Earlier this week, Governor Cuomo announced during his annual budget presentation that the FixNYC advisory panel will be releasing their recommendation regarding congestion pricing by the end of this week.
Below are four important things you need to know about congestion and subways in New York City.
- The subways are in rough shape, and the MTA says it will take 50 years to fix them.
Subway delays are costing commuters over $850K PER DAY in lost time, or $359 million per year. Delays have gotten significantly worse over past five years. (NYC Comptroller’s Office)
2. Congestion is getting worse too.
Traffic speeds in Manhattan south of 60th Street have fallen 12% between 2010 and 2015. It is now literally faster to bike than to drive for many trips in Midtown. (NYCDOT)
People who work in Queens and Manhattan are hardest hit by traffic delays, costing the average commuter between $1,500 to $1,900 a year. (PFNYC)
3. All of this congestion is caused by relatively few people.
Just four percent of outer-borough working residents commute to jobs in Manhattan by car. 56% rely on mass transit to get to jobs in Manhattan, other boroughs or outside the City. Of the 4% who do drive, they tend to be middle or higher income. (CSS)
4. We can fix it.
Governor Cuomo convened the FixNYC panel to get experts to weigh in on solutions that could help fix the subways and reduce congestion. The recommendations of this panel will be released later this week.
RPA supports a solution like the one MoveNY has been advancing, one that will create a sustainable, dedicated revenue stream for transit, be fair to people who need to drive, those who drive for a living and the small businesses that depend upon them, and that meaningfully reduces traffic congestion in the core parts of New York City.
We hope that the Governor’s plan will be equally bold and impactful and be advanced quickly. New Yorkers need and deserve better transit and less congestion, so that we can keep both the regional economy and our own individual lives moving forward.