cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/29428294

The first congestion charge scheme for vehicles in the US has come into effect in New York.

Car drivers will pay up to $9 (£7) a day, with varying rates for other vehicles.

Archived version: https://web.archive.org/web/20250105121822/https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjr2wn3zvqvo

SpinScore: https://spinscore.io/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fnews%2Farticles%2Fcjr2wn3zvqvo

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[–] 19 points 2 years ago

Great article basically repeating all the republican talking points. Not biased at all.

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  • [–] 16 points 2 years ago

    Awesome! Looking forward to more American cities joining

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  • [+] -54 points 2 years ago (7 children)

    fuck this

    ultimately people that are not able to pay will have travel restricted further than high cost of owning a vehicle does and trapped citizens will not equal democracy when only the privileged get to travel

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  • [–] 37 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Traffic is a travel restriction.

    According to Google Maps during rush hour a car can take 24 minutes to 55 minutes, with an average of 45 minutes to go from Battery Park to Central Park.

    It takes less than 2 hours walking from Battery Park to Central Park. Note, this is a slow walk.

    Biking takes less than 36 minutes for the same distance. Note, this is for a leisure bike ride.

    Cars are also a major air, and noise polluter. On top of that cars also kill and injure people.

    If you think about it, cars restrict travel of people in Manhattan than anyone else.

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  • [–] 20 points 2 years ago

    Of the many things that can be publicly subsidised and made available to the public at large, car travel to one of the densest areas of the country might not be one of the most worthy.

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  • [–] 18 points 2 years ago

    There are discounts and tax credits for those with low income who live in the area, and exemptions for people with medical conditions that prevent them from using public transit source.

    Street parking in NYC is $9 an hour, and long term parking garages typically charge like $400 per month. If you’re driving in NYC the $9 per day congestion pricing isn’t going to be the thing that makes it unaffordable.

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  • [–] 14 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    Oh no!

    I wonder how every other large city fixed this issue?

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  • [–] 11 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Another commenter shared Tokyo, and I can explain what they did:

    1. Tokyo as a whole made it extremely difficult to own cars. To own one, you need to prove to the government that you have a dedicated parking space. There's also a high tax on it and on insurance premiums. My Japanese friend told me how his family used to car share with the entire neighborhood. Uncertain if this is a Tokyo thing.

    2. Public transportation is ridiculous. You are always about a 10 minute walk to a subway or bus.

    3. Highways are underground, which encourages cars to get out of the street level.

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  • [–] 5 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Public transportation is ridiculous. You are always about a 10 minute walk to a subway or bus.

    Wait is this not normal? Because I'm pretty sure this is how it is in my third world country.

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  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago

    Reflecting on this, I've been to maybe a dozen cities in the US and this is "technically true" too.

    Maybe what I want to say is convenience. In Tokyo, you might take 1-2 trains routes, tops, to get anywhere. Then it's also a very pleasant walk to get to your destination.

    Where In Seattle, Philadelphia, Austin, and New York, those cities have a lot of routes. But then you're walking in some sketchy places, or it's next to a highway or wide open parking lots. Some cities don't even have good routes. Like my city, to get from 20th Street to 100th street, I have to ride to the hub on 1st street, to then take another bus. It's like an L-shape.

    Maybe those cities aren't big enough. Kyoto, imo, also would fail my convenience test. Where Osaka, another major city, would pass it.

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  • [+] -10 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    By not having 15 million citizens in one city?

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  • [–] 10 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Have you ever heard of Tokyo?

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