New York City has excellent public transportation. The subway is amazing in and of itself – hundreds of miles of track, hundreds of stations. One could travel all the way from the JFK airport in Queens to Inwood in upper Manhattan for one fare and without changing trains. On top of that, there are buses, which fill in the areas where the subway may not be as consistent or accessible, and which also provide wheelchair access. NYC public transportation services many millions of riders a day (the numbers vary from 5-7 million), 24-hours a day.
However, it seems like regular public transportation riders are being somehow punished with non-stop fare increases, and the MTA is always threatening bankruptcy or strikes (or actually performing them, as in the case of the winter of 2005). Weekend service has been spotty at best (especially for F and L riders), individual line reports have been inconsistent, and upgrades like letting the rider know when the next subway will arrive haven’t rolled out with any expediency (the L train has had this notification system in place for years now, but it hasn’t extended to any other lines yet).
In other cities, like London, where congestion pricing has been put in place, the money this pricing has raised has been *specifically earmarked* for public transportation upgrades, improvement of bike lanes and pedestrian zones, and even for increased public park space. In addition, the increase in congestion pricing cuts down the number of cars and the amount of traffic… and cutting down on traffic means fewer idling vehicles, which in turn means fewer greenhouse emissions. So, it seems like congestion pricing has upsides all around, except for the people that drive everyday.
And that leads to the main question: Who are these people that drive in New York City everyday? Why do they have such a strong sway with the politicians? Even in London, apparently the congestion plan wasn’t popular, which doesn’t seem to make sense in another city with such excellent public transport… but despite this, the congestion plan was still pushed through, and the resultant improvements city-wide are obvious. (Some cabbies don’t like it, like apparently some of the roads around Trafalgar Square were closed and made into pedestrian zones, and occasionally this causes back-ups. But the people, on the whole, seem to be enjoying the space.)
Already in NYC there have been new bike lanes and pedestrian spaces (especially astounding is the one around Times Square, which is kind of nuts, a whole plaza right in the middle of 7th avenue!), so – taking a cue from London – it seems like the mayor is not afraid to re-appropriate the roadways. But why then can’t congestion pricing get through? The mayor supported it in 2008, as did myriad other city politicians. But at the state level, it was massively opposed. There were some people in the outer boroughs that were against it as well, citing that parking in the areas just outside the congestion zones would see increased traffic… but *everyone knows* that could be easily remedied through neighborhood parking permits, which most neighbors in my ‘hood support.
It’s frustrating that a proven money-maker for the public transportation system could be held-up due to politics (and why is it being held up? My guess – it’s *probably* in the interest of big businesses that make deliveries and/or travel into and out of the city on a daily or multi-daily basis)… and what’s more, it’s especially frustrating that politicians that *don’t even live in this city* are making the final call. Instead, the burden of ever-increasing fares is put squarely on the shoulders of the people who are trying to do the right thing – the people that don’t drive everyday, the people that are trying to cut down on their own personal carbon footprints, the people who use the public transportation system. The only benefit from the mayor’s current changes are for those that are gutsy enough to bike to work everyday! Luckily at the very least we have more, and better, bike lanes these days. And to those that ride daily… especially in this cold time of year… I commend you.
