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

(e360.yale.edu)
472 points Brajeshwar | 3 comments | 10 Dec 25 15:25 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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MLgulabio[dead post] ◴[10 Dec 25 16:11 UTC] No.46219499[source]▶
[flagged]
ceejayoz ◴[10 Dec 25 16:13 UTC] No.46219531[source]▶
NYC has 8M people and 2M cars. Manhattan has like a 22% car ownership rate, and it's… not the poor people. https://www.hunterurban.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Car-L...

A parking spot will cost you more than rent in some other cities.

replies(1): >>46219671 #
MLgulabio ◴[10 Dec 25 16:22 UTC] No.46219671[source]▶
This doesn't change my argument at all.

The more money you have, more you benefit from this ruling. Now you can buy a service which was not possible before.

replies(3): >>46219717 #>>46219861 #>>46219900 #
stetrain ◴[10 Dec 25 16:39 UTC] No.46219900[source]▶
The rich were driving before, and are still driving.

The difference is that now they are paying for that service they were already using, and those funds are going to public transit which serves the majority of New Yorkers especially those with lower incomes.

replies(2): >>46220116 #>>46220229 #
CryptoBanker ◴[10 Dec 25 16:55 UTC] No.46220116[source]▶
The problem is that no one in NYC, rich or poor, has any confidence in the MTA's ability to properly and efficiently use these funds. This stems from a long history of incompetence and wastefulness by the MTA
replies(2): >>46220191 #>>46220232 #
JumpCrisscross ◴[10 Dec 25 17:01 UTC] No.46220232{3}[source]▶
> no one in NYC, rich or poor, has any confidence in the MTA's ability to properly and efficiently use these funds

They're already using them, and the results show. They could have done it cheaper. But the LIRR is operating at Swiss rail efficiecies since the recent electrification and signalling improvements.

replies(1): >>46220684 #
CryptoBanker ◴[10 Dec 25 17:33 UTC] No.46220684{4}[source]▶
What electrification and signal improvements are you talking about? Signal upgrades are a constant thing in the MTA, both for the LIRR and the subways. They are not something that just started with congestion pricing funds.

Also, efficiency was already on the upswing for the LIRR long before congestion pricing funds[1].

[1] https://www.mta.info/press-release/icymi-governor-hochul-cel...

replies(2): >>46220904 #>>46223679 #
ceejayoz ◴[10 Dec 25 17:49 UTC] No.46220904{5}[source]▶
Congestion pricing was agreed to in 2019.

Expected revenue was used to budget quite a few projects; this caused a bit of a scare when Hochul put it on hold for a while. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/16/nyregion/congestion-prici...

replies(1): >>46221931 #
CryptoBanker ◴[10 Dec 25 18:59 UTC] No.46221931{6}[source]▶
The loans backed by congestion pricing revenue weren't taken out until this year https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-05-07/ny-mta-ge...

That money you're talking about was money that was already spent to implement congestion pricing

replies(1): >>46221959 #
ceejayoz ◴[10 Dec 25 19:00 UTC] No.46221959{7}[source]▶
One specific loan was taken out this year. (And planning tends to preceed the actual loans.)
replies(1): >>46222492 #
1. CryptoBanker ◴[10 Dec 25 19:34 UTC] No.46222492{8}[source]▶
Planning is not the same as spending
replies(2): >>46223736 #>>46223755 #
2. JumpCrisscross ◴[10 Dec 25 20:57 UTC] No.46223736[source]▶
It’s not shovel-ready spending. But it’s absolutely part of the process, and not one you can skip in a democracy.
3. CryptoBanker ◴[10 Dec 25 20:59 UTC] No.46223755[source]▶
That article was about expenses related to implementing congestion pricing, so I'm not sure what your argument is here