Good evening, my name is Tiffany-Ann Taylor and I am the Vice President for Transportation at the Regional Plan Association, also known as RPA. The RPA is a longtime supporter of congestion pricing because we have always recognized the regional benefits to everyone–. cleaner air; consistent and dedicated funding for public transit; and less congestion for those who choose to drive.

While the system is large and operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week–substantial financial investments are still needed to keep it sustainable and accessible well into the future. Without this additional financing, many important projects are at risk: Electric buses and upgrades to bus depots needed to improve air quality in environmental justice neighborhoods; new rail cars for LIRR and Metro-North; vital subway signal improvement projects that would benefit millions of riders, and upgrading elevator access at many subway stations across the city are threatened without this pivotal funding source for the MTA capital program.

RPA supports the recommendations for congestion pricing as put forth by the TMRB and agree with the following:

• Buses providing transit or commuter services to the CBD should be exempt

• For-hire vehicles and taxis should be tolled on a per-trip basis (so as not to place additional burden on drivers)

• Other than those groups listed in the TMRB’s recommendations, no other groups should be exempted from the toll

• Trucks should should be charged a toll according to their size; and;

• While we appreciate the TMRB’s recommendations for credits at various crossings, RPA advocates, to the extent possible, for equalized tolling at all crossings into the CBD to prevent toll shopping.

As the program is implemented, we also advocate for data transparency and accessibility so that the public can understand the details of the program to better support future advocacy.

The time has come for New York City to be the first in the nation to implement this policy.

Thank you.