Someone should tell these people about gasoline (or electricity) if they think “having to pay to use your car” is an insane notion.
I asked Google and told me that’s like one mile distance.
This fucker is serious that he has no other way of traveling that then by car?
I bet taking the car actually takes longer if there’s any traffic at all.
Driving in Manhattan is for truck deliveries and taxis only.
If you try to drive a car from point to point in Manhattan, you’re an asshole.
25 years ago, I felt safer riding a bicycle in Manhattan than I did in Boston…
That goes for every densely populated city. In Europe we have similar problems and still there are those SUV Assholes driving their cars in areas even delivery vehicles fear to enter. (Imagine Roads made for horse carriages… they are now one way and barely fit those dick extensions)
Car owner.
What I’ve read says that you aren’t charged unless you cross the boundary. If you reside inside the zone and never leave and enter again, you won’t be charged a toll.
Even better, he’s north of the boundary. It ends at 60th st.
I think his complaint is that he lives outside the boundary (on 61st at 5th) but that because of one way streets he is forced into the tolled area even if he wants to go the other way.
Congestion fees are a very capitalist way of solving it. This law basically exists for everyone except rich people (i,e. Those who can afford to pay fees).
All this is based on a false assumption that money has an objective value. But in reality, 1$ means different things for different classes.
According to Wikipedia “Low-income residents receive a 50 percent discount on daytime tolls after their first ten trips into the congestion zone in a calendar month”. So to some extent the system does take your concern into account.
Well it pretends to but no system like that will equalise it.
Do the same as we do with fines, based on income.
So that the congestion charge for a billionaire is also actually significant. Enough for then to reconsider using a car.
Billionaires using cars aren’t the ones causing congestion though, there just aren’t enough of them
No, but it’s tied to your income, so it doesn’t matter what you make. Poor people should have it practically for free (but still for a small nominal fee) as they’re often completely broke. Someone making an average salary should pay an average sum, a wealthy person should pay more and an ultrawealthy person should pay even more.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jun/06/finnish-businessman-hit-with-121000-speeding-fine
That’s one of the world’s largest speeding fines, and that guy isn’t actually even that rich. Like he’s barely in double digit millions. That’s honestly not that rich on a global scale.
I tried looking for someone with “just” ten times the estimated net worth, so someone worth 100 million. But top 25 richest hollywood actors and #25 is still 170 million. When the fines grow progressively, then those people would pay something like 4-5 million in a fine, probably.
Like when you get a fine of any sorts, unless it’s for a very basic infraction, it’s going to be day fines. So if you commit an infraction that you don’t go to prison for or get probation, you’ll have day fines. A day fine is equal to roughly your daily income. You can get 1-120 dayfines for an infraction and if you’re getting multiple infractions at the same time it’s at most 240 day fines.
The point here is that it would actually be good tax income and it would remove the effect of any regulations being cheaper to break for rich people, which is inherently very unjust.
Yes but the money goes 100% to public transit so it benefits the lower income public transport commuters too.
Directly to which parts of public transport specifically? Are cops a part of that?
Since when cops are public transport?
Since… I dunno but it seems all transit systems have dedicated cops in the US.
Ah, you’re new! Hello! Ga ga goo goo! Goo Goo ga ga!
There are transit cops, cops who are on the payroll of a transit system. There are also politicians who lie about where money goes, so they say “we’re investing 100% in MTA to make the system safer for you and your family” and they mean they are giving money to NYPD with some requirement they have 1 more cop at a transit terminal. As another fine example, check out states where lottery funds go to “public schools”.
I don’t understand the need to belittle anyone that lacks information or is ignorant. Were you born with all the information you have right now?
What’s that xkcd?
No, in fact I quite literally in my message acknowledged they were new and didn’t have that information. Like, the thing you’re asking is actually in my message. Sure, there’s also some belittling for flavor, but life is boring if you don’t insult people on the internet.
Sounds like you just lead a boring life if you rely on insulting strangers on the Internet for some spice.
I mean, you are right and the fee should be proportional to wealth, but it is not gonna affect the poor people because they use the public transit. Maybe anywhere else in the US may be true that “even the homeless need/have a car” but NYC would be the exception.
Awww he might have to go on the big scary subway and desk with the poors… A sad day indeed
He could save his $2.75 and avoid it by… walking.
That guy looks like an uncle who can barely walk from the end of a parking lot to the store, let alone 18 blocks
I look like that guy, and I’d walk a mile to avoid paying $2… Maybe even 2 miles.
Buy him electric wheelchair.
I looked on the map. That overlooks Central Park.
If your home overlooks Central Park, I’m pretty sure you can afford a congestion charge.
You don’t get rich enough to afford such a location by paying fees that benefit others.
Some of the most frugal, penny pitching people I know are also some of the wealthiest people I know.
Then he can walk.
Yep. I work in tech and there’s a guy who cannot stop bragging about his millionaire status and is so ridiculously cheap.
You know he’s got exactly $1,000,001 too.
A good reason to feel sorry for his kids.
His kids live on 79th street and he will have to pay congestion price every time he goes to see them.
So like, what, Christmas and their birthdays?
That was my first thought as well. Why doesn’t his kids want to live with him?
Not having primary custody can be due to lots of things, I won’t judge anyone male or female for it unless there’s abuse involved.
Also maybe theyre adults?
