Report: Income Disparity Between Motorist, Mass Transit Commuter

A majority of the motorists who commute into Manhattan earn higher incomes than commuters who use mass transit, according to a new report that gives a boost to Mayor Bloomberg's congestion- pricing proposal.

More than a quarter of motorists who drive to work in Manhattan south of 86th Street arrive from New Jersey, according to the New York City Independent Budget Office. Another quarter depart from elsewhere in the state, including 8.2% from Nassau County and 6% from Westchester County. The findings refute criticism that Mr. Bloomberg's proposal to charge drivers $8 to enter Manhattan south of 86th Street during peak hours amounts to a regressive tax on low-income residents from Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens who don't live near mass transit.

The average yearly earnings of motorists is $75,523, 24% more than other commuters, the report said.

A spokesman for the advocacy group Environmental Defense, Neil Giacobbi, said the report highlights the need for congestion pricing. "This finally puts in writing from a credible, dependent source that people drive because they can afford to and that the rest of us take mass transit," Mr. Giacobbi said. "Congestion pricing would evenly distribute the cost of maintaining the transit system." Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, who serves on the Traffic Congestion Mitigation Commission, said the data proves that the city's plan is "regressive." Drivers who pay the toll for the George Washington Bridge could have the congestion fee completely offset, he said, depending on what the commission and Legislature ultimately decide.