181–190 of 211 posts
What did it do to GDP? (Sincerely asking)
How much respiratory disseases and deaths asociated with polution do to GDP? (Sincerely asking)
The fact that tolls are now directly useful to the entire public must not be underappreciated. This is good news for everyone.
The run up to their implementation was so deeply frustrating. The sheer number of disingenuous objections. And they’ve all been proven false.
But obviously the latter is better. It offers more flexibility for consumers and more transmission of demand signals.
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How much respiratory disseases and deaths asociated with polution do to GDP? (Sincerely asking)
I'm not sure GDP is a good guide there since whether you drop dead at 60 or 80 doesn't effect the GDP much. Though obviously there's a value to the individual there.
Does your goverment just let people die?
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You may not realize this, but the roads are also in the red. All transportation is subsidized out of taxes.
You may not realize this, but there are numerous rail systems around the world that are not subsidized and are in fact profitable. See Japan, for instance
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The run up to their implementation was so deeply frustrating. The sheer number of disingenuous objections. And they’ve all been proven false.
People are seemingly okay with rationing services by time, but adamantly opposed to rationing by price. You see this everywhere throughout society. But obviously the latter is better. It offers more flexibility for consumers and more transmission of demand signals.
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Tradesmen pass the charge onto their customers. Commuters already have to pay huge parking fees, by comparison the congestion charge is small change.
> Tradesmen pass the charge onto their customers You mean to say people without cars are paying the congestion tax? :P
But yeah, customers pay the congestion tax for the tradesmen to drive just like they pay the tariff taxes on the supplies the tradesmen use.
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No it’s not. NYC transit is already one of the most expensive in the world and quality is suspect. Pushing money into a dysfunctional structure doesn’t make it functional and might make it worse. A money grab from the public that goes through a maze of expenses. The solution was to re-structure the MTA. But that’s hard work. Politicians would rather blame the other side and just raise taxes. The people like it becaus…
The quality is not suspect. It is one of the world’s few 24/7 systems, and there are many capital improvements happening constantly. For example, making more stations accessible and improving switching equipment to improve reliability and volume. This comment is typical HN “government bad can do no right” fodder. The MTA is truly a marvel in the service it provides. The only advantage it has is age, which is why it i…
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Which objections were proven wrong?
The objection that pricing will damage local retail, in aggregate retail has thrived from pricing. https://bettercities.substack.com/p/congestion-pricing-is-a-...
When you have everyone in cars, it's more convenient to go to one big store and buy everything in one place, than to go to three small ones to buy three different things. Shopping malls tried to bridge this gap for suburban retail, but the ultimate rules exploit was Wal-Mart: just build a giant box with a parking lot and sell absolutely everything in it.
The problem with one-stop shopping is the same problem as centralized app stores[0]: it creates a single buyer that can dictate to the entire market the terms of the sale. There's only room for 1 or 2 big-box department stores per market. General retail is owned by Target and Wal-Mart. Electronics is owned by Best Buy. Office supplies are owned by Staples and OfficeMax. Crafts and sewing supplies are owned by Michael's[1]. Pet supplies are owned by Petco[2] and Petsmart. Construction supplies? Home Depot and Lowe's. Each one of these are businesses that were built for maximum scale - to suck up all the demand in a market, region, or country for a thing and then mete it out to whatever supplier offers the best terms.
[0] The fact that arguments for the iOS App Store monopoly are the same as arguments for car-centric suburbs should not be lost on you.
[1] RIP Jo-Ann's
[2] Fuck Petco, all my homies hate Petco. Adopt, don't shop.
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Or, how about this, connect them together and put them on rails to reduce friction. You could even run them separate from the street with raised platforms for accessibility and sometimes even run them underground. We could call this something like “underway” or “steel beam connect-o-cars”
> put them on rails to reduce friction Good luck climbing hills. A lot of systems like these moved away from rails onto rubber tires. Rapid bus is probably best combination. Yes it will never match the throughput of rail, but it's vastly cheaper.
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It’s a tariff on DRIVING in Manhattan, the place in America you least need to drive.
You have never tried to leave the city for the suburbs after 9 pm. Driving is still immensely useful, as I sit in my Uber on the way home.