Prepared for Transportation Alternatives by Schaller Consulting

May 2007

CONGESTION PRICING: WHAT IT WILL MEAN TO YOU

PlaNYC 2030: Congestion Pricing is part of a larger plan

• Goals of PlaNYC:– Improve public health: achieve cleanest air of any large U.S. city

– Reduce carbon emissions by 30%

– Bring transit system to state of good repair

– Everyone within 10 minute walk of a park

– Accommodate 1 million population growth

– Clean up all contaminated land in NYC

Congestion Pricing Issues

1. How would congestion pricing work?

2. What problems does congestion pricing try to solve?

3. How effective is congestion pricing at taming traffic?

4. Who will pay the congestion charge?

5. Is congestion pricing fair to the “outerboroughs”?

6. How many “outerborough” drivers would have to pay?

7. What is the impact on working and middle class New Yorkers?

8. How would the “outerboroughs” benefit?

9. Will there be time-shifting to avoid the fee?

10. What if drivers park just outside the charging zone?

1. How would congestion pricing work?

• In effect 6 a.m. - 6 p.m. weekdays.• Manhattan up to 86th Street.• Daily congestion charge: (charged once per day)

– $8 charge for cars entering congestion zone– $4 for cars traveling within zone– $21 for trucks (defined by weight or # of axles)

– Drivers credited for tolls paid up to $8.

• Would raise nearly $400 million a year to be used only to improve transit and roads.

• Taxis, livery cars, emergency vehicles, handicapped cars are exempt.

2. What problems does congestion pricing try to solve?

• $31 billion in unfunded transportation needs• Second worst air quality in United States• Taming traffic key to efforts to slow global warming• Congestion costs $13 billion annually• High shipping costs, unreliability• 37,000 jobs yearly, lost productivity• Traffic chips away at our quality of life

3. How effective is congestion pricing in taming traffic?

• London (first 3 years):

– 16% traffic reduction

– 30% less traffic delay

• Stockholm:

– 20-25% traffic reduction

3. How effective is congestion pricing in taming traffic?

• Travel within NYC charging zone (projected)

– 6% reduction in traffic mileage in the zone

– 7% increase in vehicle speeds

– 24% reduction in time lost in traffic delay for trips within the zone

• Travel into charging zone

– 11% fewer vehicle trips

– Depending on the crossing, 20% to 40% reduction in time lost in traffic delay for trips entering the congestion zone

4. Who will pay the congestion charge?

Only 4.6% of employed New Yorkers commute by auto to the CBD and would be affected by the congestion fee

All other NYC

employed residents

95.4%

Auto commuters

to CBD4.6%

5. Is congestion pricing fair to the “outerboroughs”?

Fewer than one-half of auto commuters who would pay the congestion fee live in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens or Staten Island

Pay congestion

fee Percent

Bronx, Bklyn, Qns, S.I. 81,017 39%

Manhattan 23,945 12%

Suburbs 102,046 49%

Total 207,008 100%

0 1.6 3.2

Miles

69%

70%

75%

71%

Two-thirds of commuters from distant city neighborhoods use non-auto modes and benefit from transit improvements funded by the fee.

6. How many “outerborough” drivers would have to pay?

Most auto commuters already pay MTA tolls (and would not pay a congestion fee) and/or have a viable transit alternative.

• Only 0.9% of employed Queens and Brooklyn residents drive to the CBD, would pay the congestion fee, and live beyond walking distance of the subway.

Live beyond subway

access and use free bridge0.9%

Pay MTA toll and/or have

subway access3.7%

All other employed

Qns & Bklyn residents

95.4%

7. What is the impact on working and middle class New Yorkers?

Working and middle-income commuters living in outlying areas of Queens and Brooklyn are twice as likely to take the bus and subway than drive to work in Manhattan.

Earnings of CBD

commuters from Brooklyn

and Queens who live in

areas requiring bus-

to-subway transfers

8. How would the “outerboroughs” benefit?

• Transit improvements:– Station rehabs, bringing the subways to good repair

– 10 new bus rapid transit routes and exclusive bus lanes

– Traffic improvements in congested corridors

– East River bridge bus lanes

– Ferry service

– Second Avenue Subway, connecting LIRR-GCT

– Better intra-city commuter rail service

• Only 2% increase in ridership is expected, spread over many transit lines

8. How would the “outerboroughs” benefit?

• Traffic congestion reductions:– 72% of traffic reduction in NYC from congestion

pricing occurs outside the congestion pricing zone

9. Will there be time-shifting to avoid the fee?

• Most commuters would have to arrive at work shortly after 6 a.m. to avoid the fee in the morning.

• Commuters would also have to stay past 6 p.m. to avoid the fee going home.

• London did not experience time-shifting

10. What if drivers park just outside the charging zone?

• Not anticipated due to high land costs, scarce parking already in these neighborhoods

• PlaNYC:– The City will “work with local communities if it

seems that they would be impacted by drivers seeking to avoid the congestion pricing charge.”

– “Possible solutions include parking permits for residential neighborhoods …”

Conclusion

• PlaNYC has citywide benefits for reducing congestion, improving public transportation and cleaning the air

• This is the only workable way to accommodate population and job growth

• No other way to fund $31 billion in transportation projects that are at the heart of the plan.