One of the only cities with worse traffic than Toronto is looking to scare away drivers by hitting them where it hurts: their wallet.
What happened: New York City rolled out a new congestion fee yesterday, charging drivers $9 to enter parts of Manhattan during peak hours. The levy aims to boost public transit ridership and reduce the city’s traffic, which has the distinct honour of being the worst in the world.
- The pricing system, which will also charge passengers in ride-share vehicles US$1.50 per trip, is projected to drum up $15 billion that will be reinvested into the city’s public transit.
Catch-up: Skeptics of the congestion charge have argued it will hurt local businesses, while advocates point to cities like London where traffic has dropped 27% since implementing a similar fee.
Why it matters: Bad traffic has become a major headache for major cities around the world. If the congestion charge is successful in the infamously gridlocked New York, it could be adopted by more cities looking to get their roads moving.
Zoom out: Congestion in Ontario cost the province’s economy over $12 billion last year, a problem that is only expected to get worse as the province’s commuter-heavy population grows.