New York can actually outdo Singapore here, by having rail transit and walkable streets as two additional prongs. It unfortunately is not in the position to imitate Hong Kong (or Portland) and have a strong urban growth boundary.

Every polluter has a reason to pollute. Truck drivers think that they need free access to publicly funded roads. Big business thinks that it needs to dump toxic waste in low-income communities in order to make a profit. Automakers think that they can’t profitably make 50 mpg cars. In every instance where a country or state regulated away this right to pollute, the polluters survived, and stayed in business.

Joe Schmo from Orange County is in the same category. His large-tract prefab single-story is an energy guzzler; it takes far more energy to heat or cool than a Manhattan condo with the same area. He drives long distances to work, dumping CO2 into the atmosphere. And his income depends on local commuters who drive to Manhattan and create asthma problems in Harlem that they never have to pay for.

I hope so.

It’s very simple: this increase in fees would penalize people who have no access to public transportation and no use for it. The purpose for charging a fee to enter Manhattan is that it is rife with transit options, and the funds would go to improve those options. Charging Joe Schmo for his pickup that he uses for work up in Orange County is completely unfair. He never goes to Manhattan and is miles away from public transit. It’s just simply not an option for him.

The purpose of congestion pricing was to get people out of their cars and onto public transit. Why would it be fair to charge this fee to people who are miles away from even a bus stop?

Charging more for registration might cut the rate of car ownership somewhat, for people who own a car or are thinking about buying one but could get by without one. But once you’ve paid the fee, there’s no incentive to drive less, much less an incentive to drive less in higher-traffic areas.

The way to cut down on driving is to charge people for driving.

Not mentioned above is that cars registered in New York can park in residential areas. Cars registered out of state can only park on commercial streets, or else risk a fine. This will prevent people from registering out of state in order to avoid the higher registration fee, and will make it easier for the actual residents of this state to find parking in their own area.

If the Richard Ravitch really emphasizes this idea when he releases his report, it can get passed. He can use the fare hike and service cut threats like a gun to our elected officials heads and force them approve this idea.