NYC weighs driving charge to beat congestion

New York could become the first city in the United States where
drivers have to pay for the privilege of using the road.

Planners hope the pay-to-drive scheme would reduce Manhattan's
congestion and raise around $1.5bn in annual revenue.

But critics say the city's public transport needs to improve if the
plan is to work.

Nick Harper reports from New York.

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- natsound cars honking -
New Yorkers often find themselves on the road to nowhere fast.
Slow speeds, frequent stops, and crippling congestion are all part of
the Manhattan driving experience.
But a new congestion-charge aims to bring all of that to a stop.
Here's Professor Sarah Kaufman from the Rudin Center for
Transportation at New York University.

SOT - Kaufman
"I do think that charging for certain behavior will adjust that
behavior. Manhattan has one and half million people enter everyday,
which is a large number and it can not sustain a higher number of
people driving in by themselves."

The proposal recommends an $11 and a half dollar charge for cars and
$25 dollars for trucks. Which seems to make sense when you consider a
trip in a taxi through Manhattan's Midtown averages less than 8
kilometers an hour. Meaning people can walk almost as fast as they can
drive.

Forcing more people to take public transport, though, only makes sense
if the trains can take the strain.

Subway critics like Owen Gutfreund a professor of Urban Policy and
Planning at Hunter College says New York's aging infrastructure isn't
up the job.

SOT - Gutfreund
"Maintenance has fallen off. Repairing switches, repairing signals,
maintaining the fleet of cars. The nuts and bolts so to speak are
getting a little bit too loose."

Taxi takers and Uber users won't be exempt either, facing a surcharge
of between two and five dollars a ride.
One transportation expert has even suggested imposing a $50 fee on all
for-hire vehicles.
Singapore, London, and Stockholm have all introduced congestion pricing.
But despite these successes, there might be another roadblock to
bringing the scheme to the US.

SOT - Gutfreund
"All those are examples that we could learn from. Unfortunately
Americans don't like learning lessons from other people - they prefer
to to solve the problem on their own so to speak."

With Manhattan seemingly on the highway to hell, city's planners have
now come to a fork in the road - they need to decide if they want
congestion charging or just congestion.

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