New Jersey commuters fear 'double tax' with New York's congestion pricing plan
FORT LEE, New Jersey (WABC) -- With the deadline looming to pass the New York State budget, commuters across the Hudson worry how congestion pricing will affect their wallets.
Congestion pricing, the plan to toll drivers below 60th Street in Manhattan to pay for New York City's crumbling subway system, is a hot button issue -- especially for New Jersey residents, who fear they might be "double taxed" and "double tolled."
Under the current plan, those who commute into the city through the Holland and Lincoln tunnels would have the cost of congestion pricing deducted from the one-way $15 toll. The congestion price is another $11 for vehicles.
Those who cross the George Washington Bridge, however, would not be exempt, and that could be a problem.
Forty-three million cars cross the GWB every year, and even though not all head into the city, plenty of commuters do, and that's why New Jersey lawmakers are concerned.
"It looks like the Holland and Lincoln tunnel will be included, but the George Washington Bridge will not be, and that's unacceptable," said New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy. "That's double taxation, which we can't envision, so that needs to be included, and I hope somewhere in here, when they whack all this money up, that there's some of it that gets invested to relieve the burden that New Jersey commuters have."
New York State expects to raise $1 billion a year for the MTA with congestion pricing. The budget is slated to be finalized by Monday.
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