New York is an expensive place to travel, but things have just become worse, transit authorities authorised a controversial $15 toll for cars entering the busiest area of Manhattan, which is scheduled to go into force in mid-June.
In an attempt to encourage public transportation use and ease traffic in town and lower Manhattan, the board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of New York voted 11-1 to charge the toll. This will help decrease pollution.
The price, which is comparable to current programs in Singapore, London, and Stockholm, will be the first of its kind in an American city. Federal approval is initially required, and then toll collection mechanisms must be established.
Along with any existing bridge or tunnel taxes, drivers entering Manhattan south of 60th Street from Queens, Brooklyn, and neighboring New Jersey will be charged $15 during the day and $3.75 at night for passengers and small commercial vehicles.
During the day, trucks and sightseeing buses will pay between $24 and $36; at night, they will pay less. ‘Ridesharing services like Uber will be allowed to charge $2.50 each trip, while taxis would charge $1.25 for each passenger into the zone’, as per MTA.
Specialised city cars, emergency vehicles, and vehicles transporting individuals with disabilities will be the only ones excluded. Drivers in the congestion zone with low incomes will be eligible for discounted costs.
MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber called the vote ‘one of the most significant the board has ever undertaken; and said in a statement, ‘The MTA is ready’.
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