In its latest move to implement a policy that London implemented long ago, New York Is doing congestion charging! In all seriousness, it will be a complete game changer - not only for the city, but for the entire continent.
Interesting, but my only questions were practical details ….
- happy the proposed NYC charge exempts roads on the edge. GPS recommends it all the time as the quickest way through or around: I’m already trying to avoid congestion
- NYC seems to have a unique mix of traffic, for the US. I don’t know locals who would drive and traffic seems to be mostly taxi/Uber. How much will congestion tolls really help when personal cars are such a low percentage?
He also proposed Boston as a city where it may be appropriate. I live there and can see benefits but most of the city is really not ready
- yeah we have decent transit and walkability, but a serious shortage of park and ride, and transit is mostly scheduled around rush hour. I live in a suburb now so really need more transit opportunities
- my kids old school had no bus service and there was no transit to where we live. Driving was the only reasonable choice. My kids no longer go there but the goal should be to encourage a better choice, not punish people who really don’t have one
NYC seems to have a unique mix of traffic, for the US. I don’t know locals who would drive and traffic seems to be mostly taxi/Uber. How much will congestion tolls really help when personal cars are such a low percentage?
I suspect much of the traffic is from commuters coming into the city. But even within NYC, a comparatively small proportion of people in cars adds up to a huge amount of traffic. And NYC would grind to a halt if public and active transport options didn’t exist already because the city simply can’t support that many people in cars. Congestion pricing is just an additional tool to reduce car usage (carrot vs stick approach) and push people to the better transport alternatives.
How much will congestion tolls really help when personal cars are such a low percentage?
Any estimate in how much is this percentage of personal cars?
Unfortunately I can only go by my general impression
In this NYT article they say that 55 percent of NYC households have no car, and this site claims a modal share of 30% for cars. So most NYC residents already use sustainable transportation, but not all of them.
