A first in the land of the queen car. On Sunday, January 5, New York launched its urban toll program for motorists wishing to access the center of Manhattan. The state's Democratic governor, Kathy Hochul, announced in November that motorists entering the part of Manhattan island south of Central Park would pay $9 (or 8.73 euros) during the day.
This project, regularly discussed in local political life, is intended to reduce air pollution while financing the metro, criticized for its cost of 2.90 dollars (or 2.81 euros) per trip and its dilapidation.
Its implementation, two weeks before the inauguration of Donald Trump, is not trivial, because the project requires the approval of the American presidency. However, if the Biden administration said it was favorable, the future president had expressed his « forte opposition » to the urban toll which “will hit workers, families and businesses”.
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Stop Trump from vetoing
Kathy Hochul wanted to pull the rug out from under the Republican to prevent him from vetoing. But the dispute promises to continue fiercely in the weeks and months to come.
Neighboring New York cities are opposed to the toll, arguing that it will have a harmful impact on their businesses and on the ability of their residents to get to their jobs in Manhattan.
A judge rejected a last-minute appeal filed Friday by officials in the neighboring state of New Jersey, who said the project would have harmful environmental consequences on adjacent areas. Taxi drivers' associations have also expressed their opposition, as their customers now have to pay a surcharge for the affected journeys.
Nearly 700,000 vehicles circulate every day, at an average of 11 kilometers per hour, in the area affected by this tax, from 60e street towards the south of Manhattan, in an incessant din of horns and sirens of police, firefighters and ambulances. However, numerous toll exemptions exist, as well as a reduction for low wages or for motorists who enter the area more than ten times a month.
Large European cities, such as London and Milan, have already implemented such measures.
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