‘Worst case scenario’ for New Jersey commuters

🚗 Manhattan bound NJ commuters brace for huge toll hike

🚗 Few discounts will be offered under congestion pricing plan

🚗 Many NJ commuters will get no discount

The news is not good for New Jersey commuters as New York City officials put the finishing touches on their controversial congestion pricing plans.

With the new toll plan set to take effect in Spring of 2024, the Traffic Mobility Review Board met for the last time on Monday.

Drivers will be charged up to $23 per day to enter Manhattan below 60th Street.

New Jersey officials have long argued for credits to be given to commuters who already pay a toll to cross the Hudson River.

Four scenarios are now being considered by the Review Board that would offer credits between four and seven dollars to commuters who use the Holland and Lincoln tunnels.

It does not, however, include a discount for drivers who enter Manhattan via the George Washington Bridge because it does not feed directly into the higher toll zone.

For many North Jersey commuters who do not have direct train access to New York City, it's the worst-case scenario.

Congressman Josh Gottheimer called the discount plan laughable.

"The proposed credits are a joke compared to what this will cost families every day," Gottheimer said in a statement, "New York's newest Congestion Tax scenarios confirm our worst nightmares."

Board special advisor Juliette Michaelson conceded none of the scenarios they are considering will make New Jersey driver whole. "They don’t create full parity between entries," Michaelson said, "But they do help move things in that direction," said Juliette Michaelson, special adviser to the Traffic Mobility Review Board.

"They clearly don't care about the nurses, electricians, Uber drivers and restaurant workers who will suddenly have to find an extra $5,000 a year to pay to get to work. These people have to work an entire extra day a week for pay for the extra $23 a day congestion tax," Gottheimer said.

What discounts are being considered?

Here are the scenarios being considered by the Traffic Mobility Review Board.

None include a discount at the George Washington Bridge.

How much will the actual congestion toll be?

That is not yet known.

Traffic Mobility Review Board will now meet to decide which discount scenario they will adopt.

Until they know how much the discounts will cost, they say they can't set the actual toll.

The MTA is counting on the toll generating $2 billion in revenue.

Board members have warned that the more discounts they offer, the higher the actual toll will have to be.

Is there anything that can be done?

Probably not.

President Joe Biden's administration has given final approval to the congestion toll plan.

New Jersey's congressional delegation, led by Rep. Gottheimer, has been publicly howling about the detrimental impact to New Jersey commuters for months to no avail.

There have been calls for the Biden administration to audit the finances of the MTA, but those calls have also fallen on deaf ears.

Gov. Phil Murphy sued the Federal Highway Administration claiming the agency violated federal law by not requiring a more intensive review of the environmental impacts of the program.

It appears little more can be done to either stop the congestion pricing plan or mitigate the damage to New Jersey commuters.

The higher tolls are scheduled to go into effect in the spring.

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