New Congestion Fees Force New Yorkers To Choose Between Steep Tolls And Crime-Ridden Public Transit

New York City will make its citizens choose between paying additional fees to drive into lower Manhattan with congestion pricing, or having to take a dangerous and unclean subway.

The New York City Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) on Monday approved a $9 congestion toll for cars entering Manhattan neighborhoods south of 60th street starting Jan. 5, 2025, according to ABC 7. The plan, proposed by Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, aims to reduce traffic while also raising money for and encouraging use of the subway system that spans the city. However, the New York subway remains dangerous, as violent crime levels in the metro remain above their 2019 levels, according to a June analysis of city crime data by VitalCity.

“The people who have to drive to the city, ladies and gentlemen, these are people that don’t have the means to get on the train, they work at different hours, they work at different locations, you know, these are not the titans of industry,” Hempstead Town Supervisor Donald Clavin told ABC 7.

Violent crime per rider on the metro remains about 40% higher in 2023 compared to 2019, according to VitalCity. Any rider has a one in 30 chance of witnessing a violent crime unfolding over the course of a year.

In 2023, there were 1,120 violent crime incidents reported on the subway, according to city crime data.

Over half of NYC subway riders feel unsafe using the service, a MTA survey taken April 18 to May 12, 2024 found