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The New York City Economic Development Corporation has received 30 responses to its Request for Expressions of Interest for the implementation of the City's proposed congestion pricing plan. Proposals were sought to provide an overall approach to the design, implementation, operation, and maintenance of a congestion pricing system. Respondents were asked to identify key issues involved in implementing such a system and to provide their ideas for innovative operational and technological solutions. (Reported December 11, 2007)
On April 7, 2008, the New York State Assembly declined to take a formal vote to provide needed legislative authority to implement the proposed New York City congestion pricing project, effectively ending it. This occurred after a revised and strengthened plan was approved on January 31, 2008 by the Traffic Congestion Mitigation Commission, followed by the New York City Council approval by a 30 to 20 vote on March 31, 2008.
Assuming the needed approvals are secured, New York City will become the first city in the United States to charge all motorists for driving in its congested core. The pricing of such traffic, known as cordon or area pricing, has been shown internationally to be the single most effective strategy in reducing traffic volumes and congestion. For example, traffic levels during priced periods declined by 15 percent in London and 20 percent in Stockholm after cordon pricing schemes were implemented in their central areas.
Mayor Bloomberg submitted a plan to the U.S. DOT, which required the approval of a special Traffic Congestion Mitigation Commission, the city council, and the state legislature for enactment. U.S. DOT accepted this plan, but the signed Urban Partnership Agreement allowed funding even if the plan were to be modified as part of the political process, so long as at least an equivalent reduction in congestion would be realized. Mayor Bloomberg's plan, discussed below, was projected to lead to a 6.7% reduction in vehicle miles traveled (VMT) below 86th Street in Manhattan. The Traffic Congestion Mitigation Commission analyzed both the mayor's plan and various alternatives, and then issued a comprehensive evaluation report (PDF, 956KB). On January 31, 2008, the commission approved a modified version (PDF, 116KB) of the mayor's plan which was projected to lead to a 6.8% reduction in VMT below 86th Street and thus would remain eligible for UPA funding.
As originally submitted by Mayor Bloomberg. New York's three-year pilot would charge a flat $8 daily fee to passenger vehicles and $21 daily to trucks from 6 A.M. to 6 P.M. on weekdays. Charges would apply for travel on interior surface streets south of 86th Street in Manhattan. Passenger vehicles traveling solely within the congestion zone would receive a 50 percent discount, paying $4 per day, while similarly situated trucks would pay $5.50 per day. Charges would not be imposed on drivers who are only using Manhattan's peripheral highways. Drivers coming into the congestion zone via a tolled bridge or tunnel who use E-ZPass would have the toll charges paid by them on the same day rebated back to their E-ZPass accounts. (Over 70 percent of bridge and tunnel charges are paid by E-ZPass). This would eliminate the current pricing distortion that leads some motorists to take a more circuitous route into and out of the city to avoid tolled crossings. Toll collection would utilize E-ZPass readers and license plate readers that are set up at entrances to and also throughout the congestion pricing zone.
The modified congestion pricing scheme that was approved by the commission will apply the charge only to inbound traffic that crosses 60th Street, and will exclude reverse commutes if drivers return after 6 PM on weekdays. The plan will not exempt vehicles using only Manhattan's peripheral highways, and will exempt from charges trips taking place entirely within the congestion charging zone. The modified scheme will also add a $1 taxi/livery surcharge for all trips that start or end in the zone during the congestion pricing hours, increase on-street parking meter rates, create a residential parking permit program, and eliminate the residential parking permit tax exemption within the zone. The modified plan requires significantly less charging infrastructure than the mayor's plan, reducing capital costs from $224 million to $73 million and annual operating costs from $229 million to $62 million, while increasing net revenue to support transit from $420 million to $491 million.
For motorists without E-ZPass tags, a License Plate Recognition (LPR) system, like those deployed in London and Stockholm, will use mounted digital cameras to photograph vehicle license plates. (All video images of vehicles will be discarded shortly after payment is verified.) Drivers will have an option to set up pre-paid accounts, or to pay within 48 hours of the end of the day the charge is incurred. Those who have not paid within that time period will be fined. Most drivers will be detected by the toll collection systems multiple times, but none will be charged more than once.
This cordon pricing system, along with the concurrent increases in transit services and implementation of other supporting strategies described below, is anticipated to reduce vehicle trips into and within the pricing zone by about 100,000, i.e., seven percent of the current 1.5 million daily total. Traffic speeds are also anticipated to increase by seven percent. Expected air quality benefits within the zone include a nine percent reduction in carbon monoxide, seven percent reduction in nitrogen oxides, and 12 percent reduction in volatile organic compounds.
New York City Project Map. Select map for a larger view.
Unlike in other places with underutilized transit capacity, New York's transit system is by far the most heavily used in the country, thus requiring substantial enhancements to accommodate drivers priced off the road. While subway enhancements are forthcoming, none will be on-line at the start of the pricing pilot, and thus bus and ferry improvements must be made in the shorter term. Specifically, 309 new buses and three new bus depots will be provided, along with a layup facility in or near Manhattan, convenient to the start of many bus routes. (This will avoid unnecessary dead-heading to outlying bus storage facilities). Major ferry service improvements will also be made, including new East River ferry service connecting Manhattan with Brooklyn and Queens beginning sometime in 2008.
Twenty-two neighborhoods with a high proportion of Manhattan-bound commuters driving to work are being targeted for more express and local bus service. The Manhattan Bridge, Williamsburg Bridge, and Queensboro Bridge will provide new priority for buses and other high-occupancy vehicles.
Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) will be implemented along five high-traffic corridors, one in each of the city's boroughs. BRT features will include distinctively-branded vehicles, dedicated bus lanes with enforcement cameras—installed above the lanes and inside buses—to help police keep them clear, transit signal priority (discussed below), fare collection—perhaps off-board—using MetroCard or other similar technology, and new and improved passenger shelters with real-time bus arrival information.
Other strategies that will be deployed to speed bus travel include additional left-hand turn signals at locations where left-turning buses are regularly delayed, more low-floor buses to expedite boarding, and queue bypass lanes to allow buses to proceed before others at congested signalized intersections.
Suburban express bus service and park-and-ride accommodations will be expanded, including 36 new Long Island buses, 22 new Metro-North buses, and two additional park-and-ride facilities. A New York State pilot will provide parking availability information to commuters.
Real-time traffic signal timing and transit signal priority are especially important strategies that rely on a number of the same technology upgrades. New York City's Traffic Management Center (TMC) can control more that half of the city's 12,000 signalized intersections, allowing signal adjustments reflective of actual traffic conditions. The plan is to extend such control to the remaining signals by making the required upgrades. About 2,000 of the already-upgraded signals are controlled by Advanced Solid-state Traffic Controllers (ASTCs), which are necessary for transit signal priority. In January 2007, the city initiated its first successful bus signal priority project, along Staten Island's busy Victory Boulevard. The city will install an additional 4,500 ASTCs within three years and will substantially increase the number of intersections where transit signal priority is deployed.
Significant pedestrian improvements will be made, especially near bus stops and intermodal stations. Emphasis will also be placed on ensuring safe walking routes with adequate sidewalks and safe crosswalks, extending at least one-quarter mile in each direction away from targeted bus stops and intermodal stations. Such improvements will be made in the vicinity of at least 15 bus stops annually, in addition to the areas surrounding 24 subway stations that will be undergoing similar pedestrian upgrades.
Finally, New York City's CommuterLink regional transportation management association will be targeting employers within the congestion pricing zone to encourage them to increase use by their employees of telecommuting, flex time, carpooling, and transit.
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