NJ lawmaker pushes back against ‘reverse congestion pricing’: 'I want people to come to Jersey'
NEW JERSEY - New York City rolled out congestion pricing less than two weeks ago – and while preliminary data released by the MTA showed modest traffic reductions in its first week, it nonetheless remains controversial.
What is ‘reverse congestion pricing’?
The backstory:
Last week, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop floated the idea of a ‘reverse congestion pricing’ toll.
"New Jersey has the same opportunity to push the buttons that New York is pushing against us," Fulop said. "We could do that to them, but the goal is to get to a table to have a reasonable solution."
What they're saying:
However, not everyone is on board, such as Democratic Rep. Josh Gottheimer, NJ-5. He shared his thoughts Friday on Good Day New York.
"No, I want people to come to Jersey," he said. "Right, so, I don't want to hit any hard-working families with more taxes. I want lower taxes, lower costs for people. We got to make life more affordable for people."
Big picture view:
Meanwhile, Fulop believes reverse congestion pricing is the answer to New York City's new toll.
"There's plenty of crossings between Staten Island, New York, Bergen County, Hudson County into New Jersey," Fulop said. "There's plenty of opportunities to have the same sort of impact fee that New York is putting on New Jersey."
The idea is the money will go to fund New Jersey’s mass transit system, plagued by delays and cancelations.
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"My view is that New Jersey Transit is a terrible product, and it should be invested in more, and until you get a reliable transportation system in New Jersey, you can't responsibly think that people are going to take the trains," Fulop said. "But this was an opportunity to get hundreds of millions of dollars into New Jersey Transit, and I think the governor just took a very easy political approach."
What we don't know:
The details have yet to be flushed out, but Fulop says gantries or toll sites could be stationed outside of tunnels and bridges in New Jersey. Like congestion pricing, there may be exemptions or crossing credits.
It’s unclear if, like congestion pricing, New Jerseyans would pay the toll to reenter their home state like some New Yorkers do.
The other side:
FOX 5 NY reached out to the MTA and transit advocacy groups to gauge their interest, but they declined to comment. We also reached out to New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy to get his take, but haven't heard back.
What is congestion pricing?
Congestion pricing is an electronic tolling system that charges vehicles for entering Manhattan's Congestion Relief Zone (CRZ) — the area below 60th Street, excluding certain highways like the FDR Drive and West Side Highway. The program aims to:
- Reduce gridlock in Manhattan's busiest areas.
- Encourage public transit use.
- Fund approximately $15 billion in transit infrastructure improvements.
Congestion pricing NYC times
Peak hours (5 a.m. – 9 p.m. weekdays l 9 a.m. – 9 p.m. weekends)
- Passenger vehicles: $9 with E-ZPass ($13.50 by mail).
- Motorcycles: $4.50 with E-ZPass ($6.75 by mail).
- Small trucks: $14.40.
- Large trucks and buses: $21.60.
Off-peak hours (9 p.m. – 5 a.m. weekdays l 9 p.m. – 9 a.m. weekends)
Toll rates drop by 75%:
- Passenger vehicles: $2.25.
- Motorcycles: $1.05.
Is congestion pricing working?
Featured
MTA: Manhattan traffic dropped 7.5% in first week of congestion pricing
New York City’s congestion pricing program appears to have reduced the number of cars entering the city's central business district by 7.5%. But experts warn against drawing conclusions too quickly.