We will seek to use pricing
to manage traffic in the Central Business District (CBD)
Over the last 30 years, even significant improvements
in our subway system have not substantially changed
the way New Yorkers get to Manhattan. Despite enhancements
in safety, efficiency, and aesthetics, the percentage
of drivers has remained essentially unchanged.
On a given workday, the Manhattan CBD is home to nearly
2 million workers from around the region, hundreds of
thousands of tourists, and several hundred thousand
residents. Cars compete for the road with buses, trucks
pedestrians, cyclists and taxis. Vehicles trapped in
traffic spew pollution into the air, putting the health
of those living near congested roads at risk; and the
resulting jams cost the region more than $13 billion
dollars every year. As our population grows by another
900,000 people, we add more than 20 million visitors
annually, and 750,000 new jobs-many concentrated in
the CBD-the consequences of congestion will become ever
more severe.
The strategy that has emerged around the world as the
most effective tactic to this gridlock is congestion
pricing, a system that charges drivers a fee for entering
a city's center. London, Stockholm, and Singapore all
employ congestion pricing. Here in the United States,
the U.S. Department of Transportation has also encouraged
cities to undertake market-based congestion reduction
initiatives. (See case study on facing page: London
Congestion Pricing)
In every case where it has been implemented, congestion
pricing has been successful at reducing traffic both
within the "congestion zone" and outside it,
speeding bus service, decreasing delivery times, improving
air quality, and cutting greenhouse gas emissions, with
no material impact on the economy, including retail
activity in the zone in which the charge applies.
Key to the success of congestion pricing in those cities-and
the widespread acceptance of initially reluctant businesses
and residents-is the fact that congestion pricing is
only one part of an overall commitment to increase investment
in mass transit.
That is what we propose for New York. We believe a
thoughtfully designed congestion pricing program should
be part of a solution to the regional and city-wide
transportation gridlock we will be facing. Its proceeds
would be dedicated to funding billions of dollars of
transportation improvements, including immediate enhancements
to some of New York's least transit accessible communities.
(See following page: New York City's Congestion Pricing
Plan)
Summarized below is an illustrative example of how
congestion pricing could be implemented and its impact.
The details would have to be determined through a collaborative
process between the City and the State, because State
legislation would be needed to enable the City to impose
a fee and give the City the right to fine violators.
State law could authorize the City to define the pricing
area, the amount of the charge, the hours it would apply,
and the fines for failure to pay, or it could specify
those details in the legislation. The legislation would
also need to specify the type of environmental review
that would be necessary.
Given its successful track record in other major global
cities, we seek to pilot congestion pricing in New York
for a test period of three years. The best way to predict
whether it will work-and whether the benefits outweight
the inconveniences-is to try it. Further, we believe
that a pilot could be undertaken with no outlay of City
or State funds, but leveraging Federal and private dollars.
Operating congestion pricing
Passenger vehicles entering or leaving Manhattan below
86th Street during the business day (weekdays 6 am to
6 pm)-with the exception of the FDR Drive, the West
Side Highway, and West Street-would pay an $8 daily
fee. Trucks would pay $21. Autos that drive only within
"the Zone" would pay half price. The charge
would apply to all vehicles, except emergency vehicles,
those with handicapped license plates, taxis, and for-hire
vehicles (radio cars).
Vehicles using E-Z Pass that travel through MTA or
Port Authority (PA) tolled crossings on the same day
would pay only the difference between their MTA or PA
tolls and the congestion charge, so that drivers don't
have an incentive to detour across free bridges. Because
roads on the periphery of Manhattan will not be in the
Zone, trips around the Zone (for example, from Harlem
to Brooklyn) would not be charged.
Payment would involve no toll gates or waiting areas.
The technological backbone of the system would be E-Z
Pass, which relies on high-speed sensors, and is used
by more than 70% of New York area drivers. The charge
would appear on drivers' E-Z Pass statements.
