March 1, 2008
Congestion Pricing Opponent Proposes Un-Fare Taxi Hike
A New York State Assemblyman ticked off about congestion pricing for suburban drivers is retaliating by proposing a $4-per-ride surcharge for taxi riders, rather than the congestion fee of $8 for motorists entering Manhattan below 60th St. That taxis are another form of mass transit that allow New Yorkers to get around without owning a car escapes Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, whose district includes parts of Westchester County.
Brodsky and other representatives of suburban communities feel their constituents would be unfairly bearing most of the $491 million a year congestion pricing is hoped to raise. However, Vincent Sapone, who is the managing director of the League of Mutual Taxi Owners, had a different viewpoint: "Is he out of his mind? You're talking about a $2 billion industry that he'll destroy."
The surcharge is not something that could be eaten by cab drivers, who just got over a strike regarding mandated hardware updates that keeps them tracked by GPS and listening to commercials all day. The law, if passed, would require passengers to pay for the entire $4 surcharge, which would increase the base rate of a cab ride from $2.50 to $6.50 before anyone went anywhere. The per-mile fee would drop from 40 cents/mile to 35 cents/mile. Mayor Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan already includes a $1 surcharge for taxi riders. Taxi fare rates were most recently increased in 2006.
6.90 +. 50, fiat luxe at flickr
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well, it seems that every time i look out my office window, conservatively 80% or more of the "congestion" seems to be yellow cabs or black livery cars, so if the idea is to get rid of congestion and clean up the air on the street it makes perfect sense. if however, it is just another tax on the people of the state, then i see the reason, though they shouldn't lie about it being about the environment then. heck, we already pay the highest tax rates in the country for every thing we do in NYC, why should that change. why should they actually control govt costs and reduce the size of city's bloated and inefficient workforce and put that money to mass transit, that would be far to difficult, lets just milk the people some more under the guise of environmentalism... why cant we automate the subway lines and just put a cop in the station who might actually do something in an emergency, rather than pay big salaries to useless MTA employees (track workers and maintenance excluded of course). All seems like a very smart ploy to steal your money and raise mass transit fares to boot since the only competition just got more expensive.
Suburban drivers will quite fairly bear the brunt of that $491 million per year. They bring their dirty, private-use vehicles into the city despite the city's expansive commuter train and bus system.
this has been a debacle from the beginning. enough fighting over this, drop it. it only removes the focus from the inefficient and corrupt MTA. The last thing that agency needs is more money for its double set of books.
Suburbanites can easily avoid congestion pricing fees by staying out in the burbs where they belong.
Suburbanites can easily avoid congestion pricing fees by staying out in the burbs where they belong.
I live in Brookyln, own a car , and I take the train when I need to go into the city. With gas at $3.27 /gal its the frugal thing to do. Besides once you get into the city does'nt it cost $25+ tax and tip to park? So if you can afford to park in the city what's $8 bucks?
It is a bit ridiculous to call taxis "another form of mass transit". Sure, it's another way that New Yorkers get around but it's still another vehicle on the street polluting the air for the benefit of the relatively small number of passengers who could and should be taking a train or a bus. Taxis account for at least 33% of the congestion downtown and in contrast to a good deal of the other traffic they directly compete with trains and buses (or in some cases a walk). NY City's train and bus system is not nearly as good in the outer boroughs as it is in Manhattan, where nevertheless most taxi rides occur. The problems of congestion, pollution and global warming are serious, and no matter what solution is proposed, chances are that some industries will be hurt - I'm sure that callousness towards workers in the auto industry and suburbanites doing business in the city can be justified by self-righteous city dwellers who think nothing of hopping in a cab to avoid a crowded bus, but if the taxi industry was a casualty of a reform that would truly be good for the environment, I would hope that the drivers could find jobs in a better mass transit system with less crowded and more frequent buses and trains.