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In New York City, congestion pricing leads to marked drop in pollution

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472 points Brajeshwar | 1 comments | 10 Dec 25 15:25 UTC | HN request time: 0.555s | source
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JumpCrisscross ◴[10 Dec 25 16:53 UTC] No.46220095[source]▶
I'm curious how congestion pricing became a national issue. The strength of conviction people have about this policy–almost either way, but certainly among those against–seems to scale with distance from the city.

Nobody in Idaho gets uppity about New Jersey's tolls. But they have strong, knowledge-free, almost identity-defining opinions about congestion charges.

Is it because it's a policy that's worked in Europe and Asia and is thus seen as foreign? Or because it's New York doing it, so it's branded as a tax, versus market-rate access or whatever we'd be calling it if this were done in Miami?

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subpixel ◴[10 Dec 25 17:08 UTC] No.46220335[source]▶
Cars are en extension of some Americans' identity and driving is something they feel utterly entitled to.

I've lived all over the world and in NYC for decades so it seems silly to me. Bust most Americans have never seen or ridden an effective form of public transport. So they view congestion pricing as an infringement on their rights and quality of life.

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1. efavdb ◴[10 Dec 25 17:50 UTC] No.46220918[source]▶
I agree, and would add that there are others who are decidedly "anti-car" and you could say that this is part of their identity. This particular policy may be a strictly positive (no strong opinion here), but when viewed as part of the broader disagreement it drives some of the reflexive pushback.