For those drivers without E-Z Pass, their license plates
would be checked automatically by cameras mounted on
traffic light poles, with payment options available
through Internet, the telephone, or at participating
retail outlets. Drivers would have two days to pay the
charge.
Impact of congestion pricing
The main benefit of congestion pricing would be reduced
traffic congestion. Traffic within the Zone would decrease
6.3%. Speeds are projected to increase 7.2%. The impact
would also be felt in the other boroughs, since the
number of cars passing through other neighborhoods on
their way to Manhattan will decline. This is especially
the case on key thoroughfares leading to bridges, including
Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn and Queens Boulevard in
Long Island City. (One study suggested that 43% of all
traffic in downtown Brooklyn and 57% of rush-hour traffic
in Long Island City is bound for Manhattan). Overall,
travel speeds in all four boroughs would get better
due to congestion pricing in Manhattan.
The 4.6% of New York City residents who drive to work
in the Zone would pay a daily charge less than the cost
of commuting by Express Bus, and they would have a faster
commute than today. Everyone who drives, especially
in Manhattan, would experience the benefits of reduced
traffic and higher speeds. Workers and companies whose
income depends on providing services in Manhattan would
be more productive. A plumber who currently spends a
quarter of his day sitting in his van in Midtown traffic
traveling from site to site would be able to do more
work every day-increasing his income far more than the
$8 fee he pays. Delivery firms would have fewer packages
delayed. Buses would run faster. Taxi drivers would
carry more fares in a shift. These benefits would lower
costs of doing business in the city, and benefit all
New Yorkers.
The implementation of short-term improvements would
be essential to the success of any congestion pricing
program and to the transit infrastructure described
earlier in this chapter, including: bus rapid transit,
improved express bus service, dedicated bus lanes on
bridges, and new ferry service, especially to areas
of the city that lack convenient mass transit access
to Manhattan today. In many cases, these improvements
would be put in place prior to implementation of congestion
pricing.
That is what we propose for New York. We believe a
thoughtfully designed congestion pricing program should
be part of a solution to the regional and city-wide
transportation gridlock we will be facing. Its proceeds
would be dedicated to funding billions of dollars of
transportation improvements, including immediate enhancements
to some of New York's least transit accessible communities.
(See following page: New York City's Congestion Pricing
Plan)
Summarized below is an illustrative example of how
congestion pricing could be implemented and its impact.
The details would have to be determined through a collaborative
process between the City and the State, because State
legislation would be needed to enable the City to impose
a fee and give the City the right to fine violators.
State law could authorize the City to define the pricing
area, the amount of the charge, the hours it would apply,
and the fines for failure to pay, or it could specify
those details in the legislation. The legislation would
also need to specify the type of environmental review
that would be necessary.
Given its successful track record in other major global
cities, we seek to pilot congestion pricing in New York
for a test period of three years. The best way to predict
whether it will work-and whether the benefits outweight
the inconveniences-is to try it. Further, we believe
that a pilot could be undertaken with no outlay of City
or State funds, but leveraging Federal and private dollars.
Progress (as of 4/22/08):
In July, the State Legislature passed a law creating
the Traffic Congestion Mitigation Commission to study
the City's congestion pricing proposal and alternatives.
In August, the US Department of Transportation (USDOT)
awarded New York a $354.5 million Urban Partnership
Agreement to implement congestion pricing and associated
transit improvements. The Commission met throughout
the fall, held 14 public hearings, and considered a
number of alternative proposals. In January, the Commission
recommended that the City and State adopt congestion
pricing in Manhattan south of 60th Street and also implement
a set of taxi fare and parking policies. This plan would
have reduced congestion in the pricing zone by 6.8%
and would have raised $491 million in net revenue for
transit investment. After reviewing the plan, Mayor
Bloomberg endorsed the Commission's recommendation.
The City Council passed a home rule message endorsing
the plan on March 31. However, the State Legislature
refused to put the plan to a vote and as a result the
City lost the $354.5 million offered by USDOT to implement
congestion pricing and improve bus and ferry service. |
