Summary
New York City has become the first U.S. city to implement a congestion charge, with car drivers paying up to $9 daily to enter areas south of Central Park.
The scheme aims to reduce traffic and fund public transport but has faced opposition, including from Donald Trump, who has vowed to overturn it.
Fees vary by vehicle type, with trucks and buses paying higher rates.
Despite legal challenges, the initiative moves forward as New York remains the world’s most congested urban area, with peak traffic speeds averaging just 11 mph.
I would have thought that single occupant cars should be paying the higher fees, and mass transportation like busses should pay lower fees.
School and commuter buses are exempt. But if your local church is trying to drive a shuttle bus into Manhattan, it is going to face a charge
Thanks. That makes more sense.
Also, assuming the charge is roughly proportional to the size of the vehicle, a bus would still have a lower charge per person than a car, unless you’re just driving around an empty bus
Ok, but that’s still better than each of them coming in, in their own cars.
And cheaper than everyone driving their own cars
How is the city supposed to know how many people are in the vehicle? A bus with 3 people takes up as much space as 3 sedans woth one person each. A bigger vehicle is just gonna have to pay a bigger fee
I would bet per head/weight/size, they likely do. Like a single car $9 / 4 people vs. bus charge / bus population, I would wager the bus rate is better for them, but it’s just a guess.
Does the bus rate apply to MTA busses? Or do they get an exception?
MTA buses are exempt but they are raising fares anyway.
There are a LOT of private commuter buses though (Academy Bus Lines come to mind) - also NJ Transit or the private lines from north and east of the city. I don’t know if they are exempt.