Sorry, but congestion pricing for NYC can’t wait

As we approach summer, the sun is shining, the pollution is thick, the bridges and tunnels are filled with traffic, and the drivers are honking. Even though mass transit ridership is barely up to 60%, car usage is back up at 100% of pre-pandemic levels. Despite less than 50% office occupancy, and the fact that, by one measure, 55% of New Yorkers do not own a car, our rush hour roadways are mired in traffic.

In 2019, after a decade of Albany gridlock, the Legislature actually passed a bill that would improve car commuting for drivers and straphangers alike: congestion pricing. It would add a small toll to all cars entering below 60th St. in Manhattan — the most congested area of the island. The aim would be to limit the clog on city streets, especially in the highest-trafficked moments and regions, and fund mass transit.

Despite the many benefits to New Yorkers (and the fact that the legislation passed now three years ago), implementation has stalled. Some politicians are playing the blame game, pointing fingers at federal administrators needed to greenlight the next step or the tri-state area commuters needed to recover from the pandemic economy.

The truth is Albany needs to stop putting up traffic cones and get congestion pricing up and running. To those who say now is not the time, we say now is the ideal time.

According to a recent poll of 1,000 residents, 42% of drivers would cruise into Manhattan less often if there was a toll in place. And four wheels aren’t required to get downtown: 64% of them said they would take mass transit instead.

That’s great news for everyone — including drivers, straphangers, cyclists and pedestrians. Fewer cars on the road at rush hour will reduce traffic for other drivers and improve air quality for all of us. And both more riders on transit and the motorists who would pay the congestion pricing tolls will help supply the revenue that the MTA desperately needs to keep New Yorkers moving.

Right now, mass transit ridership is down, and it’s long been true that farebox revenues are not enough to maintain and upgrade the nation’s largest transit system. Hiking fares for subway commuters, many of whom are from communities of color and essential workers who keep our city running, is neither fair nor financially sustainable. An influx of federal dollars, with hopefully more on the way, has helped reduce the MTA’s gaping deficit, but long-term, the need remains. The gas tax holiday that just took effect won’t help MTA revenues and hinders New York’s overall climate goals.

Bringing the city’s economy back strongly and inclusively will require untangling our snarled streets and bringing ridership back to trains and buses. Our beleaguered transit system needs strong, reliable funding sources if we are going to modernize ancient signals, get trains and buses moving faster, and expand service. The estimated $1 billion in annual revenue is exactly the cash infusion the MTA needs.

For all the anxieties about safety in the subway, our streets and built environment need to be made safer. Cars killed 274 people last year on New York City streets and fatalities are already up 35% as of April. This year is already a deadly one — especially in downtown Manhattan, where a particularly gruesome collision occurred on Houston and First Ave. New Yorkers need to be safe and feel safe moving throughout our city, above and below ground.

Let’s not forget the environmental toll our gas guzzlers have taken on air quality. Currently, the transportation sector emits more than 15% of the city’s emissions and 47% of the state’s. Nationwide, it’s the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. In the city alone, according to data available on the comptroller’s Climate Dashboard, passenger cars spewed 9.7 million tons of carbon dioxide. According to a Harvard study, car pollution claimed 1,400 lives prematurely from respiratory and cardiovascular disease last year because of fine particulate matter and ozone linked to car exhaust.

But if there is a car driving will, there is certainly a way. Currently, Uber, Lyft and app-based for-hire vehicles levy a congestion price of $2.75 onto their customers. And the fee has not hampered their ridership numbers considerably. As of April 2022, New York City ride-hail users took 600,000 trips per day, a number that continues to grow every day. If folks need to drive or be driven, they will navigate themselves into a car.

We cannot remain stuck in neutral by putting polluting, car-first policies first — especially in our transit-rich city. If we want a fighting chance against the dangers of a rapidly warming planet, and to ensure New York remains an economic and quality of life destination, we need to implement congestion pricing today. Let’s stop stalling.