Saturday, 23 November 2024

Democrat Governor Reportedly To Relaunch Congestion Pricing Program

100 Percent Fed Up
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Multiple outlets reported that New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is set to relaunch a controversial congestion pricing program with a $9 base toll for passenger cars.

The original toll, for vehicles entering Manhattan below 60th Street, was $15 on cars.

Before the Democrat governor placed an ‘indefinite’ pause on the program, it was scheduled to begin in June.

From the New York Post:

The governor’s office had eyed an even-lower toll of $7, sources said, but doing so would trigger a lengthy, potentially congestion pricing-killing, environmental review.

“They felt like $9 is where they could land,” one source said.

Sources said Hochul is eyeing increasing the base toll – which can go as high as $23, as set by a past environmental review – within the first three years.

In a statement, the governor’s office said Hochul paused congestion pricing in the first place because a daily $15 toll would be too much for hard-working New Yorkers in a tight economy.

“Tomorrow, the Governor will announce the path forward to fund mass transit, unclog our streets and improve public health by reducing air pollution,” the statement Wednesday read.

“Pretending to stop an unpopular congestion tax before an election, only to resurrect it after the vote & ram it through before the party that opposed it takes office, truly validates every cynical view of government & reminds people why they hate two-faced politicians above all,” New York City Council member Joe Borelli, a Republican, commented.

“Governor Hochul’s move to pause congestion pricing before the election to help her party win, knowing it’s unpopular, only to reinstate it afterward when her party lost, is a blatant political move and a shameless betrayal of New Yorkers,” New York City Council member Robert Holden said.

“This brazen arrogance is why trust in government is at an all-time low. Voters will remember this at election time!” he added.

Per Gothamist:

Sources who spoke to Gothamist named competing start dates for the new toll program. One source with direct knowledge of Hochul’s plan, who was also not authorized to speak on the topic, said the MTA board plans to approve the new tolls during its next meeting on Nov. 20 — and that the governor plans to launch the program Dec. 29. Another source briefed on the topic said they were told the tolls would launch in the first week of 2025.

The governor’s move comes just over a week after the election, and more than five months after she abruptly paused congestion pricing weeks before it was set to launch. New York state lawmakers first approved the program in 2019, with the goal of charging drivers a fee for entering Manhattan south of 60th Street. The MTA previously planned to charge a $15 base toll starting June 30. The revenue from the program is legally required to fund $15 billion worth of essential repairs to the MTA’s transit systems.

In pausing the program, Hochul claimed the tolls would be too costly for drivers who were already wrestling with inflation. Two sources said the governor was asked by congressional Democratic leaders to hold off on launching the tolls until after the election in hopes of winning competitive House races in the city’s suburbs.

President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to kill congestion pricing once he takes office, but transit advocates say Trump will have a harder time dismantling the tolls if they launch by the time he takes office. Local Republicans have vowed to challenge the program.


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