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New York plans US’ first ever congestion charge

Andrew Cuomo, the mayor of New York City, has announced that the city’s budget for the 2020 fiscal year will include America’s first congestion charge.

Electronic tolling devices will be installed on the perimeter of the city’s central business district, south of 60th Street in Manhattan. The Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (TBTA), a subsidiary of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), will create, operate, and maintain the system.

The TBTA will also found a six-member Traffic Mobility Review Board that will advise on tolls, exemptions, and credits for the congestion charge, but the mayor’s office note that the TBTA will have the final say.

Tolls will be variable and passenger vehicles will be charged only once per day. They will not be implemented before 31 December, 2020.

The MTA predicts that the congestion charge will produce around $15bn, which will go towards its capital needs.

Image: Manhattan (King of Hearts/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 3.0)

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