Many questions on Manhattan congestion pricing remain unanswered

NEW YORK - Congestion pricing has been looming over New Yorkers like a dark cloud. It is coming to the city and nothing can be done about it but critics are demanding to know why so few details have been revealed.

"Congestion pricing is a settled issue. It's going to roll out," Danny Pearlstein of Riders Alliance told  FOX 5 NY. "We believe it should be as robust as possible and it shouldn't exempt any class of drivers."

The MTA has been slow to create a six-member board that is supposed to give recommendations about the congestion pricing plan.

At a hearing in Albany this week, MTA Chairman Pat Foye said the agency is reviewing aspects of the plan now but dodged questions about when the board will be created.

"The way that the process works is that the traffic mobility review board will make recommendations, advisory recommendations, nonbinding, to the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority board, which will be the ultimate decision-maker," Fore said. "And that is the same people who are the MTA board members."

New York would be the first city in the country to implement a congestion pricing road-tolling program. Drivers entering Manhattan south of 60th Street will be charged.

For a plan set to start next year, Assemblyman David Weprin of Queens is wondering why we know so little and he has questions, like will any groups will be exempt from the fees?

"I don't think it was a fair plan, not a thought out plan," Weprin said. "We don't even know how much it's going to cost, who is going to be affected by it. There are still so many unknowns."

The MTA said it will hold a public hearing in the coming months.

Congestion pricing is expected to bring in millions annually and all that money would go towards buses, subways, and long-term MTA projects.