As Gov. Kathy Hochul prepares to lift the pause on congestion pricing with revised fee structures, Kathy Wylde, president and CEO of the Partnership for New York City, said that the "vast majority" of New Yorkers stand to benefit from the plan.
“People think this is just a tax for which they'll get nothing, and they aren't connecting it to what they will get,” Wylde said during an interview Thursday on “Mornings On 1.” “So, 82% of the folks who work in Manhattan commute by public transit. So the vast majority of folks are going to benefit because public transit is going to benefit by additional funds.”
Hochul is expected to provide further details on the revised congestion pricing plan at a noon press conference. According to sources, the governor will announce a 40% reduction in tolls, setting the peak-hour fee at $9 using E-ZPass instead of the previously approved $15 for drivers entering Manhattan below 60th Street.
Wylde acknowledged that the changes might face initial opposition but believes the transition will be smooth.
“Every city that's adopted this, it's unpopular until it goes into effect,” she said. “In Stockholm, they had a plebiscite a year [after it was introduced], and it was overwhelmingly approved by the public. So, I think people have to see the results. They have to see it in the public transit system. They have to see it in the reduced traffic.”
Wylde, a member of the Traffic Mobility Review Board, which initially recommended the toll range, noted that the new $9 proposal falls within the board’s original guidance and would not require further approval.
“The Mobility Board reviewed what was possible, and what the governor has done is she's taken the minimum toll, which was $9—because it was from $9 to $25 a day—that’s what were the parameters that were approved to have environmental and traffic impacts that met the standards of the legislation,” Wylde said.
When asked if a $9 toll might be insufficient to reduce traffic as intended, Wylde expressed some concern but said that not all the details have been released.
“I'm concerned that it might not be enough. But again, she's going to announce today some other traffic mitigation things she's putting into place,” Wylde said. “I don't know what those are, but again, as long as we can get this started and move forward, I think people are going to see a positive difference.”