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   From: yourdime@outlook.com   
      
   Drivers heading into parts of Manhattan may soon face a new $15 toll,   
   according to draft recommendations from a group tasked with crafting New   
   York’s congestion pricing plan.   
      
   The tolls, which could be in place next spring, would be a historic move   
   for a city long plagued by traffic. The tolls are meant to discourage   
   driving and ease traffic south of 60th street and to help fund the   
   Metropolitan Transportation Authority.   
      
   But the tolls have set off years of controversy. Similar plans have come   
   and gone. These tolls are created by law and have the blessing of federal   
   officials, though there are still a few hurdles, like a lawsuit filed   
   against the plan by New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration.   
      
   These recommendations, if adopted, will create an especially costly   
   commute for some New Jersey drivers, about $25 or $30 a day combined with   
   other tolls commuters already pay to cross the Hudson River.   
      
   The tolling advisory group, known as the Traffic Mobility Review Board, is   
   recommending a $5 discount for drivers who already pay tolls to enter   
   Manhattan via the Queens-Midtown, Hugh L. Carey, Holland, and Lincoln   
   tunnels.   
      
   But it does not recommend such a credit for drivers coming in across the   
   George Washington Bridge. They already pay nearly $15 for that crossing   
   during rush hour, meaning some drivers will be paying nearly $30 per trip   
   into the city.   
      
   “As a conceptual matter, I support congestion pricing, as long as it is   
   structured in a way that is fair to all sides,” Murphy said in a   
   statement. “This plan is neither fair nor equitable.”   
      
   In New York, the tolls have caused some consternation, but their creation   
   follows decades of failed attempts to curb traffic in Manhattan. Still,   
   the details of the costs and who will pay them remain a knotty issue for   
   New York officials as well.   
      
   “Gov. [Kathy] Hochul has been clear from the start: congestion pricing is   
   critical to New York’s future, delivering better transit, cleaner air and   
   less traffic clogging our streets,” said Hochul spokesperson John Lindsay.   
   “The governor has said repeatedly that $23 is too expensive for the   
   central business district tolls, and is carefully reviewing the   
   recommendations of the Traffic Mobility Review Board.”   
      
   The MTA and the board advising it had considered fares ranging from $9 to   
   $23 for passenger vehicles and between $12 and $82 for trucks. The   
   scenarios contemplated different combinations of potential discounts,   
   credits and exemptions.   
      
   Ultimately, the board seemed to land in the middle — $15 for cars and $24   
   or $36 for trucks, depending on their size, according to the draft   
   recommendations obtained by POLITICO.   
      
   There is still a ways to go: The draft report will need to be formally   
   adopted by the advisory board, then approved by the MTA, which has final   
   say on the rates.   
      
   New Jersey and others have lobbied that board for exemptions from   
   congestion pricing, but the board’s chair and others have argued that   
   every exemption drives up the cost to other drivers, so the board appears   
   loathe to grant many exemptions.   
      
   New Jersey is suing the federal government to block the tolls. There have   
   been settlement talks in the case, but attorneys for the state also fret   
   the state won’t get its day in court until the tolls are already a done   
   deal.   
      
   https://www.politico.com/news/2023/11/29/nyc-congestion-pricing-commute-   
   new-jersey-00129248   
      
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