A little more than five months after New York state indefinitely halted a congestion pricing program planned to fund New York City’s transit agency just weeks before the tolls were to be implemented, Gov. Kathy Hochul is reportedly considering relaunching the show. to various media reports.
The pause left questions about $15 billion that tolls were expected to fund transit projects like the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) second contract for the $7.7 billion Second Avenue subway extension dollars It also hit the MTA’s overall capital plan hard, forcing the agency to consider some tough cuts for a system already reeling from pandemic-era revenue drops.
Media reports say the rebooted plan could include a $9 base toll for passenger cars, a 40 percent reduction from the $15 plan previously approved by the MTA. media reports, location of anonymous sources, say the base toll could increase over time. The MTA board could vote on the plan as soon as Nov. 20, and the program could launch as early as midnight on Dec. 29.
Hochul’s office and the MTA did not immediately respond to ENR’s request for comment.
“We welcome the news that congestion pricing will be moving forward,” Carlo A. Scissura, president and CEO of the New York Building Congress, said in a statement. “The details are still to come, but there simply never was in all these uncertain months, and never will be, a substitute for the funding that congestion pricing will provide to our public transit system and the benefits it will bring to the our roads
“We desperately need investment in transit, and sustained and guaranteed funding is the only way to achieve the dual goals of critical repair work and to deliver the transformative future projects our state deserves, such as extend the Second Ave. Subway and connect Brooklyn and Queens via the IBX These projects will also provide thousands of good-paying jobs for many years.
Scheduled to take effect June 30, the original plan would have added $15 tolls for most cars on weekdays; tolls would have been as high as $36 for certain trucks.—on the local streets below 60th Street in Manhattan. In pausing the program, Hochul said implementing the plan at that time “risks too many unintended consequences for New Yorkers” who are facing a rising cost of living. He said adding another cost could keep more workers from returning to the city office.
The equipment needed to automatically record cashless tolls was installed and ready to operate from the originally planned start date in June.
Tom Wright, president and CEO of the Regional Plan Association, said he would welcome the implementation of congestion pricing.
“This historic step is vital for New York and will support our regional economy, a healthy transit system and better air quality,” Wright said in a statement. “We look forward to working with Governor Hochul, the state legislature and all stakeholders to advance this plan and deliver a stronger, greener and brighter future for millions of New Yorkers. Congestion pricing is a policy that has come moment”.
