This time it looks like it’s done: the area is limited (Manhattan, under Sixtieth Street), the hours (from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.) and the entrance fee, 15 dollars. The Metropolitan Transport Authority, the competent body, has approved the final plan with a majority.
Instead, two days ago, the governor, Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, blocked everything: New York will not have its first limited transit zone with paid access. It has been talked about since 1952, with the first concrete proposal dating back to 1977.
It may sound like news from the city news, but it could be a sign. Because no American city has a “congestion charge” as we know it in Europe. Over time, dozens of studies have tried to explain the Old Continent’s school cases to American politicians and voters: from London to Stockholm, from Oslo to Milan (yes, even Milan). New York has always been at the pole position in introducing tariffs. Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles were poised to follow. (San Francisco’s case is different, with some access lanes charged at specific time intervals). Now all other US metros are expected to follow suit.
Political fears weighed on New York’s decision: the city’s suburbs in the fall
We vote, and Democrats don’t want to lose because of a decision the people don’t like. However, in the background, there is a fundamental difference: when it comes to prohibiting something, Americans have more difficulty than Europeans.
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