The Christmas Wish to End to Congestion Pricing has not Come True

Bad Policies of NYC have effects on Connecticut and What Can We Learn?

On January 5th, New York City is set to unveil congestion pricing once again. This plan was previously stopped by court orders and a political decision by Governor Hochul until after the election. Meanwhile, MTA ridership is declining due to public safety fears, and a woman was just set on fire and killed on the subway by an illegal.

Image - NY Post

The public solution to deficits cannot be taxation or increased fares. The MTA has a public-safety issue and the system must be revitalized by making it safe and attract riders that can use the system. This death and the lengthy court case of Daniel Penny and the chilling effect to the Good Samaritan only make this worse.

What is different from the Old Proposal and How is it supposed to help?

The new proposal has reduced rates than before (including off-peak discounts) and is set to increase with potential gridlock premiums on gridlock days.

Where is the real congestion coming from?

Anyone who spends any time in NYC knows that the majority of congestion is caused by:

1. Increased deliveries and double parked delivery trucks, (sometimes on both sides of the street)

2. Wonderful bike lanes that are not used for the majority of the day

3. Too many non-Taxi For Hire Vehicles operating under Lyft, Uber etc.

While New York City attempted to create this Bike Lane mecca, it has proved to be more cumbersome than intended. Bike lanes are rarely used and many ride against traffic which increases the likelihood of injury more than 5 times as riding with traffic.

The On-Demand Lifestyle is a Major Factor of Congestion

As a result of Covid and an on-demand society that has been perpetuated by online retailers like Amazon, Fresh-Direct, Instacart along with the use of other on-demand deliveries by Uber and other “messenger” services,” congestion is at an all-time high. The convenience has become the inconvenient truth. Congestion fees are just another “convenience fee” that will be passed along to the consumer. City living is expensive and inflation is worse in the city as the general inflation of all goods purchased inside New York City is multiplied due to increased commercial rent and other bureaucracy.

Congestion pricing is just another cost that will be passed along to the consumer and makes New York City even more unfordable than it is. Not all workers can pass on this to their employers so many workers and independent contractors will struggle to internalize these fees of approximately $45 per week.

Connecticut is not Immune to Congestion Pricing

Congestion pricing is not limited to transportation and is already in energy delivery of electricity in the Public Benefits portion of your utility bill. Remember that most bad things that happen in New York usually come to Connecticut. It is only a matter of time that toll proposals and other transit fees are proposed. In cities like Stamford, the urban sprawl without addressing the congestion is bringing the city to a standstill at rush hour. One-Lane roads to skyscrapers of Harbor Point and the the growth of residential communities of Stamford will only make this problem worse. The HOV lanes are an attempted solution but how many really have “commuting buddies” to carpool. It is entirely possible to see that the use of an HOV lane by a single driver will become available for a fee.

What are the Alternatives to Congestion Pricing and Sticking it to the Average Consumer?

Former NYC Mayor Bill DeBlasio started to put in place proposals to incentivize and encourage overnight deliveries back in 2019. This was a genius idea to reduce congestion by promoting off-peak deliveries when there were fewer deliveries than there are now. If only this was really focused, promoted and implemented this situation might have improved. Most commercial garbage is picked up at night. Why can’t more action happen at night in the city that never sleeps or in many places?

In 2024, the New York City DOT offered up to $6 million in incentives to help businesses change their deliveries to off hours. A very small incentive. This should be significantly higher coupled with incentives for consumers and businesses to change their behavior to alleviate congestion. New Yorkers receive 2 million Amazon orders per day.

Rather than imposing, absurd, congestion, pricing, which will not increase the use of mass transit for most coming from outer boroughs and northern New Jersey and Connecticut, New York City should have exhausted alternatives to improve the lives of those that contribute to the economic system of New York. Such congestion pricing may continue to cause a further exodus from the Big Apple and encourage businesses to relocate outside of Manhattan. This could be a positive for Connecticut if managed correctly.

Maximizing the use of 24-hour buildings

As an alternative, the city should have expanded this off hours deliveries for all Amazon and other commercial and retail and consumer deliveries that can be received by Doorman on off hours. Usually these shifts are quiet and would provide additional work to be done on the night shift; it would reduce the likelihood of “napping” on the job.

While not all buildings have overnight doorman or security, most commercial buildings do and almost all commercial construction and repairs are done at night. This is a standard construction practice that is built into pricing projects without the need for “congestion pricing.” Commercial construction is done at night or after 5pm as businesses that pay exorbitant rent do not want to be inconvenienced.

Why Regulation is not the Answer?

Any modern regulatory framework in this country is reactive and not pro-active. Congestion pricing is the latest disaster; it is another regulatory burden with no understanding of the economic impact to fund a poorly managed commuter railroad and subway system. This includes residents of Connecticut that earn their income in New York and are forced to commute by car as there are no great alternatives, especially in areas where there is limited to no Metro North service. There are also those who are afraid to use mass transit due to the increased crime and unreliability.

Connecticut is a state that typically follows the lead of some of the worst policies across the country. Connecticut residents are currently facing a plethora of environmental “Green initiatives“ primarily originating out of California. In particular, the quiet yards campaigns throughout the state that mandate an immediate transition to electric backpack blowers . Let’s call it what it really is - Too Many Zoom calls for those fortunate to have the luxury of a work from home schedule and their inability to purchase noise cancelling headphones.

In addition, the Eversource conundrum continues with all of these green incentives being subsidized by retail utility payers. Up to 30 percent of residential bills are for “public benefits charges” and this is now to pay for their incessant marketing of these programs. Consumers are not to subsidize the utility company and these charges do not benefit the public. Congestion pricing definitely will not benefit the public.

Amazon in Connecticut

Amazon is one of Connecticut's biggest private employers with more than 17,000 employees. It has aggressively expanded to offer same-day deliveries. If not managed properly, this will only add to the congestion issues that plague our roads.

How the Technology of NYC may be Used in Connecticut?

So what does this all have to do with Connecticut? The technology of congestion pricing is license plate readers and EZ-Pass technology. While the roads of Connecticut are awful, especially after Covid, CT could easily put tolls on the roads to raise revenues and “reduce” congestion with no reduction. It is important to see the writing on the wall and write your legislators on the state and federal level to seek improvements to our roads and mass transit.

It is also time to learn from the mistakes of our New York neighbors and not repeat them which is what tends to be done here in the Constitution and soon to be the Congestion State.

Thank you for your continued support. Please subscribe and spread the word.

Dr. Michael Goldstein & Jonathan Goldstein

The father-son team continues on so please spread the word and lets really rebuild CT together in a meaningful way.