Wednesday marked day four of the congestion pricing era in New York — and plenty of commuters, taxi cab drivers and residents are still fed up, calling the MTA’s Manhattan toll program a “sham.”
As a sea of yellow cabs waited for passengers outside the Port Authority Bus Terminal on the West Side, driver Bobby Huff from Newark shared with amNewYork Metro his very clear thoughts on congestion pricing, which launched at midnight on Jan. 5.
“I hate having to give my hard-earned money to New Jersey or New York for this. Congestion Pricing is a rip-off,” Huff said of the tolling program, which charges motorists a base toll of $9 during peak hours to enter what is known as the congestion relief zone of Manhattan, below 60th Street.
Cab driver Nau Megaiah drew attention to the city’s continuing development of a one-way street network, which means drivers have to pay for traffic problems.
“How can you turn a five-lane street into a one-lane street? One for bikes, one for flower pot,” he said, pointing to planters near the Port Authority terminal entrance. “Look at the flower pot, right? One for pedestrian, one for double parking, right? You can put in one lane, then you come out and tell me that there’s congestion, and you want me to pay a fee for a problem that you have created? It doesn’t make any sense.”
NYC taxis charge riders a 75-cent surcharge under congestion pricing. Before congestion pricing kicked in, taxi and rideshare passengers already had to pay between $2.50 and $2.75 per ride to enter, exit, or pass through a separate congestion zone that begins below 96th Street in Manhattan.
Although some cab drivers say people will pay extra to get around the high-demand area, cabbie Benjamin Roger is concerned that congestion pricing will impact his ridership. He also gave a stern directive to the MTA, the state-run agency overseeing congestion pricing.
“It will make me not want to pick up and drop off in any of those areas,” he said. “This is just the government’s way of sticking it to us. MTA, fix your own problems.”
To help mitigate surcharge fees, rideshare company Lyft recently announced a discount program for riders during January.
A spokesperson for the city’s Taxi & Limousine Commission shared a statement with amNew York Metro about congestion pricing.
“We’re in early days, but we’re hoping this will ultimately be good for our hardworking taxicab and for-hire vehicle drivers,” the spokesperson said. “Faster traffic speeds and fewer car commuters in the congestion zone means potentially more trips for them. When you also factor in parking costs, taking a TLC vehicle becomes a more attractive option for anyone trying to get around town.”
Meanwhile, Midtown resident Clark Morgan said he figured out a way to navigate Manhattan’s congestion relief zone for free.
“I will ride my scooter through the congested zones,” he said. “They haven’t figured out how to get to those yet. So I am in the clear.”
Read More: https://www.amny.com/nyc-transit/
