New York City Faces a Transit Crisis

Why New York needs congestion pricing

What makes New York City such a wonderful to live? Partly its transit system. With the most extensive network in the country, the city offers inexpensive travel throughout the city.

Its buses and subways are the life-blood of the region’s economy, providing unmatched access to jobs and business opportunities.

Transit needs to handle one million more people

New York’s remarkable transit system is in peril. In the next 25 years, nearly one million more people will be living in New York City – nearly two times the population of Boston! The good news is that this growth will boost the region’s economy.

The bad news is that New York’s transit system will become even more stressed and overcrowded. Specifically, what's needed are:

• New transit investment. The transit system is already outdated and it will only get worse without long-term transit projects to accommodate New York’s alarming growth rates. If steps are not taken now to invest in an improved transit network, New York’s transit system could return to the dilapidated and unreliable conditions of past decades.
• Dedicated revenue source. The city and state face a $30 billion shortfall in the money needed to fund their long-term transit project goals. In today’s uncertain economy, New York may not be able to finance transit improvements without a new, dedicated funding stream.

New York faces an environmental crisis

As New York’s population booms, traffic volume in the city and surrounding suburbs is expected to grow more than 25 percent by 2030. What will this mean?

More pollution that harms our health and threatens our planet from global warming. New York is already is home to some of the worst air quality in the nation. Consider these facts:

• In some New York neighborhoods, asthma rates are more than four times above average.
• The city's total carbon emissions are more than Switzerland's, and a large fraction of the total comes from vehicles.
• Idling cars stuck in traffic can pollute up to three times as much as moving cars. This is especially worrisome for neighborhoods where stop-and-go congestion is expected to double within 10 years.
• Automobile pollution contributes to more than 80 percent of New Yorkers’ cancer risk and causes a variety of health problems that threaten our children and add to rising healthcare costs.
• More than 2 million city residents live in air pollution risk zones caused by traffic congestion on busy roads. In California it is actually illegal to place a school within the risk zone near a busy road. Although New York can’t move its homes and schools, it can find ways to reduce traffic.

New York faces an economic crisis

At a time of economic uncertainty, finding ways to encourage business in New York is vital to the city’s future. One easy solution is to improve the efficiency of our roads by reducing traffic congestion. Relieving congestion will also relieve many of the high costs it brings to the regional economy, including:

• Lost revenue. Congestion brings slow deliveries and fewer customer visits. For example, drivers in the service and repair industry are estimated to make at least one less trip per day due to congestion.
• Wasted fuel.  Trucks and cars stuck in traffic waste fuel, leading to higher gas bills and more air pollution.
• Wasted time. Spending time stuck in traffic is a wasteful drag on both small and large businesses, many of which are paying employees to sit in traffic.
• Unreliable transit. Transit is the best way to bring jobs to New York’s economy as more buses and subways provide working citizens with affordable commutes in the region’s core. Congested bus routes and lack of transit funding will only prevent people from getting to work.

More Information

• Transit: The Life-Blood of New York City
  
• Smart Options to Fund NYC's Transit System
• Four Ways New Yorkers Would Benefit From Congestion Pricing 

Posted: 17-Sep-2008; Updated: 20-Nov-2008