New York put local officials on a collision path with President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday when they unveiled a contentious plan to charge automobiles entering some areas of the city, the first of its kind in the United States.
In November, state governor Kathy Hochul declared that starting at midnight on January 4, drivers entering parts of Manhattan south of Central Park will be required to pay a $9 midday toll.
That idea brings back a $15 base charge plan that she had put on hold in June, citing “too many unintended consequences for New Yorkers.”
Trump, a native New Yorker who has promised to end the plan if elected, has being urged by Republican leaders to step in and put an end to it immediately.
Areas neighboring New York City have argued that a charge would hurt their businesses and impair their residents’ ability to commute into Manhattan.
On Friday, a judge rejected a last-ditch attempt by state officials in nearby New Jersey to stop the plan due to its potential environmental effects on nearby areas.
The system, which had encountered other legal obstacles, was given a clean slate by that decision, underscoring the problem of taxing drivers in a nation where automobiles rule the road.
The goal of the strategy is to lessen traffic while also contributing to the funding of the New York subway system. Hochul added that after an evaluation revealed that it would function at a reduced cost, it was brought back to life.
A strong hauler trade organization and a few elected borough officials in New York City opposed the project.
Taxi drivers’ associations also opposed the plan. Their members — both pre-booked ride-hail drivers and drivers of the city’s iconic yellow cabs — will not pay the fee themselves, but affected customers will be hit by a surcharge.
The scheme will charge drivers for venturing below 60th Street in Manhattan, an area that encompasses the business districts of Midtown and Wall Street.
Every day, almost 700,000 cars visit the region, and due to traffic, cars can only go seven miles per hour (11 kilometers per hour) on average, and even slower in some places, according to officials.
There is a low-income discount scheme and a number of exclusions from the main cost. Additionally, drivers that enter the tolling zone more than ten times each month are eligible for discounts.
Other megacities, including as Stockholm and London, have been running similar driver-tolling programs for years, but US cities will be closely observing how the New York program affects traffic and revenue.
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