Democrat-run New York is poised to become the first U.S. city to hit drivers with punitive tolls after transit officials on Wednesday approved a $15 fee for most motorists headed to the busiest part of Manhattan.
AP reports members of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board approved the congestion pricing impost, expected to go into effect in June.
The board waved through only minor changes to a plan presented to the public months ago while rejecting all requests for exceptions by dozens of groups of commuters.
File/Cars are seen in a traffic jam in their evening commute on the 5th Avenue on February 27, 2019 in New York City. (JOHANNES EISELE/AFP/Getty Images)
The vote authorizes a $15 toll on most commuter passenger vehicles each and every time they drive into Manhattan south of 60th Street, a zone that’s south of Central Park, during daytime hours.
Tolls are higher for larger vehicles, and lower for late-night entries into the city, as well as for motorcycles.
Such schemes have been implemented in London, Stockholm, Milan and Singapore where private motorists are routinely punished for entering the busiest and most popular parts of those cities.
Pushback has been swift and targeted in central London by locals furious at the charges imposed as they go about their daily business.
To enter Manhattan, commuters from other states and boroughs already pay around $15 in bridge and tunnel tolls — and the congestion fee will come on top of that.
Daily parking costs already run $25 to $50 in the congestion zone, which includes a dozen neighborhoods in Manhattan that are south of 60th street.
If the plan survives anticipated legal challenges, New York will become the first U.S. city to implement a congestion pricing scheme.
In 2017, Virginia officials implemented a toll system to reduce congestion during rush hour on Interstate 66 near Washington, DC.