That’s a good point, but many poor and middle class don’t drive into the city as it is. Only those who could easily afford the fee.
What are better ideas at congestion resolving?
Now, one step further, I owe nothing to anybody who can afford to drive (and park) in Manhattan Island ~ No Way!
Better for the public's money to be sent to me than to them.
Those who can't afford to wait in traffic, pay high parking fees etc., will seek alternatives like mass transit, car pooling, off peak travel etc.
Much of the traffic in the city is commercial vehicles, the ones that supply all the food, packages, paper products, retail inventory and everything else on the island.
A $21 daily tax on these businesses will pass directly to consumers, even those who don't drive into the city, all so that Michael Moore can get to his condo faster.
It was a terrible idea and I'm glad it is dead.
“What are better ideas at congestion resolving?”
Why does congestion need resolvinig? Don’t the folks that sit in the congestion CHOSE to sit in that congestion and the folks that don’t like it CHOSE other forms of transportation? If someone choses to sit in traffic, how can congestion be considered a problem?
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You are missing the point. The working/middle classes in Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx would be impacted by the exponential increase in car traffic that currently hits Manhattan but that would then terminate in the outer boros to avoid the 'tax'.
The transit system in these boros into Manhattan is already operating beyond capacity. Parking is already impossible.
And, in the case of the Bronx, the childhood asthma rates are already obscenely high; an increase in vehicular traffic would send them higher.
Not to mention, The transit system could not handle the increase that would surely come. The idiot mayor refused to address the transportation issues that would have been enormous.
He and his buddies would have been riding around in great traffic while ordinary New Yorkers would have ben screwed waiting in long transit lines. The people of New York would have paid the legislators back big time.
My husband is from New York. His family drove in New York. The idea that most normal people don’t drive in the city is nonsense. If you are in the city-wake up early and see all the people moving their cars in the morning-you have to park on a different side in the AM. Plenty of people own cars.
I would also say we spend enough in taxes and do not need another tax so Bloomberg and his buddies can drive around Manhattan. The government is responsible for roads, congestion etc. It is their job, and they do a pretty lousy job at that. Why should the poor taxpayer have to pay for the government’s neglect of infrastructure?