@legoktm Wow! If congestion pricing works in NYC, no city anywhere in the world has any excuse. In 10-20 years we may identify this is as the beginning of a urban revolution (though 20 years too late).
I'm glad Hochul reduced the prices to get it passed. Prices can easily be increased later, unlike other things like the border and the positioning of the cameras.
@legoktm In every city where congestion charges get implemented, there are always mistakes at the beginning, such as people accumulating hundreds of fines or accidentally unpaid charges. Every time that happens, the alarmistic headlines (and the real hurt) are a gift to the opposers. Starting with lower prices reduces the cost of mistakes. Of course there's also a risk that the price is too low for the benefits to become perceptible, but you only need sufficient inertia to keep it going.
@nemobis I'm optimistic too, the ball is really in the MTA's court now to actually use the $15 billion to improve transit.
Time will tell if Hochul made the right move; it was all already approved, she delayed it purely because of the Nov. election and to her credit, Dems picked up most of the winnable House seats. It's hard to tell if lowering the price afterwards actually assuaged any of the backlash, I haven't seen any evidence that it did.