[nla]

Congestion pricing is manufactured to create a new tax class. First they let over 100k Ubers on the roads where there were only 32k taxis. Then they added bike lanes. Then they added two bus lanes. Then they closed streets. Then they added more bike lanes. Then they added 'floating islands. Then they added 'pedestrian walkways' in the street -- next to the sidewalks. Some avenues are down to one lane. Viola! Congestion. All of the money goes to the bankrupt MTA. The Democrat supermajority in NYS/NYC wins again.

[supplied_demand]

I see plenty of congestion when I drive in Texas, with its Republican supermajority. Surely, a few more lanes on the highway will fix it.

[gonzalohm]

Public services like public transport shouldn't be seen as for-profit entities. For some reason Americans don't seem to understand that

[abe_m]

But the current state of a lot of public transport being money losing entities indicates their costs are out of control. Public services shouldn't just help themselves to endless taxpayer money rather than put their house in order and provide value.

[xnx]

> Public services like public transport shouldn't be seen as for-profit entities.

This is fine, but it's a question of how much/little useful service should they provide for the money provided. Is $1 billion per mile of subway OK? Is $2 billion?

My radical idea would be to turn the subway right-of-way over to licensed or automated electric shuttle on-demand shuttle vans. There would be challenges for sure, but it's hard to do worse than the efficiencies some of these systems are operating at.

[socalgal2]

Arguably the best transportation system in the world is in Japan. It's made from ~100 private and mostly private companies. For some reason, tax and spenders never seem to understand that.

Set up the incentives right as demonstrated it can work. Coversely, public transporation will always have funding issues because there is no way to setup the insentives.

[dcow]

It’s pathetic how bad America has become at managing capitalism. Being able to profit is a privilege not some god given right. We as a society, instead of making all these silly little taxes and regulations, should simple make broad and curt decisions on when profiting is and isn't allowed. The two big problems are using public funds to fuel profits, and profiting off of conflicts of interest (healthcare).

[unnamed76ri]

The issue is that they consistently lose money and people who will never make use of them have to subsidize it.

A great example is Pennsylvania where they privatized the turnpike but as part of that deal, the turnpike had to pay half a billion a year for 20 years to fund public transit in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. So tolls I paid that should have gone to improve the turnpike were instead used as a form of price controls to keep people happy in the cities.

[meagher]

Bike lanes and safety improvements for pedestrians aren’t causing congestion. Check out the data!

Here are some good jumping off points: - https://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/bicyclists/bikestats.shtml - https://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/pr2025/vision-zero.shtml - https://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/pedestrians/pedestrians.sh...

[nla]

https://x.com/RezaC1/status/1828199918114140247

[donohoe]

Reducing the avenues and prioritizing people over cars is a solid approach that has greatly improved the lives of people in those neighborhoods.

[nla]

Really? Which neighborhoods are those? What area of NYC do you live in?

[gruez]

You're trying to make all those things sound bad but if you think about it they really aren't.

>First they let over 100k Ubers on the roads where there were only 32k taxis

Was the old medallion system where you needed to pay $1M+ to join the taxi cartel really any better?

>Then they added bike lanes. Then they added two bus lanes.

What's the issue here? Sure, it screws over drivers, but buses and bikes are far more space efficient than cars, so it likely increases throughput in people terms.

[Spooky23]

Please. I grew up in Manhattan and Queens and have spent 75% of my life there. It was even more congested in the 80s and 90s.

The big innovation of congestion pricing is that it demonstrates is that miserable Long Islanders would rather endure their way through Manhattan than pay the toll and the trip across the Verrazano or Throgs Neck.

End of the day, NYC is changing whether you like it or not. The people living there want a voice in it, after being stuck behind the wants and desires of New Jersey and Long Island. As the populations of office workers continues to shrink, so too will prioritization of their needs.

[khold_stare]

Except for the Ubers, everything you listed that was added, moves more people than cars do. Public transit, bike lanes, walkable areas provide viable alternatives methods of transit so you no longer need to use a car. And those cars have huge costs to residents - noise, pollution - that they dont pay for. Congestion pricing literally is a price to pay if you refuse to use anything else that is more efficient in a dense city.

Also your comment on the "Bankrupt MTA". Public transit is just that - PUBLIC transit. It is not supposed to make a profit, the same way highways for cars are a public good. When is the last time you complained that your taxes are too high because of all the road maintenance? Those damn highways better make a profit!

Look at the data before you gobble up right-wing misinformation. Do you even live in NYC?

[PaulHoule]

In New York in particular the density is so high that it's completely impossible that everyone who works in Manhattan could drive in. I mean, you could demolish half of it and build highways and parking lots and then maybe you could drive in but you'd lose the benefits of it being a city built up high.

[nla]

I am a police officer here and live in Manhattan. Clearly you have non idea what you are talking about.