mobility and maneuverability of those vehicles. 4 cars may take up the same amount of room on the street as one tractor trailer or bus, but the truck or bus will slow the traffic around them more than the 4 cars. They are dramatically and obviously less maneuverable, and as such, have a significantly greater (worse) impact on overall traffic congestion.
Third, I think the plan to collect is problematic. EZ-pass makes sense, but what do you do about people who don't have EZ-pass. How do you charge them the fee? Do you have special cash lanes? There are cash lanes at the bridges and tunnels. These typically back up terribly during peak hours. Wouldn't this just create a new source of congestion?
Admittedly, I think that if you own a car in the Northeasst, you have to be stupid not to get EZ-pass. You do have to maintain a $20 balance in your EZ-pass account, but if you can afford a car, you can afford $20 dollars. You don't need good credit, and you get discounts at many crossings, and save time during your travel. None the less, many people do not own an EZ-pass, and they would be problematic for the collection system.
Mike Bloomberg has made no secret of his general goal to make NYC a luxury brand city. To my mind, the congestion pricing plan is aimed more at making NYC a more pleasant place for the wealthy to drive, than to seriously ease congestion and pollution.
I think any serious plan to address traffic congestion must actually limit access, not just make it more expensive. My recommendation: restrict truck access during peak hours. That means no trucks below 60th street from 9 - 7. Perhaps there could be some exceptions for essential services, dairy deliveries, etc. Maybe some significant annual fee for trucking which supports quality of life (UPS deliveries and such). But generally, keep the really big commercial vehicles off of the streets during the peak hours. This is the city that never sleeps. Commercial deliveries, repairs, moving, and other trucking activities can be done in the early evening or later. Perhaps this wouldn't fly Peoria. But in New York, I believe it is a plan which is more fair, more effective, and more suited to the character of the city than the current flavors of congestion pricing.
