Brooklyn — Assemblymember Robert Carroll (D/WF-44) submitted a letter from himself and colleagues in the State Legislature - Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon, Assemblymember Emily Gallagher, Assemblymember Phara Souffrant Forrest, and Senator Julia Salazar - to the Traffic Mobility Review Board (TMRB) in advance of the Board’s July 19 meeting calling on the Board to ensure that Uber and Lyft pay their fair share of congestion pricing tolls. The TMRB was created in April 2019 by New York State Law that established the framework for congestion pricing in New York City and will submit recommendations for the congestion pricing fee structure to the MTA Board. The letter recommends a significant increase in the $2.75 surcharge on trips by For Hire Vehicles (FHVs) that begin or enter Manhattan below 96th street to be paid by the passenger not the drivers. Companies like Uber and Lyft would pay the charge, but yellow cabs would be exempted. The full text of the letter is below:

Dear Chair Weisbrod:

We write to you as strong proponents of the Central Business District Tolling Program (congestion pricing) and look forward to doing our part to support the program’s successful implementation.However, we are concerned that the goals of the program - reduced traffic and with that a healthier and more livable city - may not be met unless the toll structure put in place addresses the proliferation of TNCs (Transportation Network Companies) like Uber and Lyft.

It is our understanding that the one of the conditions for approval of the program imposed by the Federal Highway Authority (FHWA) is that For Hire Vehicles (FHVs), including TNCs, will only have to the pay the surcharge to enter the congestion zone once a day. In 2022, over 52 million FHV rides started and ended in Manhattan below 60th Street, most of them Uber or Lyft and these trips are likely to continue to grow beyond the much higher pre-pandemic levels. It seems highly likely, that a once-per-day charge on TNCs will do nothing to deter their use. Worse, using this structure the fee will likely fall on the very working-class drivers that the FHWA cited needing to protect as the rationale for this element of the program. Our view is that taking an Uber from Tribeca to Central Park is a luxury and should be priced as such, and that both fairness and program viability depend on adopting a different approach to TNCs.

The solution is to replace the once-per-day fee with a significant increase to the current $2.75 surcharge on every FHV trip that begins in or enters Manhattan below 96th street, with the surcharge paid by the passenger, not the driver. For trips entering the zone the increased surcharge should be half of the peak toll that is set for entering the congestion zone and somewhat more than this for trips that begin and end in the zone, with discounts for both at night. We believe yellow cabs should be exempt from the new increase; cab drivers paid as much as $1 million each to the City to obtain medallions, but the value of those once coveted medallions was destroyed by the City's failure to properly anticipate, manage, and regulate the introduction of Uber and Lyft to City streets.

Concerns about worker dislocation should be taken with utmost seriousness during the shift to new policies and technologies, but we should not accept the argument that polluting industries be protected for the sake of preserving jobs and profits. If congestion pricing works and demand for TNCs softens a fast track for former TNC drivers could be created to work for the MTA.

Thank you to you and your fellow board members for taking on this work that is vitally important to the future of the City and the entire metropolitan region.