$2+ FEE FOR UBER, TAXI RIDES BELOW 96TH
Get ready to reach deeper into your pockets for that Uber ride in the busiest parts of Manhattan.
As part of a new $168.3 billion state budget deal, Albany lawmakers on Friday night agreed to the first congestion surcharge on rideshare and yellow-cab rides below 96th Street.
The fee kicks in next January. It’ll cost an extra $2.75 to hail an Uber or other for-hire vehicle in the congestion zone; cabs will set riders back $2.50; and pooled-ride services such as Via will take another 75 cents.
Officials said they expect the added charges to generate about $421 million a year for the cashstrapped MTA.
To make sure the city doesn’t divert transportation funds to other purposes, the state included a provision allowing it to seize the congestion payments if necessary.
“In the event the City of New York fails to make any payment in full, the Comptroller will collect or intercept such funds necessary from certain revenue sources of the City of New York,” according to a memo outlining the deal.
New York Taxi Workers Alliance Executive Director Bhairavi Desai blasted the fare add-ons.
“This is going to devastate an entire workforce and industry. Yellow cabs have already contributes close to $1 billion since 2009,” Desai said. “Once again Albany is letting these Wall Street-bankrolled companies write the laws while we bury drivers dead from financial devastation.”
Gov. Cuomo late Friday night announced that he and lawmakers had successfully completed their spending talks, delivering the state’s budget ahead of the 12:01 a.m. Sunday deadline. “This budget is a bold blueprint for progressive action that builds on seven years of success and helps New York continue to lead amid a concerted and sustained assault from Washington on our values and principles,” Cuomo said.
The budget includes $250 million to fund improvements to the city’s troubled public-housing program. The funding brought the total investment to $550 million.
State funding for K-12 education will be increased by $1 billion, up to $26.7 billion in the upcoming fiscal year, Cuomo said.
Funding for higher education also got a $1.5 billion boost, up to $7.6 billion.
Cuomo also pushed to include some tax measures to help ease the pain of the new federal tax code for homeowners expecting to see their taxes go up.
“It [the budget deal] also protects New York’s future with record funding for education, cou- pled with new reforms that finally ensure transparency and equity in how that funding is distributed,” Cuomo said.
The state spending plan also includes anti-sexual-harassment measures that impact both government and private employers.
Taxpayer money will no longer be allowed to be used for settlements by state officials found to be abusers.
Also, mandatory arbitration for sexual-harassment allegations will be barred unless requested by the victim. Arbitration is often seen as a convenient, quiet way for sexual harassers to keep their misdeeds quiet.
“We put into place the strongest and most comprehensive anti-sexual-harassment protections in the nation,” Cuomo said.