NEW YORK, NY March 31, 2008 —A city council committee has approved the mayor's proposal to charge drivers an 8 dollar fee to enter Manhattan below 60th Street, by a 6 to three vote. It now goes to the full council.

WNYC's Matthew Schuerman is joining us live.

Council Speaker Christine Quinn says amendments added to the congestion pricing legislation addressed many councilmembers' concerns. Those amendments include an exemption for disabled drivers, a fee offset for low income drivers, and plans to get the Port Authority to give the MTA one billion dollars over five years, to counter criticism that New Jersey drivers were not bearing any of the burden of congestion pricing. Under the bill, the congestion fee gets deducted from Hudson River tolls.