‘Doormat Treatment’: Congestion Pricing Plan Riles Leaders of New Jersey
The mayor of Fort Lee, NJ, called New York’s congestion pricing plan “doormat treatment.”
So said a congressman from New Jersey price details first revealed Wednesday, it showed New York was “sticking it to Jersey families.”
And Governor Philip D. Murphy insisted he supported congestion pricing “as a conceptual issue,” but not this version of the plan, and not in his backyard.
“Everyone in the region deserves access to more reliable public transportation,” Mr. Murphy, a second-term Democrat from New Jersey, said in a statement. “But it is wrong to impose an unjustified financial burden on New Jersey commuters.”
Supporters of New York’s congestion pricing plan believe it will encourage more drivers to use public transportation, reducing both traffic congestion on the city’s busiest roads and vehicle emissions. contribute significantly to climate change. Once the plan is implemented, motorists entering Midtown and Lower Manhattan — whether from New Jersey, Connecticut, Westchester or wherever — will pay significantly more tolls.
But New Jersey political leaders are among the loudest and most consistent critics of what will be the first congestion pricing program in the United States.
Mr Murphy vowed to continue challenging the plan in court. He also said new legal action is possible.
The congestion pricing plan is expected to generate $1 billion a year in revenue for public transportation improvements, including upgrades to the subway and bus networks.
a report Released Thursday by an advisory panel that for the first time set specific toll rates — for commuters, taxis and businesses that rely on trucks to move products in and out of New York City — and who qualifies for rebates and waivers.
The recommendations, which require final approval from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, state that buses and vans providing “transit and shuttle services” would be exempt from the additional fee.
More than three in four New Jersey residents who commute to New York already use public transportation, according to a survey analysis by the Tri-State Transportation Campaign.
Drivers entering Manhattan via the George Washington Bridge will likely pay an additional $15 $17.63 toll that cars without E-ZPass are expected to be charged in January. Those entering the new toll zone via the Lincoln or Holland Tunnels would receive a $5 credit, and those with a household income of less than $50,000 would be eligible for discounts, according to preliminary recommendations from the Traffic Mobility Review Board, who advises the MTA.
Commercial trucks can charge between $24 and $36 depending on their size. Rates would be about 75 percent lower before 5 a.m. and after 9 p.m. on weekdays to encourage more overnight deliveries. Franklin D. Roosevelt Drive, the West Side Highway and parts of the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel are excluded from the toll plan.
Unsurprisingly, surveys have found that New Jerseyans are largely opposed to paying more to drive to New York City.
“New York is officially putting it on the shoulders of Jersey families with their crushing congestion tax,” said Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a Democrat who represents cities near the George Washington Bridge, where emissions are expected to rise slightly as motorists search go to ways to get the new toll.
Still, not everyone in New Jersey was dissatisfied.
“It’s easy to argue that the plan is unfair to New Jersey,” said Doug O’Malley, director of Environment New Jersey.
But an underfunded subway system in New York City would be a “disaster on both sides of the Hudson,” Mr. O’Malley said.
John H. Reichman, leader of Empower NJ, a coalition of 140 environmental and community groups in New Jersey, called the recommendations “fair and sensible.”
He said they would benefit the “vast majority of New Jerseyans who use public transportation to commute to New York.”
“The plan is a win for the entire region,” Mr. Reichman added, “including New Jersey.”
The new tolls cannot be used to pay MTA operating costs, but will allow the agency — which includes the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad — to invest in its infrastructure.
Mr. Murphy runs his own struggling commuter system, New Jersey Transit, which is facing a A $1 billion deficit by 2026. Three private bus companies also recently cut commuter routes, leaving New Jersey riders with fewer options to reach New York City.
New Jersey’s public transportation problems have led environmentalists to hound Mr. Murphy at public events and demand that he pay more attention to his own public transportation mess.
“The best revenge for New Jersey would be to provide dedicated funding to NJ Transit to enable expansion of transit options to New York City,” Mr. O’Malley said.
Ron Simoncini, executive director of the Fair Congestion Pricing Alliance, a coalition of business groups and warehouse and trucking company owners who oppose the tolls, wryly noted that the fees could be a boon to New Jersey.
“The congestion tax is going to save New Jersey’s office market,” Mr. Simoncini said. “MTA will certainly succeed in reducing traffic to Midtown – and jobs.”