Paul Berger of The Wall Street Journal reports that New York City’s new congestion pricing plan charges heavy-duty trucks $21.60 to enter Manhattan south of 60th Street, with fees set to rise over time. The move aims to reduce traffic and fund transit improvements but adds to already high costs for truckers, including tolls and fines. Freight companies fear higher delivery costs will hurt businesses, especially restaurants, which rely on timely shipments. Berger writes:
One of the most expensive cities in the U.S. for freight deliveries just got even more costly.
Starting this week in New York City, heavy-duty trucks must pay $21.60 each time they enter Manhattan south of 60th Street between 5 a.m. and 9 p.m. on weekdays and between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. on weekends. The fee is scheduled to rise to $28.80 in 2028 and $36.00 in 2031.
The fees are part of the congestion pricing plan New York rolled out this week for all vehicles entering Manhattan’s main business district. The New York state-controlled Metropolitan Transportation Authority says the congestion fee will reduce traffic while raising funds for mass transit improvements.
The first in the nation tolling program is decades in the making and is being watched by other cities, such as San Francisco and Los Angeles, that have explored their own versions of business-district tolls. […]
“For many this is going to be the straw that breaks the camel’s back,” said Zach Miller, vice president of government affairs at the Trucking Association of New York, which represents hundreds of carriers from independent owner-operators to large fleets. […]
Carriers say they already have plenty of incentives to deliver overnight. Traffic is lighter and curb space is available. But they say many customers can’t accept overnight deliveries because they don’t have overnight staff or a secure location for unattended deliveries.
“It’s just another tax and another cost of doing business in the Big Apple,” Luciani said.
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