Private bus operators, including the Hampton Jitney, will be exempt from New York’s congestion pricing plan, according to an official with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The announcement comes just weeks after the company warned the new tolls would drive up prices.
Juliette Michaelson, the MTA’s deputy chief of policy and external relations, said in an emailed statement that certain “clarifications” will be included in Wednesday’s vote on whether to approve the tolling structure — one of which revolves around which buses are eligible for exemption.
Congestion pricing will charge motorists driving into Manhattan’s central business district — which runs south of 60th Street — an extra fee. The plan is the first of its kind in the U.S. and is intended to reduce traffic and boost ridership on the city’s public transportation system.
Vehicles that will be exempt include school buses contracted with the city’s Department of Education, commuter vans licensed with the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission and buses providing scheduled commuter services open to the public, Michaelson said. Also exempt are “specialized government vehicles” for city employees.
Transit agency officials expect to include the vote as part of its planned monthly board meeting on March 27. The MTA expects the tolling plan to bring in in $1 billion of revenue annually to help finance capital projects throughout the 100-year-old transit system.
The Hampton Jitney, which shuttles city residents to the Hamptons and Long Island’s North Fork, appealed to customers to lobby the MTA for an exemption from the toll last month. “We are asking for help from our ridership,” Geoffrey Lynch, Hampton Jitney’s president, wrote in an email asking riders to voice their support for an exemption.
The Jitney has the most business during the summer months, when its buses sell out days in advance as tourists and city residents escape to the sun and sand. The bus company has fewer customers during the winter months when it mostly serves commuters.
Skylar Woodhouse, Bloomberg , 2024-03-26 18:38:15
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