It was such a shock. But so many people in New York hate the concept. Not even drivers, most of them. They’re just constantly angry at whatever is happening in nyc. This is so clearly, as mentioned in the article, sudden panic over the election year fallout.
Democrats are so, so scared of this elusive centrist Republican/democrat swing voter. Everywhere. In all their forms. They’ll surely win that swing vote now!
Imagine congestion pricing hurting the city’s economy more than allowing public transit to fall apart will…
It’s really unlikely that this money would’ve gone to transit. NYC is mind bogglingly wealthy and transit still sucks arse. They already charge crazy high tolls just to get into the city and none of that has manifested better quality of life for transit users.
The reality is it would just make it more expensive for normal workers who keep the city running but can’t afford to actually live in the city itself, so they commute. All it does is further locks down NYC as a playground for the rich.
Meanwhile, in London, congestion pricing and the expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) were a big issue in the mayoral election, with most pundits predicting that it would lead to incumbent mayor Sadiq Khan losing his job. But instead, he won by a wider margin than in the previous election. And, rather comically, it wasn’t Sadiq’s policy in the first place, it had been put in place by Boris Johnson when he was mayor.
Evidence in London so far is that the current ULEZ has saved lives and reduced hospitalisations due to respiratory problems, and that congestion charging has not had adverse economic impacts, while improving quality of life. But there are still plenty of people who want to play the victim, and I’m sure that in NYC, they’re louder.
To be fair everybody in NYC is louder about everything. But New York is also where all the money lives.