The budget passed by lawmakers last week made New York City the first city in the nation to adopt congestion pricing. Let’s stick to the facts when we’re talking about this monumental advancement that will ensure funding for mass transit while reducing congestion through Central Business District Tolling.
Since Mayor John Lindsay and Governor Nelson Rockefeller first discussed a Central Business District tolling program in 1966, elected officials have been advocating for it for decades. We got it done.
The effort to pass the Central Business District tolling was the result of a broad coalition coming together to support Governor Cuomo’s plan, ranging from leaders of both the Assembly and the Senate, the Mayor of the City of New York, the business community, as well as environmental and transit advocates. This diverse group supported and coalesced behind the plan because it was vital to the future of mass transit and ensuring a sustainable future for the entire region.
Central Business District Tolling will generate $1 billion annually in new revenue, providing the support for $15 billion in financing for the MTA.
There is nothing theoretical about this new revenue stream for the MTA. It is written in law that the tolls must reach this $15 billion target with a panel of experts ultimately making recommendation on the exact rates after examining a number of factors, including traffic studies, technology, infrastructure and different pricing based on the time of day or day of the week. The funding goes into a dedicated lockbox that can only be used to support crucial capital improvements, including an updated signaling system and more accessible stations.
Ten percent will be set aside for the Long Island Rail Road to fund major projects, creating reliable revenue streams for the LIRR that are in the best interests of everyone on the Island.
Traffic congestion in the Central Business District costs the New York economy $20 billion. The tolling simply requires those who choose to drive into the district and add to one of the world’s most congested areas to pay and help shoulder the burden. Drivers do not have to make this choice—they can take one of the many mass transit options available.
Meanwhile, the MTA reform plan included in this year’s budget tackles fare evasion head on. A voluntary fare system is unacceptable, and this budget authorizes the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority police to perform fare evasion functions, including issuing civil summons enforced by the State to actively combat fare evasion.
The Central Business District Tolling plan produces innumerable benefits including eased congestion, reduced pollution and reliable revenue streams for New York’s mass transit. It’s time the cynics embrace this transformative, once-in-a-generation measure that will positively change the lives of millions of New Yorkers for decades to come.
—Robert Mujica,
Director of New York State Division of the Budget
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