![]() The policy was approved by former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo over three years ago, but has been beset by delays. Once the FHWA formally completes its review of the environmental assessment, the plan will then undergo a public review, Lieber added, with the expectation that the scheme will start in late 2023. Since autumn 2021, the MTA has conducted ten regional public meetings and nine meetings with environmental justice communities in preparation for the introduction of the charge. The fee during off-peak and overnight hours may be lower, and trucks and other vehicle types would likely have a different fee structure in place. While the exact amount of the fee has yet to be determined, the MTA’s Deputy Chief Operating Officer Allison de Cerreño has said it could range from US$9 to US$23 for E-ZPass users, and from US$14 to US$35 for Tolls-by-Mail users during peak hours. The congestion charge, officially known as the New York Central Business District Tolling Program (CBDTP) would see passenger vehicles charged a set fee when entering Manhattan below 61st Street.Īuthorised emergency vehicles and vehicles transporting people with disabilities would be exempt. “We have been able to address virtually all of the questions and data requests thrown at us by our federal partners,” Lieber told board members. In March 2022, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) responded to the MTA’s environmental assessment with a list of more than 400 questions, which led to a delay in the process. The finding of legal sufficiency is a critical step that will allow our Environmental Assessment to be publicly available for anyone to read, and we will continue to work with our partners to move congestion pricing forward,” Hochul’s deputy communication director, John Lindsay, said in a statement to PIX11 News.Ī mobility review board will meet once the fed’s final finding is announced and filed.New York City’s long-awaited congestion charge is back on track following a review of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) draft environmental assessment, the agency’s chair, Janno Lieber, said at a board meeting last week. “We’ve worked closely with partners across government and with community members over the last four years to develop a plan that will achieve these goals. Kathy Hochul has said the implementation of congestion pricing will reduce traffic, improve air quality, and support public transit. Whether a $77 billion corporation decides to pay fees from profits or splits them with others is its business,” said MTA Chief of External Relations John McCarthy. Again and again, Uber pushes operating costs onto drivers and now disingenuously seeks to displace focus on the MTA. Congestion pricing provides a solution and improves mass transit for the vast majority of people who commute on buses and trains. “The number of taxi and For-Hire Vehicle trips has doubled in recent years, increasing traffic and pollution while travel speeds in Manhattan dropped precipitously. The drivers at the rally estimate that could total an additional $7,000 a year for a full-time for-hire driver. It has already been specified in the proposal that taxi and for-hire drivers would pay the congestion fee just once a day. Andrew Cuomo.Ī plan for congestion pricing for all drivers was adopted a year later. That was the first agreement made by the Legislature and then-Gov. Money from that surcharge has gone to the MTA for capital improvements. Since 2019, passengers have paid for taxi rides or app-based hails south of 96th Street in Manhattan. The for-hire drivers say the congestion pricing plan is a “double tax.” They say their rides have already been subjected to a congestion charge. ![]() “We want to let the governor know it shouldn’t happen on the back of hard-working drivers who are barely making ends meet,” said Aziz Bah, who is with the Independent Drivers Guild, a coalition of ride-hail app and for-hire drivers. ![]() Then the feds are expected to officially allow the program to move ahead. Currently, a public review process is wrapping up. The federal government issued the initial finding of no significant impact for the program. 2 toddlers ingest drugs and overdose in separate Bronx incidents: NYPD ![]()
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