Hundreds of thousands of low-income New Yorkers stand to benefit from new transit funding, compared to just 5,000 who might pay tolls to car commute under the Move NY plan.
The mayor's ideas have been tried before, without success. But even if the plan works as intended, the effect would be tiny because it doesn't attempt to reduce traffic volumes.
There is no right to drive for free within New York City limits. What we do have is a transit system where the poorest have to pay more per trip than the richest, and where people forgo reasonable transit options and the slight inconvenience of carpooling to clog streets with their polluting single-occupancy vehicles.
The Move NY toll reform plan is a powerful tool to address one of the great inequities in NYC's transportation system: the time penalty that affluent people in cars impose on less affluent people riding the bus. People who can afford a $10 or $20 Uber ride are slowing down people who can afford a $2.75 bus fare. Move NY will change that.