MTA Bridges and Tunnels has advised that beginning on Tuesday, December 1, 2020, at 2 am, tolls will be charged electronically in both directions at the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge. Since 1986, per federal legislation, tolls were only collected Staten Island bound. Now toll amounts will be split and motorists charged in both directions. The MTA […]
Fix NYC Congestion Pricing Plan to Trucks: Drop Dead!
Pick any random three or four letters in the alphabet. Chances are you’ll hit a combination that stands for a tax on trucks in New York or a court or agency that assesses fines: HUT, IFTA, CMVT, PVB, TVB, OATH, the list goes on. Yet, apparently that isn’t enough, as Governor Cuomo’s Fix NYC advisory […]
Congestion Pricing Through Cashless Tolling-Not Ready for Prime Time
At the heart of any congestion pricing scheme is the ringing of Manhattan or Manhattan’s central business district with a cashless tolling system, that system is already being tested at MTA bridges and tunnels as well as the Thruway Authority’s Tappan Zee Bridge. While it works for many, the problems that have arisen show that […]
Trucks: Not the MTA’s ATM
The notion that trucks don’t pay their fair share and should pay additional fees to enter midtown Manhattan just to fund the MTA is absurd. There’s no free ride for trucks. Truckers pay 4-5 times higher registration fees than cars and pay additional surcharges if registered in the metro area. They also pay a mileage-based […]
The Congestion Pricing That New York Officials Should Really Focus On
Would you believe that there is something that can be done right now to increase funding for transit and infrastructure, reduce congestion, and level an unfair playing field? No, not Move NY or other tolling schemes. Those won’t reduce congestion and are patently unfair to outer borough businesses and commuters. What is needed is a […]