Drivers still don’t know how much they’ll pay to enter Manhattan as part of the MTA’s congestion pricing program.
The program is expected to go into effect in the spring and will charge vehicles who enter Manhattan below 60th Street. Michaelson’s recommendations took options from the MTA’s own environmental assessment, federal recommendations and the TMRB’s previous concerns from its other two meetings.Dozens of people attend the public hearing to wait for the MTA to announce the latest development on congestion pricing.The options also provided a moderate discount for drivers that pay a tunnel or bridge fee before entering the zone.
No matter what the fee structure it devises, the MTA is required by law to raise $1B from congestion pricing, all of which must go toward the MTA’s capital improvements. The agency plans to sell bonds to generate $15B from the revenue. “It’s really affecting our business, we don’t want another tax on us,” she said. “Things are very expensive: gasoline, getting a new car out on the road, repairs, and we’re not making money. So we don’t want a congestion fee on us, we want to be exempt.”