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NYC congestion pricing cuts air pollution by a fifth in six months

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Re: NYC congestion pricing cuts air pollution by a fifth in six months

#101
post #91
post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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”

No, individualized point to point travel is better. I just got back from Tokyo and Taipei, which have transit systems better than any European country. And it was still faster to Uber everywhere.

And how much did that cost? You can get around Tokyo on the subway system for $5 for an entire day, and it's a profitable system that largely does not rely on taxpayer subsidy.

And how fast would it be if Tokyo and Taipei's trains weren't handling 80% and 40% of trips, respectively?

If you reduce Tokyo's 80% trip usage rate down to 5% like many American cities, that means for every other car on the road in Tokyo you'd now see 5 cars instead. How's that Uber ride looking now?

Re: NYC congestion pricing cuts air pollution by a fifth in six months

#102
post #91
post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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”

No, individualized point to point travel is better. I just got back from Tokyo and Taipei, which have transit systems better than any European country. And it was still faster to Uber everywhere.

Only because most people were taking the train. If everybody was taking a car you would be at a stand still.

Re: NYC congestion pricing cuts air pollution by a fifth in six months

#103
post #66

The fact that tolls are now directly useful to the entire public must not be underappreciated. This is good news for everyone.

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…

Even if the govt lights the money on fire we still get the benefit of fewer cars in lower manhattan.

What in particular about the MTA would you change?

Re: NYC congestion pricing cuts air pollution by a fifth in six months

#104
post #47

It's frustrating how poorly most people understand economics and the distinction between price and cost. Everybody in the world is being asked to blithely accept the massive unpaid costs of motor vehicle usage. This is a tiny step towards recouping some of this costs. Roadways, parking, collisions, pollution, noise have all be costs born by all of us. And in NYC that's a load of non-drivers. We should be adopting all…

> we have millions of miles of free roads.

Are you familiar with the gas tax? Vehicle registration fees?

Re: NYC congestion pricing cuts air pollution by a fifth in six months

#105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The objection that pricing will damage local retail, in aggregate retail has thrived from pricing. https://bettercities.substack.com/p/congestion-pricing-is-a-...

Retail where? Inside the congestion zone? What about outside it?

If you are objecting to a policy because it will make that area better and as a result, hurt businesses elsewhere, you need to rethink your choices.

Re: NYC congestion pricing cuts air pollution by a fifth in six months

#106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

The MTA is billions in the red because it overpays the union workers and fails to commercialize the stations

You may not realize this, but the roads are also in the red. All transportation is subsidized out of taxes.

Re: NYC congestion pricing cuts air pollution by a fifth in six months

#107
post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm confused, if you lived in Westchester and were parking by Columbia why would you be in Midtown? Mind you, it's still like $14-$22 to cross the GWB and if you parked by Columbia after driving down from Westchester you don't have a congestion charge to worry about.

I’m not sure, I’m a bit hazy about the names, it was a dormitory, I never actually saw the school. The dormitory wasn’t on campus. We were interning at IBM Hawthorne at the time and my friend was living at a Columbia dorm and commuting. Sometimes when I took the train the nearest train line stop (to get back to Hawthorne) was Harlem.

I get it, remember the congestion zone isn't the entire borough of Manhattan. It's just below 59th street. And, if you were driving down there, good luck finding parking in the literal densest place on planet earth during work hours (187k people/sqm). Driving in the congestion relief zone is not a right.

(Also, this thread's root was "regressive tax affecting the poor" which I assert again, is just a silly mischaracterization)

Re: NYC congestion pricing cuts air pollution by a fifth in six months

#108
post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Likely not. Reduced congestion decreases transit time which can easily pay for the conjestion charge.

Re: NYC congestion pricing cuts air pollution by a fifth in six months

#109
post #91
post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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”

No, individualized point to point travel is better. I just got back from Tokyo and Taipei, which have transit systems better than any European country. And it was still faster to Uber everywhere.

Everywhere? This is a crazy thing to claim. I was also recently in Japan and I never took a car anywhere. I'm sure there are particular routes that are badly served but come on.

Re: NYC congestion pricing cuts air pollution by a fifth in six months

#110
post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No city has reliable data on this for a fleet of reasons. The high quality data tends to show little effect on retail foot traffic, slightly more reliable commute times, and then the wealth of health benefits. Linking this to output seems to be beyond economists for cities that have done something similar (London, Stockholm, Milan, etc)

Is this an AI assisted answer?

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