Comments on: MTA bigwigs begin fare hike push

By: Boris

Boris — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 03:52:48 +0000

Hehe, I’m not sure if we agree or disagree here. You are right about the SIR and the ferry, but the idea was to align these services with the “one city, one fare” strategy. They are free the same way bus-to-subway transfers are free. Like most other transit services in NYC, they are oriented towards commuters who sooner or later pay the $2 fare. I didn’t grow up on the Island, but I suppose that those who did may find some use for free local travel on the SIR.

A sort of reverse congestion pricing plan of free riding into Manhattan but paying if you want to go around it is, certainly, a problem.

Local travel by car is not completely free because of the gas tax.

By: Alon Levy

Alon Levy — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 17:56:08 +0000

Staten Islanders are also the only NYC residents who have free public transit, in the form of the Staten Island Railway (free unless you exit at St. George) and the Staten Island Ferry. As for the Verrazano, if I remember correctly it was Staten Island politicians who lobbied for moving the toll gates from Staten Island to Brooklyn.

Even car use is untaxed, except at some bridges. This isn’t just for Staten Islanders: the most egregious free ride for drivers is the Harlem River bridges, which ensure people from Westchester can drive into Manhattan and pollute Harlem without paying. And of course, local travel by car is completely free, despite the significant externalities involved.

By: Boris

Boris — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 15:35:05 +0000

Do you mean to say I only have to pay for the Verrazano when I return from Manhattan? This is true, but it is considered a two-way toll- one I can’t avoid, unlike those who only use Staten Island to get to other places. (They would take the Verrazano in the free direction and then return through Manhattan, also for free).

Staten Islanders are the only NYC residents who can’t drive to (and return from) another borough for free. Yet we have the fewest public transportation options! As currently implemented, strategies of charging cars for the purpose of funding public transit do not benefit Staten Island residents. Basically, Staten Islanders are lumped together with the “foreigners” (albeit we pay a lower rate) who are made to pay to support other peoples’ public transit.

By: Alon Levy

Alon Levy — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 23:30:44 +0000

Excuse me, Boris, but the entire ride of a Staten Island driver to Manhattan is free, except for one bridge.

By: River Ave. Blues | NY pols bemoan stadium subsidies

River Ave. Blues | NY pols bemoan stadium subsidies — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 18:43:16 +0000

[...] while I’m no fan of Richard Brodsky or Hakeem Jeffries, these two Assemblymen are right to question the Yankee Stadium funding plans. [...]

By: Boris

Boris — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 15:34:42 +0000

How quickly we forget. Congestion pricing was advertised as the source of money for NEW transit improvements, not as filler for budget gaps. This is exactly what would have happened if congestion pricing was passed- the money would simply be used to pad existing projects and justify the continuous MTA inefficiences and waste. The long term outcome would be the same as with bridge tolls for Staten Island residents- we pay, and the MTA subsidizes Metro-North rides for Wall Street executives from Connecticut.

By: R2

R2 — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 19:18:04 +0000

Brodsky, Shelly……I’m watching you! Will you cough up the dough, especially after killing congestion pricing.

The next fare hike will have your names written all over it.

By: Todd

Todd — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 16:57:06 +0000

Now, MTA haters will be quick to unleash familiar refrains: The MTA has no budget accountability; the MTA has no idea how to balance its books. And while I’m not usually one to leap to the MTA’s rescue, it’s clear from Sander’s testimony that this was a largely unexpected fiscal problem (and one that could have been averted through congestion pricing).

You stole my thunder and then eliminated it with logic.

Nuts.