The controversial $15 congestion pricing toll set to go into effect this summer for nearly everyone entering Midtown Manhattan is facing a potential roadblock after the head of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) largest union came out in opposition.
The head of the Transport Workers Union (TWU), John Samuelsen, told The Epoch Times that the proposed $15 daily toll to enter Midtown or Lower Manhattan would do nothing to improve transportation in the city while hurting the lower and middle-class workers who depend on it the most.
“I’m a wholehearted supporter of congestion pricing in the city, but we were sold on a plan that would include massive increases in mass transit that would create a paradigm shift in commuter behavior and improve the landscape of New York City,” said Mr. Samuelsen. “However, that is not anything close to the plan they have delivered.”
Among the promises made was an expansion of 24-hour-a-day express bus service into the outer boroughs, which is essential for many New Yorkers who don’t have access to reliable and timely transportation into Manhattan, according to Mr. Samuelsen.
“There is no plan for more express buses to those who need them most, and these buses aren’t even running in half the 24-hour cycle in much of the outer boroughs,” said Mr. Samuelsen. “To think that on an ice-cold February morning that a healthy 70-year-old is going to walk a half mile to the bus in the snow is absurd.
“This is not London or Tokyo. There are huge swaths of the outer boroughs that do not have viable transit options right now,” he continued. “It’s absolutely punitive to blue-collar New Yorkers who don’t have access to public transportation and will now be penalized.”
Mr. Samuelsen said he had worked for the commission tasked with drafting the MTA’s toll proposal but resigned after officials rejected his demands to increase service on the agency’s express bus service.
“They made it clear that they didn’t care about the outer boroughs at all. It was all about the money to them,” he said.
Mr. Samuelsen says that if the congestion pricing plan is implemented as currently designed, it will come at a political cost to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.
The TWU placed a full-page ad in Monday’s New York Post, recruiting a primary challenger for the Democrat governor.
“If the governor keeps pushing this, I can promise you that it is going to hurt her politically,” added Mr. Samuelsen.
‘This Is All About Revenue’
New York’s controversial congestion pricing plan, which will see drivers charged a $15 toll to enter Midtown Manhattan, is set to kick off in mid-June after facing years of delays and lawsuits. The MTA has argued that the additional toll, which they claim would lower congestion on Manhattan streets, would fund $1 billion per year that would be used for upgrades to subway, commuter railroads, and bus systems, and would also pay for modern computerized subway signals and new train cars.The plan would charge drivers $15 once per day during peak hours, while the overnight toll would be $3.75. Trucks would be charged $24 or $36 per day depending on their size, but would also pay lower rates during the overnight hours.
However, this is only the latest critique of Ms. Hochul, who has been under fire for her handling of the city’s transit system, where high crime rates have pushed many residents to opt out of public transportation. Earlier this month, the governor deployed 1,000 members of state law enforcement, including 750 National Guard members, to target transit crime and conduct bag searches after several recent violent incidents occurred throughout the city’s subway system.
The move sparked bipartisan condemnation, including from New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams.
Mr. Samuelsen believes that the plan currently in place is simply a revenue grab that will saddle already cash-strapped New Yorkers—especially those from the lower and middle classes—with yet another costly fee.
“The proposal is extremely classist. This is the governor’s let the peasants eat cake moment,” said Mr. Samuelsen. “She is pitting the rich guy versus outer-borough New Yorkers that help make this city run.”
He added: “This is all about revenue; it’s not about the reduction of congestion or improving the landscape. They don’t want less traffic—they want more people to drive into the city so that they can keep raising more and more revenue.”
