On Demand
Cars to the Rescue
Monday, November 24, 2008
Frank Braconi, New York City Comptroller's Office chief economist, explains their proposal to use car registration fees to close the M.T.A.'s budget gap.
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so now more people will register their vehicles out of state
a situation that goes unenforced
why can't we put meters on every avenue and cross street in the city, and make people pay for the streets they use?
Why pass the cost on to Non-users of MTA services. There is something fundamentally unfair in this proposal. Shouldn't the cost be borne by those that use of the service.
Also, how would this NEW TAX affect the working poor. A new $400 tax seems excessive when countless numbers are losing their jobs.
Is there any exemption for hybrid cars in this proposal, or is it solely based on weight?
lets have scales at the toll booths, $1 per 100lbs
enough already. get the MTA books under control and begin to automate and get rid of the huge labor costs before feeding the beast more of our hard earned money.
- an unhappy transit rider
how much would a subway fare cost if riders bore completely the cost of the system?
what is the best way to get homerule for our city?
don't we pay the states bills already?
ride a bike-stop whining!
caller move out and take your cars with you.
i get though life without a car, believe it or not.
I have a car, and I think this is a brilliant proposal. I'm also for congestion pricing. First off, it doesn't "squeeze the middle class"--if you're so squeezed why'd you buy a Land Rover? There is public transportation available to everyone, no one in the middle class "needs" a car. We should ALL be using public transport, so of course us car drivers should subsidize it! Not fair? Maybe they should charge "pollution fees"--since by driving your car you're harming others by polluting the air they breathe. Fact is, car drivers in this country have been getting a free ride.
Secondly, another way for the city to raise money is to actually enforce traffic rules--ticketing for double parking (a huge factor in congestion). How about actually ticketing all those drivers who make right turns from the left lane? I often tell my out of town friends, the only traffic law in NYC is "Do whatever the fuck you want!"
10, if the caller moved out you would be paying the difference through your taxes or higher fares, so be careful what you wish for. At the end of the day someone needs to pay the subsidy and in the end it will always be the rider.
what a squandered opportunity to get into the true cost of operating private vehicles in this city. that caller from Queens set it up and Braconi completely missed it.
registration fee, tolled bridges, out-of-state registration fraud enforcement, non-subsidized street parking rates. we need all these things so we can get closer to bringing MTA fares down and improving service.
12 caller would be replaced by a real NYer
There are families with 2-3 cars in places like Statren Island and the counties surrounding NYC, because they have NO access to public transportation. How can one tax them many hundreds to a thousand dollars for a service they cannot use?
Bill Thompson HASN'T PAID TO BUY,USE OR MAINTAIN A CAR FOR DECADES. His vehicles and chauffeurs have been paid for by NYC taxpayers!Perhaps HE ought to pay back the free service he has received!
This is a dumb idea. Raise the gas tax. It spreads it out more and hits people with relatively smaller amounts more often.
The congestion pricing turned out to be about the MTA. Probably one reason it lost. Next time: a little honestly please Mr. Mayor.
mc
congestion pricing was about congestion, that goods and services can't move around the city because to many selfish able-bodied people are driving, alone in cars in midtown.
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