Some City Vehicles Could Pay Fees
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
Many city government vehicles would be charged congestion pricing fees under the plan being considered in Albany, meaning New York would essentially be paying itself for transit improvements every time a city-owned car passed through Manhattan below 60th Street.
The city owns and operates about 29,000 vehicles, according to the Mayor’s Management Report. Among the agency vehicles that would be exempted under the bill that passed the City Council by a 30-20 vote are school buses, emergency vehicles, sanitation vehicles, and vehicles related to safety inspections, traffic, or parking control. Other vehicles would have to pay $8 between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. on weekdays.
New Yorkers who don’t work for city agencies that get a free pass to enter the congestion pricing zone might look to lower their fees by hopping onto a Vespa. Mopeds and motorcycles would be charged only $4 under the mayor’s congestion pricing plan.
