Want to Drive In Manhattan? That'll Be $8, Please

By Chuck Squatriglia

The Big Apple believes charging motorists $8 a pop to enter much of Manhattan is the best way to deal with the city's atrocious congestion, get a handle on greenhouse gas emissions and raise millions for mass transit.

The New York City Council, facing intense lobbying from Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other supporters of the idea, voted 30-20 in favor of the proposal, which must be approved by the Legislature. If lawmakers and Gov. David Paterson sign off, the plan would create a weekday "congestion zone" from 60th Street south. Cars would be charged $8 -- trucks would pay $21 -- to enter between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.

"It is now completely clear that congestion pricing has the strong backing of the people of New York City," the mayor said after what was one of the closest council votes of his administration.

Well, not all the people.

Lawmakers from the city's outer boroughs and suburbs complained the legislation essentially taxes residents to move around in their own city. They also complained it punishes commuters by making them subsidize subways and buses they don't use.

"This plan, while wrapped up in three incredibly important and laudable goals, is designed to deter people from coming into a part of the city if they can't afford it," Lewis A. Fidler, a Brooklyn city councilman who opposed the plan, told The New York Times. "What's next? We're going to charge a user fee to come into Central Park because it's too crowded?"

The state legislature must approve the proposal by April 7 if the state is to receive $354 million in mass transit aid from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Proponents say the congestion fee would raise $491 million to improve and maintain a mass transit system that carries 4.5 million riders each day, according to Bloomberg.com.

New York's proposal is modeled on a plan London adopted in 2003 to charge motorists about $8 to enter a "congestion zone" that covers eight square miles. London has since gone further, approving a fee of about $49 on luxury vehicles and SUVs entering the congestion zone.