NY lawmakers ripped over push for $90M bus service expansion as $15 congestion pricing looms: ‘Covering their a—s’
A group of New York lawmakers demanded Thursday the state cough up $90 million to boost Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus services before the controversial $15 congestion pricing toll is finally rolled out — but critics raged they are already years too late.
The legislators, led by state Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-Queens) and Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani (D-Queens), issued the rallying cry for a cash injection from Albany as they launched a “Get Congestion Pricing Right” campaign — just months before the long-planned toll is supposed to launch.
Their proposal in part calls for $45 million to be set aside in this year’s state budget to help expand bus frequency ahead of drivers being charged the $15 fee to enter Midtown Manhattan south of 60th Street, possibly as early as mid-June.
Opponents of the toll quickly ripped the pols, arguing they were far too late in stepping up to ease the burden on commuters given the law to to impose the nation’s first congestion pricing fee system was approved back in 2019.
“They are covering their a—s. They are running for the hills,” Bill O’Riley, a rep for Keep New York City Congestion Tax Free, griped to The Post.
“They can’t hide from this tax,” he continued, adding that the lawmakers were now just trying to desperately appease furious constituents in an election year.
“The legislators are going into election season and are freaking out,” O’Riley said. “They’re throwing spaghetti at the wall.”
Gianaris, who was among the legislators to approve the contentious plan four years ago, admitted that expanding bus services into Midtown should have been considered much earlier.
“It should have been done sooner. We’re doing it as fast as we can now,” Gianaris said Thursday when probed by The Post about the new funding ask.
“I think the MTA has been grossly underfunded for decades and that’s part of why last year we had success in bailing them out and filling their budget hole.”
In addition to expanding bus frequency, the “Get Congestion Pricing Right” campaign calls for a $45 million infusion to triple the amount of free buses across the five boroughs under the MTA’s existing fare-free pilot program.
“We set up a free bus pilot program, one per borough, it has been a smashing success — ridership has increased over 20% on those lines,” Mamdani said.
“What we’re trying to do now is expand on that and provide better service and reliability on the other routes throughout the city,” he continued.
Here's everything we know about the NYC congestion pricing plan
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s new pricing plan that would charge drivers a minimum of $15 to enter Midtown Manhattan was set to start at the end of June, according to reports.
The MTA argued that the additional toll was aimed at curbing and easing peak-day congestion in Manhattan. The controversial plan would raise about $1 billion per year that would fund major upgrades to subways, commuter railroads and bus systems.
How much would drivers be charged?
- Passenger vehicles: $15
- Motorcycles: $7.50
- Taxis: $1.25 per ride
- Small trucks: $25
- Large trucks: $35
- Uber, Lyft, other ride-shares: $2.50 per ride
Major highways, including the FDR Drive and the West Side Highway, were to be exempt from the toll, but drivers would be charged if they exited onto a street in NYC’s central business district below 60th Street.
The rush-hour rates would be in place from 5 a.m. and 9 p.m. weekdays, according to reports. During non-peak hours, the toll would be about $3.75 for a car. On weekends, the full rate would be charged between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m.
“We know that we need this to be transformative for all New Yorkers. We’re proposing an amount of money that would do so across local, select and express bus lines as well as fare free routes.”
Transport Workers Union sources, though, warned of possible bus driver shortages if the services were drastically increased ahead of the congestion pricing rollout — given it takes between two to four months to adequately train drivers.
Mamdani insisted the cash investments could be made with the MTA’s “existing stock of buses and existing number of operators.”
“This is about ensuring we put more money towards ensuring more buses are running — buses we already have,” he said.
The push for the funding boost comes just days after a lawyer for the MTA revealed the toll could start as soon as mid-June after facing years of delays and a slew of lawsuits, including from New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, the teachers’ union and 18 New York lawmakers.
The timeline was laid bare in a New Jersey federal court during a hearing in the Garden State’s suit attempting to block the plan.
MTA chairman Janno Lieber had earlier said he was hopeful the agency could start charging drivers the toll in May.
Additional reporting by Nolan Hicks
