Advocates argue New Yorkers lose billions of dollars worth of time every year while stuck in the city’s gridlock traffic — and that Gov. Kathy Hochul’s move to pause congestion pricing does financial harm to commuters.
The group Riders Alliance sent a letter to Hochul on Sunday, pointing to research that shows street congestion costs $20 billion worth of lost time annually, or about $1,200 for the average commuter in the five boroughs.
The letter pushes back on Hochul’s claim that working class New Yorkers can’t afford to pay the $15 daytime toll to drive south of 60th Street in Manhattan. The program was scheduled to launch on June 30 before the governor earlier this month ordered state officials to delay its final approval.
She’s argued businesses would pass along the cost of the tolls onto consumers, which would result in higher prices for things like pizza.
“The governor has focused on affordability and cost of living in justifying her betrayal of transit riders over congestion pricing, but she has it backwards,” said Riders Alliance spokesperson Danny Pearlstein. “The cost right now is of such a magnitude that we know it impacts the cost of living, and so for the government to claim what New Yorkers need is to continue the waste, to continue the inefficiency of congested streets when we’re losing so much money to that, it’s really a misunderstanding of basic economics,” Pearlstein said.
The MTA estimates congestion pricing would lead to 17% fewer cars entering the busiest parts of Manhattan, which would speed up the flow of traffic. Data from traffic analyst Sam Schwartz shows the average traffic speed in Midtown is 4.5 mph, the slowest on record.
The letter also argues subway riders will see more delays as a result of Hochul’s decision. The money from the tolls was intended to fund $15 billion worth of upgrades to the MTA transit infrastructure.
Hochul’s office did not respond to a request for comment.