Love how this is in the one US city where you need a car the least as far as I know. You’ve got the subway, the sidewalks, cabs… I mean sure, the latter exists in the form of ride sharing apps basically everywhere now, but NYC had cabs even in old movies. Though I suspect most other cities of any real size had them as well
I had a girlfriend from Phoenix who was surprised you could hail a cab on the street in Boston, she thought that only happened in NYC…
I dunno about NYC but Chicago has a pretty large and diverse public transit system.
That said the first bus I got onto in Chicago clearly hit a parked car that was too far over the line and the driver just sorta shrugged and kept on truckin’.
That’s why you dont park over the line. Seems fine to me.
Agreed, just thought it hilarious
There are buses too. Last time I visited NYC I used buses all the time. They were clean, frequent, cheap, and I had great conversations with other passengers. 10/10.
The cabs actually get a surcharge for the congestion pricing but who cares.
Only a buck 50. Cabs and rides have get a greatly reduced rate, and it gets packed onto the ride charge.
The congestion zone starts at 60th Street and heads south, so traveling from 61st - 79th street won’t even encounter the congestion pricing. This guy is dumb on so many levels.
EDIT: I just looked it up on a map and 61st is a one way going west towards Central Park, so if you enter 61st from Madison Ave, you’re forced to exit at 5th Ave and go south entering the zone, which I guess is this guy’s problem?. I also looked up the guy and he’s a CEO Real Estate developer, so he’s living in a multi-million dollar place right next to Central Park and can’t afford to pay $9 because his private parking spot in his building forces him to drive into the congestion pricing zone. Come on!
Wait, it’s 9 dollars?
Oh my God. I thought it was cheap. This poor bastard, does he have a GoFundMe I can donate to? This is highway robbery, it’s going to drive him straight to the poor house or worse the public transportation system!
Another case of the big bad gubberment hurting the little guy!
Maybe he’s a shady CEO scared his shit business practices will get him capped so he avoids all public transit.
Dude: “I wish traffic in my area wasn’t so bad”
Genie: “Ok, people driving in your area will be financially penalized for using their car instead of public transit, therefore alleviating traffic.”
Dude: “hey wait, I want an exception made for me! I am special. I am the main character, I should be the only one driving a car!”
Genie: “That was your third wish. Goodbye.”
Isn’t the point of the congestion fee to relieve congestion? Each person that says “this fee is stupid & I’m not paying” is one less vehicle in the area.
Sounds like a win.
That is indeed the goal, but there is still a PR battle to be had on the issue.
To my knowledge this is the first time that congestion pricing has been implemented in North-America, and how people react to this will decide whether other North-American cities are willing to take the risk and do the same thing. Over the next couple of months there will likely be a lot of opinion pieces and articles that try to make you think that the congestion pricing is a failure and should be reversed.
Edit: typo
I hope they don’t react the same way they did when roundabouts (rotaries/traffic circles) were introduced. Another thing that is only a problem in America and works well in many other countries.
Runabouts can be very awesome, but can anyone explain to me what the hell is going on in the UK where (in some places) they’ve added a bunch of traffic lights to their roundabouts? In my (admittedly limited) experience, they make them substantially worse, but perhaps I’m missing something?
From my understanding there are two main beneftis:
- Capacity
- Safety
Roundabouts work great, until the amount of traffic becomes to big. Then it actually starts causing problems.
At that point you can put in a regular intersection with traffic lights, which actually works better than a roundabout does in high traffic environments. But you do lose out on the traffic safety benefits, with head-on collisions becoming possible again.A roundabout with traffic lights increases the capacity of the intersection while still reducing the risk of deadly accidents.
It’s also a lot cheaper than upgrading to the next step, which is building an interchange.Signalised roundabouts are also quite prevalent in the Netherlands, and I can speak from experience that they generally work quite well if the lights are adjusted properly.
Note: I’m just some random guy, I’m by no means an expert on the matter.
This is just my understanding of the benefits of lighted roundabouts.
Just take the 6 like 2 stops you absolute donkey
I was wondering if there was more to the story. Like, maybe he has a disability and NYC doesn’t have an exemption for disabilities. They do, however, have an exemption for disabilities as well as a reduced rate for low income residents. To me it sounds like this guy is just lazy.
Looking at this on Google Maps, he can get anywhere on 76th St using one bus or subway ride and a 5-10 minute walk.
Zero sympathy.
Wow, I can’t believe you’d suggest subjecting this poor man to something as horrible as being forced to use a public bus.
Reminds me of the time I worked at the Sears repair call center… A woman who lived on the island of Nantucket needed her washing machine repaired - Sears only went out there two days a week, and they were booked for a couple weeks, so of course she asked “what am I supposed to do until then?” I suggested a laundromat. “Have you seen the kind of people who go to the laundromat?” I said “yup, I’m there once a week.” Was quite proud of myself, usually I don’t think of the perfect response until minutes later…
“Ahh, the old number 22. Clean, reliable public transportation. The chariot of the people. The ride of choice for the poor and very poor alike!”
I found Area 51!!
👽👾 🚌
A bus? With all the other peasants?
Sometimes when I ride the bus I’m uncomfortable with how my country fails the least fortunate
A developed country is not a place where the poor have cars. It’s where the rich use public transportation. (mayor of Bogotá, Enrique Peñalosa)
Colombia has really been doing great stuff in their cities
Bedbug bus? :p
