• @disguy_ovahea
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    1 month ago

    Some people may be inclined to go up and over Central Park to get to the other side without paying the $9. That likely only affects uptown residents. I can’t imagine anyone driving around the park from midtown to avoid the fee.

    The only legitimate concerns I’ve read are from contractors with tools and small businesses who deliver. They should be offered exceptions if walking or mass transit are unrealistic options. You’re not riding the subway with acetylene tanks or delivering fresh meat on Metro North. Other than that, I love it.

    • @[email protected]
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      281 month ago

      The other concern I’ve heard, and has not been brought up in this thread yet, is the lobbying influence from rideshare companies to pass the congestion laws.

      It’s arguable that ride share vehicles are a better traffic density alternative to single rider personal vehicles, but there are pretty clear downsides to consider as well.

      Source:

      https://nypost.com/2025/01/04/us-news/uber-lyft-spent-millions-pushing-for-nyc-congestion-pricing-and-stand-to-make-killing/

      • @[email protected]
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        411 month ago

        You can be self interested and still accidentally be on the right side of an issue. It doesn’t spark joy, but I’m not going to throw the baby out with the bathwater on this. It’s still a win, imo.

    • @Hawke
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      261 month ago

      They should be offered exceptions if walking or mass transit are unrealistic options.

      No they shouldn’t. That’s how you let rich people skirt the law.

      Tradespeople should just treat it like any other business expense. Eat it or raise your rates a little bit.

      • @Railing5132
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        1 month ago

        eat it

        They never do

        a little bit

        It’s never a little, and we all bitch about inflation.

        There’s never a simple solution.

        • @Hawke
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          61 month ago

          They sometimes do, at least temporarily. But yes on the whole I agree. I can almost guarantee that it’s a net benefit, that the time saved by traffic reduction makes up for the additional cost in congestion charges

    • Billiam
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      1 month ago

      The only legitimate concerns I’ve read are from contractors with tools and small businesses who deliver.

      Maybe, but anecdotally the lighter traffic allows contractors to accomplish more jobs per day because they spend less time in traffic, which more than offsets the congestion charge.

      Going from three hours per day in traffic down to even just two means there’s an extra hour a contractor has available to make money each day.

    • Justin
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      111 month ago

      sure, but you can also deliver those with lighter vehicles that don’t cause traffic. Congestion is congestion.

      • @lewdian69
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        181 month ago

        I’m confused. How will I deliver 15 pounds of Trump skirt Steaks if I can’t drive my lifted Ram 3500 Heavy Duty with the high-output Cummins Turbo Diesel engine in downtown Manhattan?

    • @nandeEbisu
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      91 month ago

      Construction firms make a ton of money in NYC, they can handle it, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone delivering food from a car in the city, they all use bikes.

      • @disguy_ovahea
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        31 month ago

        Commercial deliveries, not consumer. Every pizza joint needs flour, cheese, and tomatoes.

        • @nandeEbisu
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          51 month ago

          We’ll see how it plays out. I could see less traffic meaning you can make more deliveries in a day, I figure one extra commercial delivery more than makes up for $10 extra.

          • @disguy_ovahea
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            11 month ago

            Possibly. It may disproportionately impact eateries with more diverse menus or foods with shorter shelf life. Time will tell.

            • @nandeEbisu
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              11 month ago

              Eh, it’s NYC food is already super diverse. There’s fairly established infrastructure for niche food products. If that truck needs a single restaurant to eat that $10, they were probably already paying an arm and a leg for that delivery.

    • @blazeknave
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      31 month ago

      I’ve paid more just to go through the park lol