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No one thought congestion pricing would be easy but now some of the economic reality is sinking in. The MTA announced that it would need $767 million to upgrade service if people shift from cars to mass transit.
How does that money break down? According to the NY Times, there's "$284 million in 2008 and 2009 for 367 new city and suburban buses, 46 new subway cars and many station renovations and service enhancements; $163 million for other subway and bus improvements from 2010 to 2012, and $320 million for two new bus terminals in Queens and Staten Island." The MTA expects $184 million from federal funds (the feds gave NYC about $350 million). The Sun mentioned some of the report's recommendations: "Adding service on the no. 1 line. It also calls for increasing C line trains to 10 cars from eight, adding or widening subway stairways at many stations, and implementing one rapid bus lane in each borough within two years."
The State's Department of Transportation also released a report that said traffic and delays would decrease if the congestion pricing plan were enacted, and suggested that $166 million in improvements might be needed. Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, an outspoken opponent of congestion pricing, slammed both plans, wondering where the additional funding would come from and said both reports were incomplete.
You can read the MTA's report here (PDF). Streetsblog reminds us the next milestone is "By December 31, 2007: The City or US DOT have to have committed at least $250 million or the deal is off."
Photograph of Canal Street traffic by dannyl on Flickr
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But won't the increased revenue taken from all of these new riders offset this cost in the end?
In the end, yes, that's the hope. But these improvements need to be made BEFORE the plan.
You mean the people who suggested they have the public transit stuff figured out before applying the congestion tax were right?
Shocking.
The city government knows exactly how to play this city. It's amazing to watch. Here's the next prediction: the congestion pricing money ends up in the same type of black-hole general fund that Thruway tolls do.
We all get screwed in the end no matter what it seems.
I can't wait for the streets to be empty and the subways to be jammed packed. Nothing like feeling like a lemming.
Time to put in level bridges over the east river so that people can bike/walk into the Manhattan without climbing a mountain.
"The State's Department of Transportation also released a report that said traffic and delays would decrease if the congestion pricing plan were enacted, and suggested that $166 million in improvements might be needed."
Maybe I'm just not grasping this properly, but if traffic and delays would decrease, then why would you need almost $200 million in improvements?
Everything in that report needs to happen with or without congestion pricing to meet the demands of the future. Nice way to skew the facts to get publicity.
Congestion pricing is only supposed to remove something like 5% of the cars from the road. So it's not like there's going to be a huge number of new people on transit. The improvements are mostly there to give options to people who currently don't have tenable transit options.
The city government knows exactly how to play this city. It's amazing to watch. Here's the next prediction: the congestion pricing money ends up in the same type of black-hole general fund that Thruway tolls do.
Exactly.
the mta will revise its figures in about one week, then revise them again in 2 months, and finally present a "final" figure on the proposed plan.
Where's the money from the cigarette tax?
Die congestion tax, die!