Governor halts plan to charge most drivers entering Manhattan $15 for transit and traffic fixes
NEW YORK (AP) — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul halted a plan to charge most motorists $15 to enter the core of Manhattan, upending the nation’s first “congestion pricing” system on Wednesday just weeks before it was set to launch.
The announcement dealt a stunning blow to a program, years in the making, that was intended to raise billions of dollars for New York’s beleaguered subways and commuter rails while reducing emissions and gridlock on the city’s streets.
In a pre-recorded video statement, Hochul, a Democrat, said she had arrived at the “difficult decision that implementing the planned congestion pricing system risks too many unintended consequences at this time.”
She cited New York’s fragile economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the financial burden that the toll would pose on state residents struggling with inflation, as reasons to “indefinitely pause the program.”
https://apnews.com/article/congestion-pricing-tolls-governor-kathy-hochul-0fd7a1025b693a3bcf75dcd56161fc73
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